Puppet Play
Puppet Play
Time Frame: 1 hour + Free Play
Activity: W.O.N.D.E.R
Area of Learning: Creative Expression + Literacy
“Create your very own puppet theatre and troupe. What stories can you retell? What new adventures are your puppets going on?”
Storytelling and imaginative play are endless with a puppet theater and self-made puppets to go with it. Let your creative juices flow as you build and create your masterpiece!
Process
MAKE A STAGE
Find a box
Cut out a large square window on the box. Likewise you can merely remove the top of the shoebox and use the open side as the front of the theatre.
Using fabric and a glue gun, cut out and glue small curtains to your liking.
Decorate the sides and top of the stage with your own ideas!
PUPPETS
Brainstorm some ideas for puppets: people, animals, vehicles, fairies, superheroes?
Begin with creating and decorating the body of each puppet you’d like to use. Use shapes to help create each part of the body.
Add limbs and accessories for your puppets. You can hot glue/glue parts together
Create a few fun stories. You can:
create your own puppet play or act out your fav story!
take turns with each sentence to help keep the story going
each tell a story to each other using the puppets
play with each character and make different voices! Have fun!
Materials
PUPPETS
Body:
Paper bag OR sock OR paper cut out shapes
Accessories:
Googly eyes
Feathers
Fabric or felt
Leaves, pinecones, twigs, grass
THEATRE
Shoe box or any small box
Fabric (for curtains)
Skewer stick or small dowel
Paint or other decorative material
Pom poms
Glitter lights
stickers , etc…
Paints
Child role
Think about all of your favourite items/things, feelings, and ideas. What can you use to make it look exactly like you want?
Think about different colors that you can add.
Think about different textures.
Think about what kinds of people or animals you would like to see in your theatre!
Tell fun stories to your family!
Parent role
Encourage your child to take the lead in this activity. Aside from the big jobs of cutting cardboard, and using hot glue, allow them to make creative choices for decor and for the puppets.
Ask guiding questions: if you were building a theatre, how would you decorate it? Who would you want as performers? What sorts of stories would you present? Would you tell me a story that you might tell to people if you were part of your theatre?
