Puppet Making for Kids: 8 Easy Puppets

Puppets are magic for children. A sock with two buttons becomes a character with a voice, a personality and a story. Making puppets builds creativity and fine motor skills, and performing with them builds confidence, language and empathy. Here are ten kinds of puppets to make, plus how to put on a show.

Why puppets are so good for kids

• Language: children make up dialogue, try new words and retell stories.
• Confidence: shy children often speak more freely through a puppet.
• Emotions: puppets help children talk about feelings. "Teddy feels nervous about school. What could we tell him?"
• Creativity: designing characters and inventing stories.
• Fine motor skills: cutting, gluing, sewing and moving the puppet.

10 puppets to make

1. Stick puppets. Color and cut out characters from our Best Friends or animal pages and tape them to lolly sticks or straws. The easiest puppets of all.
2. Paper bag puppets. Draw a face on the folded bottom of a paper bag; the flap becomes a moving mouth.
3. Sock puppets. Glue or sew on buttons for eyes, felt for a tongue and wool for hair.
4. Finger puppets. Cut out small characters and tape a paper ring to the back. Or cut the fingers off an old glove and decorate them.
5. Paper plate puppets. Decorate a plate as a face and tape a stick to the bottom. See paper plate crafts.
6. Wooden spoon puppets. Draw faces on wooden spoons and add fabric clothes and wool hair.
7. Shadow puppets. Cut silhouettes from black card, tape them to sticks and shine a torch behind a sheet.
8. Envelope puppets. Seal an envelope, cut off one short end, and decorate it to fit over a hand.
9. Cardboard tube puppets. Decorate a toilet-roll tube and slide it onto fingers. See toilet roll crafts.
10. Hand puppets. Trace a hand shape (wider than the hand) twice on felt, sew or glue the edges and decorate.

Build a puppet theatre

• Cereal-box theatre. Cut a window in the front of a large box, decorate it as a stage and add a fabric curtain.
• Table theatre. Turn a table on its side or drape a blanket over it; performers hide behind.
• Doorway theatre. Hang a tension rod and a sheet across a doorway at child height.
• Shadow theatre. Hang a white sheet and shine a lamp from behind.

Putting on a show

1. Choose a story. Retell a favorite fairy tale or book, or make up a new one.
2. Plan the beginning, middle and end. Draw a simple storyboard.
3. Make tickets and posters. Great for writing practice.
4. Rehearse a couple of times.
5. Perform for family, friends or teddies.

Older children can write a short script. Younger children can improvise.

Puppet games

• Puppet interview. A grown-up asks the puppet questions and the child answers in the puppet's voice.
• Feelings puppets. Make puppets with happy, sad, angry and scared faces and act out situations.
• Puppet alphabet. A puppet "eats" objects that start with a particular sound. Great for phonics.
• Puppet counting. The puppet counts objects and makes mistakes for the child to correct.

Puppets for learning

• Retell stories to show understanding, a big part of reading comprehension.
• Practise social skills, like sharing, saying sorry and joining in. See teaching social skills.
• History and science: make puppets of famous people or animals and have them "explain" facts.

Ideas by age

Ages 2–3: finger puppets and stick puppets made by grown-ups. Children love puppets talking to them.

Ages 4–5: paper bag puppets, stick puppets they color themselves and simple shows.

Ages 6–8: sock puppets, shadow puppets, theatres and short scripts.

Ages 9+: felt hand puppets with sewing, detailed shadow puppet shows and filming performances.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Too complicated a first puppet. Start with stick puppets.
• Glue that doesn't hold on fabric. Use fabric glue or simple sewing.
• Skipping the audience. Children love performing, even for one person.

Frequently asked questions

What's the easiest puppet for young children?

A stick puppet: color a picture, cut it out and tape it to a stick.

How do I make a shadow puppet theatre?

Hang a white sheet, put a lamp behind it, and hold card silhouettes on sticks between the lamp and the sheet.

How can puppets help a shy child?

Children often feel braver speaking through a puppet. Let the puppet do the talking at first.

Stories that are great for puppet shows

Traditional tales with simple plots and repeated lines work best for first shows: The Three Little Pigs, The Three Billy Goats Gruff, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Gingerbread Man and Little Red Riding Hood. Children already know the story, so they can focus on voices and movement. Older children can then write their own sequels: what happened next?

How many puppets does a show need?

Two or three is plenty for a first show. One child can work two puppets, one on each hand.