Materials: green paper
markers or crayons
scissors, hole punch, string
Directions: Trace around the attached frog pattern on green paper.
Click here to download the pattern.
Cut out and decorate with crayons or markers.
Bend in half as shown and punch a hole in the middle. Tie on a piece of string.
Choose children to use their frog puppets as you sing this song.
Five little speckled frogs
Sitting on a speckled log
Eating some most delicious bugs.
Yum! Yum! (Pat your tummy.)
One jumped into the pool
Where it was nice and cool.
Now there are four green speckled frogs.
Four, three, two, one…
Now there are no green speckled frogs.
Boo! Hoo! (Pretend to cry.)
Adaptation: You can sing this song with three frogs, ten frogs, or whatever you want.
TINY TIM THE TURTLE PAPER PLATE PUPPET
Materials: 2 paper plates
old sock
markers, stapler
Directions: Draw the face of a turtle on the sock with markers as shown. Color the outside of both plates to resemble the shell of a turtle. Staple the plates together on the top and on the bottom.
Insert the sock on your hand and stick it through the opening in the plate.
Use it as you say the rhyme below:
I had a little turtle.
His name was Tiny Tim.
I put him in the bathtub
To see if he could swim.
He drank up all the water.
He ate up all the soap.
And now he’s sick in bed
With bubbles in his throat.
B-b-b-b-b-b! (Blow bubbles with lips.)
Adaptations: Pull the turtle’s head inside the shell as you say:
A little turtle lived in his shell.
He liked his home very well.
When he got hungry,
He’d come out to eat. (Stick out sock head.)
Then he’d go back
Into his house to sleep. (Pull the sock back in the shell.)
Use the turtle to quiet children and get their attention. Explain that Tiny Tim is very shy, and he’ll only come out when they are quiet. When children are quiet, extend the sock and pretend to make the turtle look around.
FIVE LITTLE HOTDOGS MITT PUPPET
Materials: cloth garden glove
red felt, brown felt, 10 wiggly eyes
craft glue, Velcro, felt tip marker
Directions: Cut out hotdogs from red felt using the pattern below. Cut buns from the brown felt. Glue a hotdog to each bun. Glue on wiggly eyes and draw a smile and nose with the marker. Glue a piece of Velcro (hook side) to each finger on the glove.
Hint! It works best if you also sew around the Velcro on the fingers of the glove.
Glue the fuzzy side of the Velcro to the back of each sausage. Place a hotdog on each finger before you say the rhyme below:
Five little hotdogs frying in the pan.
The grease got hot and one went BAM!
(Remove a hotdog - Clap hands on BAM!)
Four little hotdogs...three…two…one
No little hotdogs frying in the pan.
The pan got hot and it went BAM!
Adaptations: Say a similar poem about popcorn. “Five little kernels sizzling in the pot. The grease got hot and one went POP! Four little kernels…etc.”
I HAVE A CAT ENVELOPE PUPPET
Materials: envelopes
markers, paper scraps, glue
Directions: Cut the envelope in half as shown. Stick your fingers in the cut edge to make a hand puppet. Decorate with markers and paper scraps to look like a cat, dog, mouse, or other animal or person.
Here’s an echo poem for the cat puppet:
I have a cat. (Repeat) I have a cat. (Make fingers like whiskers.)
My cat is fat. (Repeat) (Arms out in a circle.)
My cat wears a hat (Repeat) (Hands on head.)
My cat sees a bat. (Repeat) (Claps thumbs fly hands.)
My cat sees a rat. (Repeat) (Make fist & stick up baby finger.)
I have a cat. (Repeat) (Fingers like whiskers.)
MEOW! (Say this line together.)
Adaptations: Let children make envelope puppets of favorite characters from stories and use
them for book talks.
STICK PUPPETS
Materials: old magazines or catalogs
craft sticks, tape, scissors
Directions: Have children cut people from magazines and catalogs that resemble their family members. Tape to craft sticks to make puppets.
Let them make up stories about their families with their puppets.
Adaptations: Take photographs of children and cut them out. Attach to craft sticks and use them for name songs, similar to those below.
(Tune: “Farmer in the Dell”)
I have a friend at school.
I have a friend at school.
His/her name is child’s name.
I have a friend at school.
(Tune: “Skip to My Lou”)
Hello, child’s name, how are you?
Hello, child’s name, how are you?
Hello, child’s name, how are you?
How are you this morning?
Let children use their people puppets for solving problems. They could use their own puppets to discuss a conflict, or they could exchange puppets and present the other person’s point of view.
Have children cut athletes or other famous people out of the newspaper and tape them to straws. Why do they admire that person?
Cut storybook characters from old workbooks. Make puppets out of them and use them to retell stories.
Directions: Draw the face of a turtle on the sock with markers as shown. Color the outside of both plates to resemble the shell of a turtle. Staple the plates together on the top and on the bottom. 
