Retelling Caps for Sale wouldn’t be the same without a cardboard tree with removable monkeys! Where would the peddler nap? And who would take the peddler’s caps? There would be no story. LOL.
You gotta have the tree and monkeys.
We’ve been having so much fun with this book. My son dressed up as the peddler. He put on daddy’s coat and hat; I made him a mustache to wear out of cardstock. We even took turns stacking as many hats as we can find in the house on our heads. It turned into a counting game of who could stack the most hats.
It’s been super fun!
But the monkeys and the tree! My son was wondering where those were. So, to the drawing board (not really, but I had to put my thinking cap on).
I asked myself, “how can I make monkeys in a tree that can “climb” down and take the wooden peddler’s playdoh hats?”
Presto! Cardboard, paint, scissors and command strips! That will do!
Read on to find out how to make the cardboard tree with removable monkeys:
What You Need
- Cardboard (I used one side and a one flap from the Pamper’s box we had)
- Scissors
- Acrylic Paint (brown, green, blue, red, white and black)
- Paint brushes (foam brush and fine point brush)
- 3 Command Strips, Large
- Blow Dryer
How to Make a Cardboard Tree with Removable Monkeys
Step One. Paint tree leaves using green paint and foam brush. Blow dry it to dry.
Step Two. Rinse off your foam brush and pat dry with a paper towel. Paint a brown trunk under the leaves. Blow dry it dry.
Step Three. Using your foam brush, paint a brown strip on the flap that was cut off of your diaper box. Set that aside. That is going to be used for the monkeys. You may blow dry it, if you’d like. But it will dry on it’s own while you finish up the tree.
Step Four. Rinse off your foam and pat it dry with a paper towel. Paint the remaining cardboard around the tree blue. Blow dry it dry. I had to use a fine tipped paint brush around the edges of the tree. I didn’t want to get blue on the tree and trunk.
Step Five. Rinse off your foam brush and set it aside. Using your fine tipped paint brush, paint green grass at the bottom of the cardboard. Blow dry it dry.
Step Six. Rinse off your paint brush and pat it dry with a paper towel (I use the same paper towel by the way). Paint red tulips and red apples (my son wanted an apple tree; this has nothing to do with the story).
Step Seven. Draw 3 monkeys on the brown strip you painted on the diaper box flap. Cut them out.
Step Eight. Paint white circles on the monkey’s faces. Blow dry it dry. They fly away. So, hold them down while you blow dry.
Step Nine. Rinse off your paint brush and pat it dry. Using black paint, paint eyes, nostrils, a mouth and hair lines on each monkey. Blow dry it dry.
Step Ten. Cut the 3 large command strips in half. Stick the halves together by the velcroy parts.
Step Eleven. Take one of the papers off and stick it on the back of the monkey. Stick it on the tree. Press hard to make certain it sticks. Repeat this step for the remaining two monkeys. You now have removable monkeys!
Now, your kiddo can act out the entire Caps for Sale book!
Here is the peddler with stacked playdoh hats:
The cardboard tree with removable monkeys can be leaned up against something to sit upright. Your kiddo can walk the peddler over under the tree to take a nap with his hats.
Here are the monkeys wearing the hats:
Have fun retelling Caps for Sale with your kiddos!
I’d love to see your versions of this cardboard tree with removable monkeys! Please tag me (@themamaworkshop), in a pic on Instagram! It makes me so happy to see mamas trying my crafts!
Please note: The Mama Workshop is not a credentialed teacher. This is simply an activity to do to supplement your child’s learning.
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