Ever since my children made these finger puppets, they have been nagging me to make more. I suppose I should be happy that they enjoyed the activity so much; however it did present a challenge when I was trying to think of different kinds of puppets that they could make (that didn’t involve sewing that is). Who would have thought that the inspiration would come when making a bolognaise sauce that night: why not use wooden spoons.
Now, as much as I love my children, I have grown quite attached to my actual cooking wooden spoons (some of my friends think this is bizarre), so on my next grocery shop I picked up a mixed pack of spoons. Rather than buying all spoons, I found a set that included spoons, a wooden spatula, a fork and a spoon with a hole in. I thought that the different shapes would be fun and I was proved right on this one.
What you need:
• Wooden spoons (either mixed like I used or all spoons)
• Wool for the hair
• Googly eyes
• Glue
• Pipe cleaners
• Stickers and other decorative embellishments (buttons, glitter, markers etc.…)
When I first presented the wooden spoons to my daughters they thought we were going to be baking something and looked fairly disappointed when I told them that we weren’t. They soon cheered up when they saw the craft table all set up for them.
Once they had each chosen two spoons to decorate they got stuck in with their markers, stickers and ‘diamonds’. We made woollen hair by wrapping wool round my fingers, tying it in the middle and then snipping the looped ends.
I was also instructed to make one with the left over spoon. I have to say that I quite like being roped in to their activities with them; it gives me a chance to be a little person again!
I remembered that I also had this pack of DIY bookmarks that I found at a craft shop a while ago. Seeing as though they also required decorating, I gave them to my little ones to do at the same time. You could make your own version by cutting out the shapes or stock images on coloured card or foam.
They had great fun making their wooden spoon family and each decided to make a boy spoon and a girl spoon. Once we were all done we played make-believe family games with them all (this seems to be my four year old’s current obsession).
Making your own toys can be tremendous amounts of fun, and, an added bonus is that your children are unknowingly learning valuable developmental skills along the way.