Fun in the Sun for Kiki and Company

Last month Kiki and Company invited us over to play in her Fun in the Sun Series.
This was the project that I shared.
It was fun for summer but I think we’ll keep these little people going with our reading throughout the school year!
***When Kiki told us about her Fun in the Sun series I knew exactly what I was going to do. (In fact, it is something that I’ve been planning since I made these random craft stick puppets.)  I only wish it was later in the summer so I’d have more to share with you.

But alas, it’s not so today I will only be sharing our craft stick puppet versions of:

Here’s the deal with the puppets….

This summer my kids and I are just finishing reading Mr. Popper’s Penguins.

(Which is a super cute book written back in 1938 by Richard and Florence Atwater.)

In the summer we always read books together…it’s perfect to read on afternoons when it is too hot to play outside, evenings out on the porch while drinking something cool, or even in the later afternoon out on the lawn while waiting for dad to come home.

 But this summer instead of just reading the books together I wanted it to be something a little bit more.  (I think its still the nerdy school teacher in me that just won’t go away…)  So this time I chose books that have been made into movies.

We are reading the books first and then watching the movies to see what was different about the two.  (We’ll have our movie parties in the afternoons as well, with treats that go along with the book…like Simon has chosen Swedish fish to eat during Mr. Popper’s penguins because, “Mom, the penguins ate fish ALL THE TIME.”)

And then (because as I previously stated my nerdy school ladyness won’t die) we are making a puppet for each of the characters in our books.  That way the kids can act out scenes from the book, add on to the story, or change parts they think should be changed in the story line.

The puppets are easy and fun to make.  Here’s what you’ll need:

 *Acrylic Paint and Paint brushes

*Craft Stick People (I bought mine at Hobby Lobby but if you don’t have a Hobby Lobby you could just buy regular craft sticks from any craft store or even Wal-Mart.)

Then get painting…I painted a set and Simon even painted a penguin.

(Actually Grace painted some to but at the time of the photo shoot hers were MIA…she hid them from Simon’s penguin because it was “a bad guy penguin” and then she couldn’t remember where she put them.)

 Anyways, after they were painted and dried we set up a puppet theater using the Lemonade Stand we had made a few week earlier and prepared for the play.

I think my favorite part of this whole thing was listening to the planning of the play…who would hold which puppets and what they would say…I freely admit that I eavesdropped and peeked underneath the curtain during their entire planning session.

Then finally the characters were introduced and the puppet version of Mr. Popper’s Penguins began.

 Everything was going along swimmingly until…

 A rogue penguin attacked several of the main characters and Simon had to take matters into his own hands…

at which point…and after a heated whispering match backstage…Simon and Grace decided to end their production citing artistic differences.

They, however, want to put on a new play tomorrow where all the penguins “turn evil”.

So maybe, the puppet thing didn’t turn out exactly how I had planned.  But it was fun…both making them and playing with them.

It really is such a simple and perfect idea for summer that I’m sure we will continue to do this for years to come. And I’m looking forward to making the set for our next book—a children’s version of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea!  (Simon is going to love that book!)

Thank you Kiki for inviting us to participate in your Fun in the Sun series.

We just love you and were so excited to be able to come and play today!

Mr. Popper’s Penguins Puppets