Thursday 26 January 2017

CRAFT: DIY Story Telling Character Sticks

CRAFT: DIY Story Telling Character Sticks
If your child is anything like mine then they'll love 'reading' books and having books read to them. Isabella really enjoys looking at the pictures, telling me what various things are and listening to us reading. A fun way of bringing books alive for children is to make these character sticks. They're easy and cheap to make, while being fun and educational. Though Isabella can't speak properly yet, she isn't far off and has really started to join in with familiar songs. It won't be long before she'll be able to join in with traditional stories and these character sticks are perfect for supporting that skill.

You can model using the character sticks a bit like puppets while reading the story, so that children learn who the main characters are and what they are doing throughout the story. If you have a tuff tray or want to take these character sticks to the next level you could also create three areas in a tuff tray/box with sticks, straw and salt dough 'bricks'. Children can then enjoy building houses for the pigs and then watching the wolf blow them down. You could of course make character sticks for any story, the options are endless.  

I picked up the wooden spoons from Wilkinsons, as it was one of the cheapest place I found to buy them. IKEA also sell them for 30p each and I'm sure there are other shops too, just worth keeping an eye out. I then used acrylic paint, as it was what I already had and the coverage is good. They only needed one coat of paint, but if you're using poster paint then you may need more.
What you'll need:
Wooden Spoons
Wooden Spatula
Acrylic paint
Paintbrushes

What to do:
1) To make The Three Little Pigs character sticks you'll need to paint the wooden spoons in a pale pink and the wooden spatula in brown. Then add a bit more red to the pink, making it darker, and paint on a snout to each 'pig'.
2) Leave those to dry standing up, I used a small metal bucket.
3) Once completely dry you can add extra detail using a fine paintbrush. For the pigs paint around the snout with a thin black line, add eyes, a smile and two nostrils on the snout. Then for the wolf paint on ears, eyes, a nose and teeth. You can of course add whatever details you want to.
4) Let them dry completely and they're ready to use. They're cheap to make and relatively quick too, making them ideal for aiming at your child's current interests.   
Have you come across character sticks before?

Feel free to leave a comment  - I love reading every single one :)

Helen x




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13 comments

  1. What a simple yet effective idea. I haven't used character sticks but have used character puppets and masks. Thank you for linking up to #ablogginggoodtime 🎉

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  2. This is adorable! And yet so simple! I'm going to buy wooden spoons today and do this with the kids, they will be so happy, thank you! #TheList

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  3. What a fab craft idea and do simple Thanks for linking to the #THAT FRIDAY LINKY come back next week please

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  4. I love this idea! My girls would love it! Thanks for linking up to #ThatFridayLinky

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  5. Love these. My husband made our girls a set of goldilocks and the three bear spoons for Christmas. I still need to blog about ours.

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  6. Love these. My husband made our girls a set of goldilocks and the three bear spoons for Christmas. I still need to blog about ours.

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  8. My kids have done this at pre/school and it is a great idea! Maybe something to add to the summer bucket list...

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  9. What a brilliant idea! It helps with kids imagination and you can do this craft with them too - when they're old enough to be able to make it. I love how you made the wolf from a different spoon.

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  10. A brilliant idea - I'd never think of something like this :)

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  11. I love this. My little girl love this idea. Might make them for other stories too x

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