create (with kids): Easy Sock Puppets

What is it about little kids, socks & shoes? As long as there are socks and shoes around, we have an occupied little boy! Right now Billy most enjoys taking his socks off and putting them on his hands. At first they just stayed there, like gloves, as he crawled around and played with his toys. Now, as he's become more interested in our toy puppets, he uses his socks to "talk" to us and tell us long stories that we don't quite understand yet.

I was adding to our stray sock collection the other day- it's been growing lately- and thought of Billy with his socks. How could I come up with a way for my toddler to transform them into his very own puppets? Remembering some fabric markers I had bought to decorate onesies years ago, I had an idea...

What if we were to use the markers to decorate the socks? Never one to miss an "activity"- as she calls them- Isia wanted to join in the fun. To make it easier to draw on them, I cut a rectangle with a rounded top out of a cereal box to fit into each sock. Then the decorating began! Isia turned hers into a "tree" and asked me to draw a little bird on it. Billy enjoyed decorating his with dots & dashes, before putting it on his hand to perform for us. (And I even had a few spare moments to join in the fun too!)

One of the things I love best about this activity is that it's great for all ages. Older ones might even enjoy embellishing theirs a bit more. Maybe sewing a tail on a lion, or hot-gluing some googly eyes onto a monster? The possibilities are only limited by how many socks you have to spare! (smile) 

And then comes the best part- playing with them!