Finger Puppet Fun: Make and Play with Mouse and Elephant!
Cutting out the mouse and elephant shapes and then folding the tabs to form each puppet adds a sequencing step — cut, then fold, then assemble — that goes a level beyond simple cutting and paste worksheets, teaching children to follow a short chain of instructions in order. The size contrast between a tiny mouse and a huge elephant also gives a natural, playful way to talk about big and small.
Curriculum
How to use this worksheet
Cut out the mouse and elephant shapes along their dotted lines first. Next, fold the marked tabs on each shape and glue them so the puppet wraps around a finger. Once both puppets are dry, sing the accompanying rhyme together, moving the mouse and elephant characters as the words describe. Let your child color the puppets with crayons or markers before or after assembly if they'd like extra detail.
Materials needed
- Scissors
- Glue
- Crayons or Markers (optional)
Extension activities
- •Make a matching set of finger puppets for a different big-and-small animal pair, like a whale and a fish.
- •Write or make up a new short rhyme starring the mouse and elephant.
- •Put on a two-minute puppet show for a family member using just these two characters.
- •Compare the size of a real mouse and elephant using pictures or a book, and talk about why animals come in such different sizes.
- •Practice folding paper into simple shapes as extra tab-folding practice before the next craft.
Tips for parents and teachers
The folding step is often harder for this age group than the cutting step, so demonstrate one fold slowly before asking your child to try the next one themselves. If tabs don't line up perfectly, that's fine — the puppet will still work on a finger. Encourage your child to narrate what the mouse and elephant are doing as they play, since that spontaneous storytelling is where the richest language practice happens.
Written by
Hemsweta Jain · Teacher Cheena
MBA and Early Childhood Educator, teaching since 2014 · Founder of RaisoActive, Mumbai
Every RaisoActive worksheet is designed and checked by the founder before publishing.
Published · Last reviewed
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