Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Brown Bear Straw Toppers

Aren't these straw toppers / puppets adorable?  Our book of the day was Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Eric Carle, and I surprised the kids with these super-cute straw-topper puppets.  They were so much fun to make, and we had a great time retelling the story with them...



 
Nothing brings a story to life more than a bit of dramatic play.  The girls enjoyed finding the right character for each page of the Brown Bear book and then having each animal say the next part (in squeaky animal voices, of course).

These straw toppers were really easy (and fun) to make.  I cut craft foam into the desired shapes, and then cut little slits for the straw to fit into:

 I slid the straw into each topper before putting the finishing piece on (to cover the straw, like fins, wings, noses, etc..), and then glued that piece into place.  I used regular glue, but if I had a hot-glue gun, I may have tried that to make them even more durable.

Here's another picture of the full collection (in order):


The best part about these straw toppers is that they can be used as puppets and, well, as straw toppers too:

Wouldn't these be a hit for a birthday party where the theme is Brown Bear, Brown Bear?

 
I think my girls enjoyed drinking out of their special straws just as much as the puppet show - they've been asking for drinks with straws all afternoon!  Since the toppers are made of craft foam, if they get a little wet from the drinks, they can easily be wiped off.

It seems that now that I have kids, I let them do all the crafting and hardly have time for my own creations.  I'm really proud of how cute this little project turned out!


Every day in March, I will be doing an activity with my kids based on a different children's book.  To keep up to date with all our fun projects, please follow Learners in Bloom on Facebook:

Please 'like' Learners in Bloom on Facebook for more fun!

12 comments:

  1. These are adorable and perfect for my Grandmas Rock on So I'm Fifty blog!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks so much for linking up on the kid lit blog hop yesterday! I love how you tied together a book and craft project - you're so creative! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. These are so cute! Thanks for sharing at TGIF! Pinned it!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Absolutely adorable! I wish I still had a prechooler...though my 6 year old would probably have fun with these.
    I would love if you would share this at my link party.
    http://www.realcoake.com/2013/03/real-family-fun-4.html
    Take care,
    KC

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for linking up! Hope to see you again next week.
      KC

      Delete
  5. This is so cute! My kids Love Brown Bear and they would go crazy for these straw toppers!! Thanks for linking up at Share It Saturday!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Very cute! My youngest is a huge fan of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, so these would be great when he gets a little older. Thanks for sharing at Mom's Library!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Adorable. Such a sweet idea.

    Thanks for sharing on Kids Get Crafty!

    Maggy

    ReplyDelete
  8. That is such a great idea. I can totally see this as a craft to do at a birthday party and then they get to take home the straw and the straw topper. Thanks for linking into the Kid Lit Blog Hop. You are more than welcome to link in any great books that run across! :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. SOOOOOO Adorable! My boys would love em. Pinned it! Thanks for sharing at Family Fun Friday!
    Monica
    http://happyandblessedhome.com
    hope to see you again later this week at:
    http://happyandblessedhome.com/category/family-fun/

    ReplyDelete
  10. Wonderful! My grandsons are too old for this but my granddaughters will love it.
    Great potential when talking about Noah's ark.
    Thank you.

    ReplyDelete

I love getting comments! No spam, please.