Produce a Vegetable Puppet Play

What You Need:

• 2 large carrots, cut in half
• 3-4 small broccoli florets
• 3-4 small cauliflower florets
• 1/4 cup dry kidney beans
• 1/4 cup Ranch dressing or other dip
• Safety scissors
• Yarn
• Elmer's glue
• Finger paint
• White paper

What You Do:

1. Start by talking to your child about why vegetables are so important, and why we should eat lots of them each day. Scroll down for fun facts about the veggies used in this activity. What are some of her favorite vegetables?
2. Separate out 1/3 of the broccoli and cauliflower and one carrot half for making veggie paintings and prints. You'll use the remaining vegetables for the puppets and a snack.
3. Now make the paintings. Have her dip a piece of vegetable into the finger paint and use it as a brush to make 3-4 paintings that she'll use as backgrounds for her play. You can also make vegetable prints by cutting a broccoli or cauliflower floret in half lengthwise, dipping the cut side into the paint, and pressing it onto the paper. Here are some other suggestions:
   • Make one painting of each vegetable: kidney bean, cauliflower, broccoli, and carrot
   • Paint a vegetable garden or farm
   • Paint the body parts that benefit from vegetables, such as your eyes or heart
4. Allow the paintings to dry.
5. Now make the veggie puppets. Have your child cut the yarn into segments and glue them onto the veggies for hair. Draw faces on the vegetables with markers. Allow to dry.
6. While your puppets are drying, have your child wash her hands, then invite her to snack on the remaining veggies with Ranch dressing while she waits.
7. Now make a set for the play. Hang up the veggie paintings on the wall at kid height or prop them up on a table or counter.
8. Encourage her to brainstorm ideas for her veggie production. What does she want to tell her audience about vegetables? What kinds of characters are her veggie puppets going to play? Have your child rehearse her puppet play in front of her set. Once she's confident enough, invite the family in for a veggie-tastic production!

Did You Know? Carrots are full of vitamin A, which helps build strong eyes. Broccoli and cauliflower are packed with vitamin C, which helps keep our immune systems healthy and strong se we can fight off sickness. Kidney beans, which are a type of legume and not really vegetables at all, are high in potassium, which keeps our hearts healthy by regulating our blood pressure.