paper tube crafts

Paper Tube Tiger Puppet Craft for Preschoolers

This simple paper tube tiger craft for preschoolers would be great to include in an animal, zoo, or circus theme, and it's perfect as a quick and easy craft idea for preschoolers using supplies you probably already have at home. In our case, it was inspired by the news that the new series "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood" would be aired on Kids CBC starting this October.

Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood is an animated program featuring the adventures of Daniel, a four year old tiger. Based on "Mr. Rogers Neighbourhood," Daniel is the son of the the striped Daniel the Tiger puppet featured on the original Mr. Rogers show. Set in the Neighbourhood of Make-Believe, the Trolley, Katerina Kitty Cat, O the Owl, and many other familiar Mr. Rogers characters also make appearances on the show.

We were able to see a sneak peak of a couple of episodes a few weeks ago, and it was a huge hit with both the adults and kids who saw it. Beyond the obvious nostalgia factor for any of us who grew up on the original show, Daniel Tiger's Neighbourhood features sweet songs, charming animation, valuable lessons, and scenarios such as the first day of school that are relatable to the lives of most preschoolers.

To honour the original show and the launch of the new one, it only seemed fitting to make a puppet.

 

 

Here's what you need to make your own trr-iffic paper tube tiger:

  • a paper tube
  • orange construction paper
  • scraps of brown and pink construction paper
  • a brown marker
  • googlie eyes
  • glue
  • scissors

1. Cut a rectangle out of orange construction paper that is length of the tube, and wide enough to wrap around the paper tube with a bit of overhang.  Glue paper onto tube:

 

 

2. Cut strips of brown construction paper, and glue onto your tube to form the tiger's stripes.  Alternately, you can just draw on stripes with your brown marker:

 

 

3. Cut a circle out of orange construction paper.  Glue on googlie eyes, and a pink construction paper nose:

 

 

4. Cut two small orange semi-circles, and glue on the top sides of the tiger's head to form his ears.  Use your brown marker to add a mouth, stripes, and other features to your tiger's face:

 

 

5. Glue face to the top of your paper tube:

 

 

6. Cut two arms, and one long tail out of orange construction paper.  Use your brown marker to add stripes:

 

 

7.  Glue arms onto sides for the paper tube, and the tail to the back.  Put on a puppet show of your own, or take your tiger for a tour of your own neighbourhood:

 

 

Did you watch Mr. Rogers Neighbourhood as a kid?

Posted by momstown Teach on 09/26/2012 - 21:28
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Make An Easy Fire Dog Puppet

 

As part of our focus on fire trucks and fire halls, we made these easy paper tube fire dog puppets today:

 

 

Dalmatian dogs are the mascots of fire trucks and fire halls, but I have never really thought about why. We learned that is that Dalmatians were originally trained run alongside horse drawn carriages, and act as companions to the horses.  When horses began to be used to pull fire engines, Dalmations were a natural choice to be the companion of those horses'  as well.  They were trained to run in front of the fire cart, clear a path, and guide the horses toward the fire. They also acted as guard dogs at the firehouse, protecting the valuable horses and equipment from thieves, and served as companions to the firefighters.

Although horse drawn fire equipment was phased out, Dalmations continued to serve as the mascots of fire departments. They provide happiness and friendship to firefighters, and encourage firefighters to exercise.  They are also excellent at teaching kids to "stop, drop, and roll," and are often used for fire safety demonstrations.

 

Here is what you need to make your own paper tube Fire Dog puppet:

  • a paper tube
  • white and black paint
  • googlie eyes
  • scraps of black and red construction paper
  • a paintbrush, a Q-tip (optional), scissors, and glue
  • a black marker

 

1.  Paint a paper tube white (alternately, you could just cover it with white paper), and allow to dry:

 

 

2. Dip a Q-tip in black paint, and use it to add spots on your dalmation (fingerprints would work great too). Glue on googlie eyes, and a triangle nose.  Draw a mouth on with a black marker, and draw or glue on a red tongue:

 

 

3. Cut two ears out of black paper. If desired, fold a flap onto the top to give the ears dimension:

 

 

4. Glue ears onto either side of the paper tube:

 

 

5.  Cut a hat shape out of red construction paper. Use a black marker to add a badge in the centre:

 

 

6. Glue to the front of your dog.  To use as a puppet, simply slip a couple of your fingers into the opening of the paper tube.  Alternately, you can glue a popsicle stick to the inside of the tube:

 

 

Now your ready to act out your own fire dog rescue!

 

momstown Hamilton had loads of fun at Art & Play with this craft and created a slightly different version with their momstown children with paper cups instead of toilet rolls.


fire dog puppet

Posted by momstown Teach on 08/13/2012 - 16:01
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