Image: Shutter stock
Children get all excited about puppet shows. Puppet crafts for kids let your child not only play with puppets but build them. Threads control puppets and can be used to narrate stories. It’s also possible to make your own puppet using household items. Puppet building lets you customize it according to your preferences. So encourage your little ones to be creative when building their puppet. Before starting, help them find a storyline that the puppets will follow. This post lists the best DIY puppet craft kids for your children to try out.
Key Pointers
- Puppets can be built using household materials, providing an engaging activity for your children.
- Whether it’s finger puppets, puppets with popsicle sticks, paper bags, fabric, strings, or cereal boxes, the possibilities are endless.
- Rubber gloves, socks, and finger puppets made with paper can be used to create characters and narratives and can boost creativity.
How To Make Puppets And Finger Puppets?
Making puppets is a fairly easy activity and a wonderful way to introduce homemade toys for children, but of course, your kid needs adult supervision since scissors are used to cut materials. The steps involved in this process are:
1. Tracing Out On A Paper: Trace out your kid’s finger on any paper, leaving about 1 centimeter extra on all sides stopping just below their knuckles. You would be using this trace out for the finger puppets.
2. Cutting Out Color Paper:To make the puppets, you should cut out a front and a back piece. Encourage your child to use their creativity and draw eyes, colorful beaks, smiles, and anything else they can imagine on both sides. They can even draw wings for butterfly puppets or hats for clown puppets, and have fun with it.
3. Sew Them Both Together: Help or supervise your child to sew the top and bottom sides together with a hem or a running stitch. If you don’t want to sew, you can use hot glue, which could get a little messy.
4. Play With Materials: Your child can also use craft cloth like velvet to create long-lasting little finger puppets.
Safety Tips
Puppet-making is fun and can be extra safe if children follow some simple safety tips.
- Avoid using sharp scissors or utility knives. Instead, use child-safe scissors and tools with rounded tips to prevent accidental cuts.
- Buy only non-toxic paints, glues, markers, and other materials. Also, avoid materials with small parts, as they could be a choking hazard for younger children.
- Do not hand over items like hot glue guns, staplers, and sharp objects to children. If needed, allow them to use it only under adult supervision.
- Teach children to safely use, handle, and store crafting materials to avoid accidents.
- Check the crafting materials for allergens or irritants, especially for a sensitive child with known skin issues or allergies.
- Encourage children to wash their hands thoroughly after handling crafting materials to avoid irritation or accidental ingestion.
Quick factSuper Fun Puppet Crafts For Kids
For centuries, puppets have existed as a means of entertainment.
What better way to get your child to take up an interest in art and craft than by introducing them to puppet-making? Fun and simple, it is guaranteed that your kids will love every moment they spend creating their own little puppets! Here are some of the best puppet crafts ideas for you and your little ones:
1. Puppets Made With Popsicle Sticks:
Image: Shutterstock
This is a great idea especially for little toddlers as it is one of the easiest ways to make puppets. All you need is a popsicle stick (or a few), glue and a picture or drawing of a favorite cartoon character to cut out. The next step is to apply glue on the back of the cutout picture and paste it onto the stick!
2. Puppets Made With Paper Bags:
Image: IStock
You will need a paper bag and construction paper to make a paper bag puppet. Place the paper bag flat with the bottom flap up and draw a face of your choice on the construction paper. Glue the drawing on the flap while the paper bag serves as the body. All your little one needs to do is place his hand inside the bag and get his fingers up to the flap part to move the puppet’s mouth.
3. Puppets Made With Cereal Boxes:
Image: Shutterstock
The first thing that you need to do is draw a line across the middle of the empty box and down its sides and cut along the lines. Cut a few openings not too close to the top part of the box for your child’s hands. Paint the box with any color of your choice and get wiggly eyes, buttons, etc. for the eyes. You can paint on the nose, use yarn for hair and create a box puppet and experiment with your storytelling abilities.
