Puppet Shows at Home

Last week during Family Storytime, several parents had the opportunity to share a special one-on-one learning experience with their children. As parents read simple fairy tales, their kids listened and acted out the story out with a set of finger puppets. The resulting interactions were simply  delightful!

If you are wondering how to do puppet plays at home, just follow these simple steps:

1. Choose a simple story from a favorite book, tell one from memory, or make one up.
2. Set up a simple cardboard box stage, or just use a small table.
3. Use a flashlight for a spotlight and add sound effects with simple objects if you wish
4. Look for puppet characters among your kids' stuffed animals. Or grab a pair of colorful socks or gloves, large kitchen spoons or utensils. Give them a face, some yarn hair, and you're ready to start. A small handout of a few puppet-making ideas is available at the YS desk.
5. Give your puppets interesting voices, and actions. Move them with as much variety as possible.
6. Basic rules for puppet actors:
   • Face the audience or the puppet that is talking.
   • Only one puppet talks at a time.
   • Puppets do not hit other puppets.
7. REPEAT the story letting your children be the puppeteers!

If you would like more information on how to make puppets, stages and props,or story scripts for your play, check out these clever library books.  

ON WITH THE SHOW!