This month we are reading Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina. So, we made a wooden peddler to go along with the book.
If you don’t know about the book boxes that Beth from Days with Grey and I have been collaborating on, you can check out the last few book boxes we have done: The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Mouse Count and Owl Babies
But to review, a book box contains your child’s favorite book that’s easy to read paired with some activities that help your child retell the story to you.
I made the peddler out of a 3 1/2 inch turned wood doll. It needed to be big enough to hold 12 playdoh hats. A small peg doll would just fall over. This peddler doll is so fun! And my my son gets to play with it and playdoh as he tells me the story!
Read more to find out how to make the wooden peddler and how to do the activity:
What You Need
- Caps for Sale Book
- 3 1/2 inch Turned Wood Doll (get this at hobby lobby and use their 40% off coupon)
- White acrylic paint
- Black acrylic paint
- Red acrylic paint
- Assorted Paint Brushes (I used a finer tipped brush for making lines and dots)
- Playdoh Set
- Blow Dryer
How to Make the Wooden Peddler
Step One. Lay out paper grocery bags on your work area. Then, paint a white circle on top of the head. Blow dry with a blow dryer or let it sit until it’s dry. When my kiddos see me making something, they get too excited. So, I use a blow dryer to dry the paint on my crafts. This method lets me finish projects quicker.
Step Two. Paint black lines on the white circle using a fine tip paint brush, so it looks like the peddler’s cap in the book. And blow dry it. Here is a close up of how I did it:
Step Three. Paint two eyes, eyebrows and a mustache using black paint on the peddler’s face.
Step Four. Paint an upside down, white triangle on the peddler’s chest. Then, blow dry it.
Step Five. Paint black squares for his tie and black buttons on the white triangle (see pic above). Then, paint the rest of his body and the back of his head black. You can do this in sections and blow dry as you go, so you don’t get black paint all over your hands.
Step Six. Paint white buttons on the front of his “coat” and red half circles for his shoes at the bottom.
Here is the wooden peddler completed:
How to Do the Playdoh Stacking Activity
Step One. Read the book to your child, so he gets familiar with the story.
Step Two. Lay out different color playdoh balls that your child can press into a circle (use the colors in the book and make them about half an inch in diameter).
Here is a pic of some stacked playdoh hats:
Step Three. Read the story again and stack the “hats” on the peddler.
Step Four. Do it again. This time have your child retell the story.
If your child is like mine, he will mix all the colors up and then you will have to use green playdoh. LOL. It’s all fun anyway! Mom life, right?!
Here he is pressing the green playdoh:
And stacking it:
I really hope you have fun making the peddler and stacking playdoh hats with your little ones!
Beth has a fun stacking activity too! She used egg cartons and pom pom balls. Check out her post: Caps for Sale Book Box
Plus, there’s a fun food recipe you can make with your little ones that goes along with Caps for Sale. Check out Ashley’s Frozen Monkey Tails on her blog Veggies and Virtue! It’s a frozen chocolate banana treat!
We’d love to see your versions of the crafts and recipes for Caps for Sale! Please tag me (@themamaworkshop), Beth (@dayswithgrey) and Ashley @veggiesandvirtue in a pic on Instagram! It makes us so happy!
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