This Groundhog’s Day puppet craft is the perfect craft to help teach your littles about Groundhog’s day in a fun and engaging way. As a previous Kindergarten teacher, we were always sharing ideas and this is one of the ones that got passed to me by another teacher. I made it with my Kindergarteners and then taught them about shadows and shadow puppets. This is a great craft for all ages and can be done with toddlers all the way up to grade-schoolers.
When doing this project you can do it one of two ways. You/your little can draw and cut out the needed pieces freehand or you can download the PDF template that I created at the bottom of the document to help with the sizing of the pieces. You can use colored construction paper or you can print the pieces out on white paper and color them in.
My two-year-old and I created this project together. She loved helping me cut and glue the pieces together and was so excited when her puppet was completed and she could play with it. The googly eyes were her favorite part!
This is a great project to use when talking and learning about shadows. My mini and I took our completed projects outside in the late evening sunshine and observed the shadows made by the puppets. We talked about Groundhog’s Day and then found that our Groundhog puppet predicted 6 more weeks of Winter!
Another great activity that can be done after learning about Groundhog’s Day and shadows with the puppets is to make shadows on a wall or closet door using a flashlight. Hold the flashlight so it is shining against the closet door and have your mini stand to the side. Have them hold out their puppet in front of the light to see the shadow that it creates. You can also have your mini use their hands to create shadow puppets in front of the flashlight as well.
Groundhog’s Day Puppet Craft
Materials
- Colored Construction Paper
- Googly Eyes
- Scissors
- Glue Stick
- Brown Paper Bag
- PDF Template
Activity:
1. Print out the template PDF at the bottom of the post.
2. Cut out the pieces from the template and color them in OR use the PDF pieces as tracers on colored construction paper to make the pieces the correct colors.
2. Glue the heart for the Groundhog’s head upside down on the bottom of the brown paper bag.
3. Glue the ears onto the corners of the bag above the Groundhog’s head.
4. Glue the nose onto the middle of the Groundhog’s head and glue the googly eyes above the nose.
5. Cut all of the black lines on the whisker pieces. Put glue on the uncut side and glue on both sides of the Groundhog’s nose.
6. Glue the teeth underneath the heart and your groundhog is complete. Then you are able to put your hand in and use it as a puppet!
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