4. Fabric Puppets:
Image: Shutterstock
This is one of the super easiest felt crafts ideas for kids. Take two pieces of felt fabric of any color. With your little one’s hand on the felt, make a cutout and draw a puppet shape on it. Make sure that it is big enough to fit your little one’s hand once it is completed. Clip the fabric piece and use it as a pattern to make a second piece. Apply glue to one of the piece’s sides and join the two pieces together. Once it has dried, you can decorate the puppet as you like.
Did you know?5. String Puppets:
Image: Shutterstock
Snake or dragon string puppets or marionettes can be made using 6 toilet paper tubes, yarn or string, glue, construction paper, and paint. Two holes must be punched on either side of the heads of two toilet paper tubes. Then run the yarn through the holes and pull it until you have an equal length of yarn on both sides. Now thread four more tubes through both lengths of yarn, with the last punched tube threaded as the first one was and the string tied up between the holes. Draw a dragon or snake on construction paper and work the puppet with the strings!
Laura Lynn Marschel, a mother of two from Chicago, says that finger puppets are great for developing fine motor skills as they get her little one’s hands moving. The blogger, who crafted a spider finger puppet with foam and pipe cleaners for her son, says, “We had a bunch of fun taking Little Big Man’s favorite song, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, and extending it with a fun fine motor craft (i)!”
6. Animal Stick Puppets:
Image: Shutterstock
This is a fun idea for animal crafts for kids. Start by drawing or printing pictures of animals and make a neat cut-out. Stick them onto drinking straws or craft sticks after coloring them with crayons or markers. Your little one can collect these puppets and pretend to own a zoo. Color the animals and you are ready to have some puppet fun.
7. Puppets Made With Yarn:
Image: Shutterstock
These require a little bit of fabric, yarn, sticks, glue, and a marker or small buttons. Form a small head shape, with cotton wool covered with the fabric. Glue on the yarn to make hair; use it below the head as well. Insert a stick in the center to make the puppet move. With a marker or buttons, you can create a face for the puppet.
Top 3 Paper Finger Puppets For Kids:
Finger puppets are a great fun way to bring story, creativity, activity, and fun for your kids in the most constructive form.
Here are some attractive finger puppets for kids to make!
8. Rubber Glove Puppets:
Image: Shutterstock
If you have some old rubber gloves lying around in the house, it’s time to put them to some great use.
- Open up your craft box to your child! She will be delighted to grab some googly eyes, pretty sequins, and wool. Go ahead and cut off the fingers of the rubber gloves.
- She can use any element that sparks her imagination to decorate the rubber gloves and create a customized glove puppet.
You need not spend a fortune and excessive time on making these crafts. According to mother of three Jenae, “All you need is a gardening glove (I got mine on clearance last year for 50 cents from Michael’s and just knew I would find a use for it at some point), various colors of yarn, wiggly eyes (which I got for free from Craft Project Ideas), and a hot glue gun. It took me all of about 20 minutes to make it from start to finish (ii).”
9. Sock Puppets:
Image: Shutterstock
Do you have some old socks lying around that you think you can put to some good use instead of just throwing them away? Well, we have just the thing you can do.
- Give these old colorful socks to your child and let her fix them up with some eye buttons and wooly hair.
- Now, your old socks are transformed into fun finger puppets, ready for a great fun show.
Trivia10. Finger Puppets Made With Paper:
Image: Shutterstock
This makes a wonderful first-time crafts project for little tots as it is simple and easy. Take some construction paper, glue, scissors, and crayons. Get your little one to draw a picture of their favorite animal (or you could do it) and cut out a hole for the fingers. For example, if you draw an elephant, cut out a hole in the middle so that your child can put his finger to make its trunk!
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Why are puppets important to children?
When trying to imitate a puppet, children tend to memorize the lyrics of songs and may even learn to dance. Dancing or playing with a puppet might improve a child’s motor skills. Puppets can also help kids learn about emotions. Repeating the lines after a puppet might improve their vocabulary. Participating in puppet shows might also boost a child’s confidence (2).
