DLTK's Bible Crafts for Kids
If I were a Kangaroo... Craft

Contributed by Leanne Guenther

This is a paper bag puppet craft. It has been made especially for the song (it has a banner with "You know I'd hop right up to you.").

There is also a kangaroo toilet paper roll craft if you'd like to make a kangaroo with different materials.

Print out the template of choice.
Colour the pieces as appropriate and cut them out. (cutting may require adult assistance and can be pre-done).
See the picture above for how the puppet should look when complete.

I'm going to walk through this slowly. Look at your paper bag.
It should be closed and flat like a piece of paper. Just like when they are brand new.
On one side, it's all smooth. This will be the BACK of your puppet
It's important that all the kids get the back and front straight at the beginning!
On the other side there's a flippy tab (which is typically the bottom of the bag when you're carrying your lunch around...)
This flippy tab will be the HEAD
Lift the flippy tab up a bit. Underneath of the tab will be the mouth,
When the child put's her hand in the bag, she'll be able to make the puppet talk.
Look at the rest of the front of the bag. (The 3/4 or so of the bag below the part with the flippy tab) This will be the BODY.
Look at the sides of the bag. There should be a FLAP of paper.
- We'll be slipping the arms (template 2) into this flap.
- If the kids goof and glue the arms onto the front or back of the bag, it isn't a big deal.
OK, now that we're comfy with our bags, let's craft!

Fold the corners of the flippy tab under to make the HEAD more triangular
Glue the nose to the bottom of the newly made triangular head. You can let it hang down a bit to extend the face and make it look even more triangular.
Glue the tongue under the flippy tab so it only shows when the mouth is open.
Glue on the eyes and ears.
Glue the arms into the FLAP.
Glue or tape the pouch onto the front of the bag. Only put glue on the bottom and sides, NOT on the top edge (if you put it on the top, the joey won't be able to get it!). Tape may be safer here as it's easier to get the top opened if the child accidentally tapes it shut. And you don't have to wait for it to dry! See the blue lines below for where to glue.
Once the glue is dry, slip the joey into the pouch. You can glue him in or leave him loose (loose is more fun at playtime, but you run the risk of losing him).

Close template window to return to this screen
Set page margins to zero if you have trouble fitting the template on one page (FILE, PAGE SETUP or FILE, PRINTER SETUP in most browsers).