Five Little Monkeys

Over the next little bit (and I am sure well into the future) I will be sharing some of the finger puppets I have made for my class over the last couple years. The first set that I ever made was these guys . . .

The monkeys are not the original. When I first tried my hand at making these I glued on the detail such as face and belly. However I learned quickly that the toddlers I was teaching at the time could get the glue off in about two minutes! So from then on I have sewed all of the details down or used marker. I have not had to replace anymore of the puppets I have made after that (However there have been some minor repairs.)

I even named my blog after these guys since I think of them as kind of a turning point in my career as an ECE. It was from here on out that I stopped looking at big companies to create what I wanted/ needed for my program. It was then that I started making what I wanted. I found that I could make things for almost nothing and since it was cheap I wasn’t as stressed about what the kids did with it. I remember (mostly internally) freaking out about some of the younger kids touching a new puzzle because I knew that there would be pieces lost, corners broken and that I would not be able to replace it. Now I just print off, colour and laminate a new one. I can customize what I want to make. For example while I have only shown the official “set” of monkeys and crocodile I actually have ten monkeys in my kit so that all the children can have one. Our version of this song can take a long time to sing.  I have found a hobby I like and the kids seem to love them.

And just in case you don’t know the song . . .

Five Little Monkeys swinging in a tree

Teasing Mr. Crocodile “You can’t catch me, can’t catch me”

When along comes Mr. Crocodile quiet as can be . . .

And  SNAP

Continue on with four, three, two , one monkeys

No more monkeys swinging in the tree

Away swims Mr. Crocodile full as can be

There are many other version of this song. Most notably one that ends with the monkeys still in the tree. However I am a circle of life kind of person and just as I don’t hide the fact that our meat comes from animals I also don’t hide the fact that carnivores eat other animals. However the choice is yours.