Sock Puppet Weather Forecast

What you need

• Rolled socks, 1 old sock
• Crayons or markers, washable markers
• Paper, 1 sheet
• Newspaper, a few sheets
• Towel, 1 damp
• Buttons, 2 (optional)
• White glue, a few dots, or a needle and thread (optional)

How to do it

Grown-up prep: Find a clean old sock and some washable, non-toxic markers. Markers can stain skin and clothes, so roll up sleeves. Buttons are a choking hazard, so skip them for kids 3 and under and keep loose buttons in your hands, not on the table. If you use buttons, you attach them with glue or a needle and thread while your child watches. Pick a window with a good view of the sky.

1. Slip the sock over your hand. Fingers are the top lip, thumb the bottom.
2. Draw eyes, a nose, and any other face details on the sock.
3. If you have buttons, a grown-up attaches them as eyes. A grown-up does this
4. Take your puppet to a window and look at the sky, trees, and ground.
   Ask: Are the clouds fluffy, gray, or gone? Are the trees swaying in the wind?
5. Draw a weather map showing what you saw, like suns, clouds, or raindrops.
6. Pick some weather words to use, like sunny, breezy, drizzly, chilly, or stormy.
   Ask: Does it look warm or cold out there? How can you tell?
7. Hold up your map and let the puppet give the forecast!
8. Now show your friends, or make more! What will your next puppet forecast?
   Ask: Who else would like to hear your forecast?

Play it again

• Daily reporter: give the forecast at the same time each day for a week and see how the weather changes.
• Silly weather: let the puppet report pretend weather, like a rain of pancakes or a snowstorm of socks.
• Guess tomorrow: have the puppet predict tomorrow's weather, then check the sky the next day to see if it was right.