Make a Snail Stick Puppet
Snails are fascinating creatures. Did you know that the shell is not their home, but a part of their body? Did you know that snails leave a trail of slime in their path when they move? Did you know that those are not antennae but tentacles and that their eyes are at the ends of their tentacles? They actually have four eyes – two on the top tentacles and two on the smaller tentacles at the bottom of their heads.
What you need:
Paper plate (optional)
Cardstock – 1 or 2 pieces
Scrap paper
Glue stick
Black marker
Tape
Googly eyes (optional)
Pipe cleaner or small strip of paper approx. 3 inches long
Craft stick or cardboard strip
Scissors (optional)
What you do:
1. Cut or tear small shapes from the scrap paper. Construction paper works well for this, but any kind of paper will work, even junk mail.
2. Make a collage by gluing your paper shapes onto the outside of your paper plate. TIP: If you don’t have a paper plate, trace a dinner plate on any large piece of sturdy paper and cut it out. TIP: Use lots of glue to make sure the pieces stick, and rub the pieces with your fingers after they are glued on. The friction helps the glue adhere better.
3. When you like the design, use the black marker to draw a spiral from the middle of the plate to the edge. This is the snail’s shell.
4. To make the snail’s body, draw a banana shape on a piece of cardstock or cardboard and cut it out.
5. Glue the snail’s body behind the shell – line it up with the bottom edge of the shell.
6. Fold the pipe cleaner or paper strip to make a ‘V” – this is the snail’s tentacles. Tape it to the back near the top of the snail’s head.
7. Make the snail’s mouth and eyes with the black marker. TIP: For an authentic snail, glue eyes at the tip of the tentacles, and add another, smaller, set of tentacles below the mouth and add eyes there, too (but it’s okay if you want to put them above the mouth). TIP: If you have googly eyes, use lots of glue or use glue dots to stick them on. TIP: You can make paper eyes that look like googly eyes by cutting two small circles out of white paper. Use a black marker to add the eyes and then glue them onto the snail’s face.
8. Tape a craft stick or sturdy cardboard strip to the back of the snail puppet to serve as a handle.
Make several snails in different colors and with different patterned shells. Put on a puppet show for your family!
