The Perfect Canada Day Craft / Beaver Paper Bag Puppet

I love holiday crafts, and this one is perfect for Canada Day. All you need is a paper lunch bag, crayons, cardstock, glue, and googly eyes. This beaver paper bag puppet is just TOO ADORABLE!

To make this puppet:

1) Draw all the beaver parts pictured above, or get the template I designed here.

2) Colour and cut out all the parts.

3) Use glue to attach all the parts. Make sure you attach the parts in the folds so that it looks good when you insert your hand into the puppet. Take a peek at the video here to see what the puppet looks like when it's finished.

Happy Canada Day!!!

♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

You might also be interested in the fantastic Canada Day ideas here.

Sock Puppets and Parenting Help... courtesy of Netflix

As parents, teaching our children important life skills and values is an important part of our job. Children are influenced by their friends, their teachers, and countless media sources (including TV, movies, apps, and games). Rather than trying to compete with all these outside influences, it can sometimes be easier to work with them. Watching TV together can spark conversations and inspire creative ideas for playing together. Recently, my boys and I made some DIY sock puppets inspired by popular Netflix* characters. We had a lot of fun creating a comedy show video together.

How cute are the puppets we made?

To make a Walter puppet: you'll need a blue sock for the body, clear wiggly eyes, black felt for the mouth, white felt for the teeth, blue pom poms for the belly, and a blue pipe cleaner for the antennas. You can use fabric or hot glue to attach everything.

To make a Kip puppet: you'll need an orange sock for the body, blue wiggly eyes, an orange pom pom for the nose, black felt for the mouth, white felt for the teeth, a tan felt circle for the belly, and orange felt for the ears. You can use fabric or hot glue to attach everything.

To make a Peri puppet: you'll need a tan sock for the body, black yarn for the hair, pink wiggly eyes, pearls for the necklace, and pink tulle for the skirt. You can use fabric or hot glue to attach everything.

Check out the puppet show my boys performed with their sock puppets. Don't you love when your kids tell jokes?

Do you use your kids' favourite shows as a way to communicate with them and spend time together? According to Common Sense Media, entertainment can be a strong tool for teaching empathy as it showcases strong, supportive bonds between characters of diverse backgrounds and perspectives, for example. Fuller House is a favourite with my boys, and it has helped us have conversations about the importance of family, compromise, and working together.

What are some of your kids' favourite shows and characters on Netflix? Have you used any of these shows/characters to talk to your kids about their values and/or teach them about important like skills? I hope you enjoy my boys' puppets and video. Perhaps you'll be inspired to spend some time creating your own Netflix production with your little ones.

♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

*Disclosure: I receive special gifts and perks as part of my affiliation with Netflix.... however (as always) the opinions on this blog are 100% my own.

5 Rainy Day Activities

I don't know about you, but rainy days can sometimes make me question my sanity {seriously!}  Here are 5 rainy day activities that I use to keep my boys busy and happy when we are stuck in the house all day.

1)  Build with Marshmallows:  This is so easy, and it doesn't require much adult assistance.  Aren't these the best activities?  All you need are:  toothpicks, marshmallows, and imagination.  The kids use the toothpicks to connect the marshmallows and "build" things.  Fun and simple!

2)  Have a Puppet Show:  For the puppet theatre, we use a spring loaded curtain rod and an old sheet in a doorway.  The sheet works well because it already has an opening for the rod -- no sewing required.  

For puppets, we print pictures off the internet, color them, cut them out, and attach a popsicle stick to the back.  

3)  Build Stuff Out of Boxes:  In this picture, we turned a cardboard box into a car that the boys named "The Imagination Car".  They had a great time decorating and "building" the car.  If you let the kids take the lead, they will come up with lots of great uses for a box; however, if you are looking for inspiration, you can find 5 fun ideas here.

4)  Make Playdough:  I use a great/easy "no cook" recipe that uses Kool Aid.  It makes great colors, and the playdough smells yummy.  (You can find the recipe here.)  My boys love to make playdough creatures using googly eyes and pipe cleaner.

5)  Indoor Camping:  We have an indoor tent, but a tent made out of chairs and blankets will work too.  We make a fire out of construction paper for "roasting" marshmallows, and the boys put on their bathing suits. 

Hopefully, these ideas will help to make your rainy days a little more "sunny"!  :-)

♥ 

Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

PS (If you haven't already done so, "Like" me on facebook for lots of great info that doesn't get posted on this blog.  www.facebook.com/EastCoastMommy)

PPS (You might also like my Fishing Fun post -- really fun on a rainy day.)