2. How can puppets be used in education?
Puppets can be used for educational purposes to teach children diverse concepts. In addition, they may form a link between learning and play. For instance, puppets can be used to share moral stories, history, and literature could be taught to children through children’s activities like puppetry. The funny voices, jiggling movements, and vibrant colors will maintain the child’s concentration throughout the show.
3. Can puppet-making help children develop their motor skills?
Puppet-making involves several activities, such as tracing patterns and cutting out shapes. It also requires sewing, stitching, decorating, and painting puppets, all of which help enhance children’s motor skills, finger dexterity, and eye-hand coordination (3).
4. Can puppet-making be used as a therapeutic tool for children?
Puppet-making allows children to express their emotions through the characters they create, which can help in emotional regulation. In addition, it helps children explore their creativity and imagination. Furthermore, puppet-making allows children to indulge in role-play activities that can help develop their communication and social skills.
5. How have puppet-making techniques evolved over time?
Puppet-making techniques have evolved, adapting to materials, craftsmanship, and technology advancements. From basic materials and simple mechanisms, puppetry has expanded to incorporate diverse styles, materials, and interdisciplinary approaches. Today, artists can access various materials and techniques that can help create a vibrant and dynamic puppetry scene.
6. What are the steps to create a shadow puppet?
To make shadow puppets:
1. Cut shapes from black paper and stick them onto skewers using hot glue.
2. When the glue cools down, use a flashlight to shine light through the shapes, creating shadows on the wall.
3. Have fun telling stories with your shadow puppets.
7. How can I craft a minion finger puppet?
Take a yellow glove and wear it on your hand to see where you want the minion faces. Cut small pieces of black tape and put them across each finger. Use hot glue to stick googly eyes on top of the black tape on each finger. Cut off the tips of the fingers and draw mouths on each fingertip using a black marker. Put the tips back on your fingers, and the minion finger puppets are ready.
Puppet crafts for kids can help enhance their creativity while offering a unique playtime activity. Creating and playing with puppet crafts is easy and super fun. These puppets can be made from papers, cereal boxes, old fabrics, and other materials available at home. Kids can also make finger puppets from rubber gloves, paper, or socks. Upcycling old and unused objects to create puppets instead of purchasing new ones can also help them understand how to make the best of seemingly useless objects and help the environment.
Infographic: Tips To Put On A Puppet Show at Home
Now that your children have learned to create cute little puppets on their own, why not organize a fun indoor puppet show to showcase their creations and have fun? This infographic shares some fun and easy ideas for creating a puppet show your children will love. You may save and share it with your friends too!
Illustration: Momjunction Design Team
Illustration: Super Fun Puppet Crafts For Preschoolers And Kids
Image: Dall·E/MomJunction Design Team
Make your own fun paper puppet with this easy DIY tutorial! Unleash your creative spirit with simple materials and steps. Get creative and have fun!
Personal Experience: Source
MomJunction articles include first-hand experiences to provide you with better insights through real-life narratives. Here are the sources of personal accounts referenced in this article.
i. Itsy Bitsy Spider Finger Puppet for Fine Motor Play;https://lalymom.com/itsy-bitsy-spider-finger-puppet/ii. Monster Finger Puppet;
https://www.icanteachmychild.com/monster-finger-puppets/
References
- Puppetry Activities In Early Childhood Programmes;
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1296712.pdf - The Amazing Benefits of Playing with Puppets in Early Childhood;
https://applecrossps.wa.edu.au/sites/default/files/inline-files/The%20Amazing%20Benefits%20of%20Playing%20with%20Puppets%20in%20Early%20Childhood.pdf - Using Puppets in Child Care.
https://childcare.extension.org/using-puppets-in-child-care/
Community Experiences
Join the conversation and become a part of our nurturing community! Share your stories, experiences, and insights to connect with fellow parents.
Read full bio of Erin DeCarlo
Read full bio of Manjiri Kochrekar
Read full bio of Harshita Makvana
