This simple paper tube tiger craft for preschoolers would be great to include in an animal, zoo, or circus theme, and it’s perfect as a quick and easy craft idea for preschoolers using supplies you probably already have at home.
In our case, it was inspired by the news that the new series "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood" would be aired on Kids CBC starting this October.
Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood is an animated program featuring the adventures of Daniel, a four year old tiger. Based on "Mr. Rogers Neighbourhood," Daniel is the son of the the striped Daniel the Tiger puppet featured on the original Mr. Rogers show. Set in the Neighbourhood of Make-Believe, the Trolley, Katerina Kitty Cat, O the Owl, and many other familiar Mr. Rogers characters also make appearances on the show.
We were able to see a sneak peak of a couple of episodes a few weeks ago, and it was a huge hit with both the adults and kids who saw it. Beyond the obvious nostalgia factor for any of us who grew up on the original show, Daniel Tiger's Neighbourhood features sweet songs, charming animation, valuable lessons, and scenarios such as the first day of school that are relatable to the lives of most preschoolers.
To honour the original show and the launch of the new one, it only seemed fitting to make a puppet.
Materials:
- a paper tube
- orange construction paper
- scraps of brown and pink construction paper
- a brown marker
- googlie eyes
- glue
- scissors
Directions:
1. Cut a rectangle out of orange construction paper that is length of the tube, and wide enough to wrap around the paper tube with a bit of overhang. Glue paper onto tube:
2. Cut strips of brown construction paper, and glue onto your tube to form the tiger's stripes. Alternately, you can just draw on stripes with your brown marker:
3. Cut a circle out of orange construction paper. Glue on googlie eyes, and a pink construction paper nose:
4. Cut two small orange semi-circles, and glue on the top sides of the tiger's head to form his ears. Use your brown marker to add a mouth, stripes, and other features to your tiger's face:
5. Glue face to the top of your paper tube:
6. Cut two arms, and one long tail out of orange construction paper. Use your brown marker to add stripes:
7. Glue arms onto sides for the paper tube, and the tail to the back. Put on a puppet show of your own, or take your tiger for a tour of your own neighbourhood:
Did you watch Mr. Rogers Neighbourhood as a kid?
