Have hours of fun with homemade puppets!
Children love to tell and act out stories. Watch them at play with their toys and listen to their dialogue. They’ll be speaking for their stuffed toys and moving their action figures around to tell a story of great importance to them. Because of this love for story, making puppets and then allowing children to use them to tell and retell their favorite stories is a wonderful way to point them in the direction of literacy.
Here are some simple puppets to make at home with minimal supplies. Remember making the puppets is only the beginning of the fun. While you put them together, talk with your children about the great stories to be told with their new-found friends, the puppet characters.
Following are some great sites to help you choose the kind of puppets you wish to make with your children:
For fabric or sock puppets go to Family Fun.
For papier mache puppets try Instructables.
For paper plate puppet designs go to Danielle’s Place.
To make creative finger puppets see Enchanted Learning
Create unique paper bag puppets at DLTK.