Paper Bag Monkey Puppet

The theme of this week's A to Z with Mrs. D. is 5 Little Monkeys. Who doesn't enjoy the finger play that goes along with that story? I know I do, but my heart has really been stolen by this adorable monkey puppet! I love his quirky grin and the way that it looks like he is about to give me a big hug -- so like my own little monkey, the creator of the puppet.

Materials:

• brown lunch bag
• scissors
• glue stick
• construction paper (brown, tan, black)
• crayons
• stapler

Directions:

1. Cut all pieces including:

• large brown oval for tummy
• smaller brown oval for mouth
• 2 brown half circles for ears
• 2 tan "mittens" for paws
• 2 long brown rectangles for arms
• 1 narrow brown strip for tail
• tan heart -- with the tip cut off to make a flat edge on the bottom -- for the face
• 2 black circle for eyes (can also use a hole punch or two googly eyes)
• small black oval for nose (or a larger circle punch, button, or pom pom, if your prefer)

2. Set a brown lunch sack on the table so that the flat bottom is facing up. This will be the monkey's head. The open end of the bag will be pointing down.

3. Have your child use a glue stick to assemble the monkey. Start with the oval for the belly and the "heart" for the face and then add the other brown oval for the mouth. Next, adhere the nose, ears, eyes, and arms. Younger kids may need some help with this. Tip: Make sure that no glue gets stuck in between the flat part of the bag and the and the head because then it will be difficult to use the puppet.

4. Curl the narrow brown paper strip around your finger and then staple it to the back side of the puppet, near the bottom, to make the monkey's tail.

5. Let your child use crayons to add a mouth and other details like fur. The puppet is now ready to be played with!