SIMPLE STEPS:

1. One bag will be used for the pouch and the ears, one for the kangaroo's body.

2. Cut one bag in half. The bottom half forms the pouch. The top needs to be cut in the shape of ears (see picture).

3. Use the other bag upside down. The part with the bottom flap forms the mouth.

4. Crease and glue the corners of the flap inwards to give her snout a triangle shape.

5. Cut a simple tongue (using red paper) and glue to the bag (under the base of the flap). This will look like her mouth.

6. Glue eyes & nose on to the bottom of the bag (which is connected to the flap). This makes her face.

7. Attach the ears with glue.

8. Open and attach the pouch with glue to the front of the body (the flap must face forwards so it can be fold flat but form a pouch when opened).

9. Embellish as desired with child's name on the front of pouch.

10. Act out the song below. Just remember, to have your students hop like kangaroos! This song can be found on our CD, "Sing Your Way Through The Day".

LYRICS TO THIS SONG:

"Silly Silly Walk"

Can you hop like a kangaroo?
Can you hop like a kangaroo?
Can you hop like a kangaroo?
Can you hop like a kangaroo?
There’s not much to it, that’s how you do it!

Silly silly silly walk
Silly silly silly walk
Silly silly silly walk
now you’re doing the silly walk.

Summertime can be a "funnertime" with this really fun craft that my wife Kitty came up with for her younger students. I've used it in classrooms many times too. It's simple, cheap to make, and a great way to promote both imaginative play and physical activity.

We were inspired by our song, "Froggie Went Hoppin' On A Sunny Day", which is based on the traditional folk song, "Froggie Went A-Courtin'". In this new version, the Frog falls in love with a Mouse, gets married, and a Pig plays the banjo at the wedding party. My students always loved acting out this song...hopping as frogs, crawling like mice, or playing the banjo: like a pig, of course!

This activity is so much fun even our dog Doolittle enjoyed it (he's "wearing" the frog mask in the photo)...so remember to have fun and your students will have fun too!

The lyrics are at the bottom of this page. But first, let's make our masks!

MATERIALS NEEDED:

SIMPLE STEPS:

1. Use the Paper Plates as the face of your animal. Remember, for this song we need a: frog, mouse and pig.

2. Cut very simple eye holes in the plate. Be sure to look at the sample photo at the top of this page.

3. Let your children's creativity run wild as they decorate their animal's face.

4. If you're feeling "fancy", you can curl a tail out of an extra plate. You can see Kitty doing this in the sample photo. The frog's tongue is based on this same idea. It works great to cut a tongue out of a narrow strip of red construction paper and roll it around a crayon (towards the mask). Attach these embellishments (or any extras you think of such as funny ears or wiggly eyes) with glue or tape.

5. Act out the song below. Just remember, to have your students hop like frogs!

LYRICS TO THIS SONG:

"Froggie Went Hoppin' On A Sunny Day"

A froggie went a hoppin’ on a sunny day, uh huh
A froggie went a hoppin’ on a sunny day, uh huh
A froggie went a hoppin’ on a sunny day, he met Miss Mousie on his way
Uh huh, uh huh, un huh.

He said “Miss Mousie will you marry me?”, uh huh
He said “Miss Mousie will you marry me?”, uh huh
He said “Miss Mousie will you marry me? Together we’ll start a family.”
Uh huh, uh huh, un huh.

The first to the wedding was Mr. Pig, uh huh
The first to the wedding was Mr. Pig, uh huh
The first to the wedding was Mr. Pig, he played his banjo and he danced a jig
Uh huh, uh huh, un huh.

(oink oink oink)...

Well what do you think they had for supper, uh huh
Well what do you think they had for supper, uh huh
Well what do you think they had for supper, fried mosquito and bread and butter
Yum yum, yum yum, yum yum.