Animal Menagerie Popsicle Sticks

What you'll need:

• 3 popsicle sticks
• Markers or crayons
• Scissors
• Glue
• Felt scraps (gray, pink, white, light and dark brown, and yellow)
• 6 wiggly eyes
• Brown yarn scraps

1. For the elephant: Glue two wiggly eyes to the top of the Popsicle stick.  Cut out two half ovals from gray felt for the elephant’s ears.  Cut out two smaller half ovals from the pink felt for the elephants inner ears.  Glue the pink felt to the center of the gray felt and glue to either side of the Popsicle stick.   Cut out a “J” shape from the gray felt for the elephant’s trunk.  Glue below the wiggly eyes.  Cut out two white points for the elephant’s tusks and glue to either side of the trunk.  Allow the glue to dry.  (see photos)
2. For the monkey: Glue the wiggly eyes to the top of the Popsicle stick.  Cut out two half circles from the dark brown felt for the monkey’s ears.  Cut out two smaller light brown half circles for the monkey’s inner ears.  Glue the ears together and glue to either side of the Popsicle stick.  Cut out a small oval from the light brown piece of felt for the monkey’s mouth and glue to the Popsicle stick below the wiggly eyes.  Allow the glue to dry.  Using a black marker, draw two black dots for the monkey’s nose and a smile.  (see photos)
3. Giraffe: Draw several large brown spots on the Popsicle stick.  Color the rest of the Popsicle stick yellow.  Glue brown scraps of yarn to one side of the Popsicle stick.  Glue wiggly eyes to the top of the Popsicle stick.  Cut two leaf-shaped ears from the yellow felt.  Cut two smaller-leaf-shaped ears from the brown felt and glue to the yellow felt.  Glue the ears to either side of the Popsicle stick.  Cut out two small horns from brown felt and glue to the top of the Popsicle stick.  Cut a small oval mouth out of the light brown felt and glue directly below the wiggly eyes.  Allow the glue to dry.  Using a black marker, draw two dots for a giraffe nose and a smile.  (see photos)
4. Your animals are ready for some fun.  Put on a puppet show or have an animal parade.  Allow kids to bring their puppets home at the end of the party!
5. For more zoo fun craft safari binoculars from toilet paper tubes, have an animal sound contest and award prizes for best sounding lion, elephant, monkey, etc., and have kids craft animal masks from craft foam!