Books Alive: The Watermelon Seed

Hello! It’s Kelly from Cloudy Day Gray, and I am so excited to be a part of the Books Alive reading series! Before I became a blogger and donate-life advocate I was, in fact, a teacher and reading specialist. Picture books are such an important part of every childhood and can foster a beautiful love of reading, storytelling, imagination, social skills, relationship building — I mean, I could put a 100 things on this list!

The Watermelon Seed -- learn how to make these fun puppets via @PagingSupermom #booksalive

The Watermelon Seed -- learn how to make these fun puppets via @PagingSupermom #booksalive

The Watermelon Seed --  learn how to make these fun puppets via @PagingSupermom #booksalive

It is always a good idea to practice re-telling a story, and with a simple book like The Watermelon Seed, by Greg Pizzoli, practicing can easily be turned into a full puppet show!

The Watermelon Seed --  learn how to make these fun puppets via @PagingSupermom #booksalive

My kids loved this activity from start to finish. Here is how you can make book puppets too:

You will need a book like The Watermelon Seed that has simple illustrations/drawings, photocopier, crayons, card stock, glue, scissors, stiff straws or popsicle sticks, and tape.

The Watermelon Seed --  learn how to make these fun puppets via @PagingSupermom #booksalive

The Watermelon Seed --  learn how to make these fun puppets via @PagingSupermom #booksalive

TO MAKE: Photocopy several illustrations from the book in black and white, then let the kids color the drawing anyway they like. Once they are finished, they can glue the drawing onto a piece of card stock. Once the glue is dry, have them cut around the main character. Next, turn it over and tape a straw or popsicle stick to the back. It took us about 15 minutes, from start to finish, to make the puppets.

The Watermelon Seed -- make these fun puppets with a free printable template via @PagingSupermom #booksalive

The Watermelon Seed -- make these fun puppets with a free printable template via @PagingSupermom #booksalive

Now comes the best part — act out the book using the puppets! The Watermelon Seed has the perfect plot for anyone with a big imagination. The alligator, who loves watermelons, accidentally eats a seed and begins to dream about turning into a watermelon himself, until he thankfully burps it out. You can see why it is a favorite around here! My kids loved acting out his worried looks, and re-telling his horrible dreams of being put into a fruit salad and eaten for lunch. But, acting out the big burp at the end always seems to take the cake!

The Watermelon Seed -- make these fun puppets with a free printable template via @PagingSupermom #booksalive

You can find more shenanigans and activities like this over on my blog Cloudy Day Gray which began after my daughter experienced a life-saving liver transplant at six weeks old. I believe we all have cloudy days, moments in time that are difficult. But it is what we do with those cloudy days that defines who we are. I do my best to give, live, and love while celebrating the everyday as mother, crafter, and donate-life advocate.

Sometimes Supermom

Administrator at Paging Supermom
No one can be super all the time, but we each have our moments. PagingSupermom.com is dedicated to making and sharing “Supermom Moments” — those little successes of motherhood!

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