Groundhog Puppet - Sis 1

They say that Punxatawney Phil saw his shadow this morning. H certainly wouldn't have where I live. Although winter is my least favorite season, I will gladly take 6 "more" weeks of it this year. We haven't really had winter yet.

To celebrate Groundhog's day, we made puppets.

You'll need:

Construction paper

Hot glue gun

glue sticks or other glue suitable for children

1 can for each puppet

1 small piece of closely matching felt or other stiff fabric1 sock for each puppet (I used women's tan ankle socks. They were perfect, but don't get too concerned about this. Crafts should not cost a ton of money. Use what you have or can find very cheaply.)

1 small piece of red card stock or cereal box (you can paint it red or glue red cons

truction paper to one side of it.)

eyes (I used a hole punch and a piece of craft foam. Googly eyes would be great.)

First find a can that has a removable top and bottom (as opposed to the kind with a curved bottom), preferably one that contains something you would like to eat for dinner tonight. This can should be fairly wide, since you'll be sticking your han

d through it. I used a 15.25 oz pineapple can. Remove top and bottom, along with the label.

Measure a piece of construction paper and cut a strip as tall as

your can and a little more than as long as your can's diameter. Glue it around the can and decorate it. This is the part

that small children will be able to do best, so let them have at it. The goal is for the can to look like the ground, or the hole your groundhog will be popping out of.

Cut an egg shape out of your red card stock and ears and arms out of the felt. Fold the egg shape horizontally, with the narrow end down. Using hot glue, glue the egg-shaped paper to the bottom side of the sock, about where the underside of your toes would be, if you were wearing it. Glue the ears to the seam that would be across the top of your toes. Glue the eyes somewhere between the mouth and the ears and the arms down a little and to either side of the mouth.

Slip the groundhog (sock) inside the can, with the head pointing out the top of the can.

stretch the cuff of the sock over and around the outside of the bottom of the can. Lift a section of the cuff at a time and hot glue it to the can.

Have a puppet show about being afraid of shadows.