Adorable Hedgehog Puppet Craft
Hedgehogs are remarkable creatures, and in this post, you’ll get step-by-step instructions on creating a hedgehog puppet. Seriously, who wouldn’t want a hedgehog for their very own?
This is a great craft project for kids, as it not only offers fun craft time, but your children can then use the hedgehog puppet they make for ongoing creative play, giving them the opportunity to pretend and use their imagination.
Fun Facts about Hedgehogs
Before we get into crafting the hedgehog puppet, let’s explore a few fun facts about these charming creatures.
Fact 1: Hedgehog Havens
Hedgehogs are small, spiky mammals known for their cute yet prickly appearance. These creatures are native to Europe, Asia, and Africa, and can also be found in certain parts of New Zealand. With their distinctive coat of sharp spines, hedgehogs have an ingenious way to protect themselves from predators. When threatened, they curl up into a tight ball, covering their vulnerable body parts with their spiky armor.
Fact 2: Nature’s Insectivores
Hedgehogs have a voracious appetite for insects and other invertebrates, earning them the title of “insectivores.” Their diet primarily consists of beetles, caterpillars, slugs, snails, and earthworms. Thanks to their sharp sense of smell and hearing, hedgehogs can easily detect the rustling of insects in the undergrowth. With a flick of their long tongues, they catch their prey, contributing to the natural balance of ecosystems.
Fact 3: Little Night Explorers
Hedgehogs are nocturnal creatures, which means they are most active during the night. With their keen sense of smell, excellent hearing, and decent eyesight, they navigate their surroundings under the cover of darkness. It’s not uncommon to spot these spiky adventurers scurrying through gardens, parks, or even urban areas in search of their next meal.
Fact 4: A Prickly Coat of Quills
One of the most fascinating aspects of hedgehogs is their unique coat of quills. Contrary to popular belief, hedgehog quills are not sharp like needles; they are hollow hairs made stiff by a protein called keratin. These quills act as a defense mechanism, protecting the hedgehog from predators. When a hedgehog feels threatened, its muscles contract, causing the quills to stand up, hopefully scaring away any potential attackers.
Now that we’ve delved into the intriguing world of hedgehogs, it’s time to channel our creativity and bring these lovable creatures to life with this hedgehog puppet craft! In a few simple steps, you can have a cute hedgehog companion and a puppet for hours of imaginative play.
List of Supplies for Hedgehog Puppet:
- Colored craft paper
- Craft glue
- Pencil
- Popsicle stick
- Sharpie
- Scissors
- Hedgehog Puppet Template (opens in new tab)
Instructions for Making Hedgehog Puppet:
Step 1:
The first thing you’ll need to do is choose dark brown, light brown, cream, and pink craft paper for the hedgehog puppet. Trace the big zigzag-bordered patterns (these are the hedgehog’s spikes) on the dark brown paper, the body and head patterns on the light brown paper, the circle on cream paper, and the inner ear patterns on the pink paper.
Next, you’ll want to cut out the traced patterns using scissors. Kids can use craft scissors for this part of the craft. You can cut out the nose (the small circle) from black paper or your child can use a Sharpie to draw it.
Step 2:
Glue the round, cream-colored paper onto the middle of the body pattern, like in the image below.
Step 3:
Next, glue the body pattern near the bottom side of the zigzag-bordered pattern.
Step 4:
Attach the inner ear patterns to the middle of the ear parts that are connected to the head pattern. Use a permanent marker to draw the nose and mouth of the hedgehog. You can also draw the eyes of the hedgehog directly on the head pattern. Or, if you’d rather, you can cut out two round shapes from white paper and use a black Sharpie to draw the eyes on them, then glue them on the face.
Step 5:
Glue the head pattern on the top side of the spike pattern. If you’re helping your kids with this part of the hedgehog puppet, make sure they slightly overlap the body pattern when gluing on the head, as in the image below.
Step 6:
Attach the papercraft hedgehog on a popsicle stick to complete the puppet craft and have fun with it.
Additional Activities:
Whether you’re taking on this project as part of a larger homeschool study unit, or just as something to do for a rainy day activity, here are a few more ideas for your family:
- Play forts, the perfect setting for puppet shows!
- Endangered animal bookmarks, which also provide fun facts and information on more of our cute, furry friends.
- A list of 50 free things to do with your kids this summer!
- And if your kids are avid readers, here’s an extensive summer reading guide.
- Does your region experience a lot of rain, so your kids are stuck indoors looking for something to do? Here are a few great rainy day art activities.
- And for kids young and old, what can be better than undertaking random acts of kindness that can be done at home.
Recommended Books:
Lastly, here are a few book recommendations on the theme of hedgehogs. Your child can even act out one of these books with the hedgehog puppet they just created!
