Bored on a weekend? Create a puppet show with your kids!

Stuck with your 7 year old on a weekend? There's a cost effective way of filling up your kid's time while providing them with an enriching quality time with you. Why don't you keep their little tiny hands busy with a bit of artsy weekend? 

What you'll need: 

• construction paper (there's a good deal over at www.office1000.com for a variety of choices Academie Jr Construction Paper will do perfectly)
• colored markers
• Popsicle sticks
• glue
• scissors
• any surface that can be used as a backdrop
• reusable tape (try Elmer's Tac N' Stik, I just love it)
• a whole lot of imagination

If you're the kind who reads your children fairy tale stories at night, this will be a good follow up exercise for your kids as well. Tell them that you are going to be making your own story but use the same characters. Little Red Riding Hood is nice for example. It will be up to you and your children just how much of the original story you'll keep. This is an activity that is sure to fill up the weekend. 

You may want to assign the characters you'll make at first then just let your children add anyone they choose. For example, don't tell them that Spongebob has no place in the story but challenge them perhaps by asking how they think Spongebob can survive in the forest with the big bad wolf. Once you get the characters straight ask them who wants to make which character. Don't forget little props like trees, the sun, clouds and other things that they would like to decorate it with. 

Assist your kids with cutting out the figures or provide them with pre-cut models that they can just draw on and decorate. If you have other bits and scraps lying around you may just want to use those in your art project. 

When you're ready, you can go and start the story as you would and then just let your children make it up along the way. Let them be the boss of the story. It would be nice if you can assign a wall for this so that anytime they want to, your children can just go through the story themselves.

All thanks to a few pieces of construction paper and your imagination you've managed to keep your sanity while having nice time with your kiddos and thought them a thing or two. Kudos to you!