Kids Craft: Wooden Spoon Puppets

This post originally appeared on Create.Craft.Love. on May 13, 2015. 

Wooden spoon puppets have been around forever, in fact I remember back in 1984, while living at Ft. Dix, NJ, our Girl Scout troop recreated Henry XIII and all his wives with spoon puppets. Then our main crafty accessories were paint, yarn, and glue!

Because this is a classic craft, if you Google or search Pinterest you're sure to find a ton of spectacular creatures and characters made with wooden spoons, it can be overwhelming! I find in instances like this it's best to do what your kids would do, ignore what everyone else has done and let your imagination guide you! 

Supplies

wooden spoons and forks

scrap felt

yarn

googly eyes

pompoms

markers or paint pens

hot glue gun

scissors and glue

Directions

First thing first, you’ve got to get the spoons and forks. You can find them relatively cheap at your local big box or dollar store, I find a stash of them at the local thrift store. Once you’ve got them you’re ready to go!

Embrace the mess! When you’re trying to create something specific it’s always easier to have everything lined out, pre-cut, and ready to go. But when you’re trying to CREATE you’ve got to get a little messy.

Kids are really good at this step!

Having everything everywhere seems as if it’d be overwhelming, but, magically things happen when you let kids simply touch and manipulate the materials with their hands. Be sure to have different types of glue and adhesives available. What works for felt might not work for googly eyes!

Normally I don’t let the kids use the hot glue gun but in the spirit of experimenting we gave it a try. Either I’ve done a really great job in teaching them to respect the glue gun, or they’ve seen first hand the pain it can inflict one of the many times I’ve burned my fingertips. Whichever it was, they were apprehensive about using it and careful to follow the rules.

They may not be the image of perfection, but they sure are a cast of crazy characters the kids will enjoy!