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1. Introduction

2. Types of puppets

3. Benefits of puppet play

4. Using puppets in the classroom

5. Making simple puppets

6. Resources

Objective: Participants will be able to define the different types of puppets and develop a plan for using of them in the classroom. (CKC 4.7, SE3.1)

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Puppets change the entire classroom by creating more possibilities for creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, and curiosity. Playing with puppets is one of the most educational activities you can expose your kids to. Watching a child play with a puppet may seem like fun and entertainment, but it is so much more.

In this training we will explore the different types of puppets, Benefits of puppets, how to use puppets in the classroom, look at some simple and easy to recreate ideas for making your own classroom puppets.

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The wonderful thing about puppets is they don’t have to be expensive store-bought models.  In this section we will focus on 6 specific types of puppets.  There are other types of puppets and really the possibilities are only limited by your own imagination.

1. Sock Puppets

2. Stick Puppets

3. Hand Puppets

4. Bag Puppets

5. Finger Puppets

6. Your Hand

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Sock Puppets are made out of socks decorated to look like animals, people or monsters.

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Here, a picture or eyes and limbs are glued to a stick and may or may not have moving parts.

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where the puppeteer’s fingers operate two hands and the head. Mr. Rogers made these popular.

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A paper bag is decorated and the puppeteer uses it similar to a hand puppet.

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These are small puppets that slide onto your fingers

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Señor Wences, made a puppet out of his hand for his ventriloquist act. He put eyes and clothing on his hand and used it as a puppet.

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Puppets have the potential to improve language skills, creativity, social awareness and more.  We will take a look at eight ways puppets benefit a child’s development in the more detail.

1. Language Development

2. Social Development

3. Emotional Development

4. Listening Skills

5. Motor Skills

6. Building Self Confidence

7. Creativity

8. Storytelling and Sequencing

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Children love to have ‘conversations’ with a puppet. Each verbal interaction with their puppet will encourage language development.

Children who are generally shy really benefit from the opportunity to let the puppet be their voice.

It is also possible to have a conversation between two puppets. Wearing a puppet on each hand enables the puppeteer to have a dialogue going on between two puppet characters.

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The shy child, or the young child still learning social skills, has an opportunity to be more sociable through the medium of a puppet. The puppet becomes the spokesperson for the group.

A puppet can be the voice used to correct table manners or other social skills. Puppets can be used to work out social situations such as how to handle pushing, turn taking or standing up for yourself. The puppet becomes the instructor and children often enjoy listening to the puppet teaching them to be sociable.

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Puppet Script Demo: Asking for What You Need or Want

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Puppets can teach children about their emotions.  The children can interact with them and help them identify and problem solve their feelings.

Children can express these emotions too without upsetting anyone. Their puppet character is the one to feel these emotions. Playing with the emotions of the puppets helps to develop the characteristics of sympathy and empathy too.

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Expressing Emotions - Puppets use a calming kit

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Puppets are great tutors.

The puppet on your hand can encourage your kids to listen to it as it gives instructions or tells a story.

Puppets can help children to learn rhymes and songs as they imitate the puppet too.

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There are a number of motor skills that children can improve through playing with puppets.

The fine movement required to wear a puppet helps with dexterity and using fingers to manipulate the puppet improves fine motor coordination.

Marionettes or string puppets help with eye-hand coordination as the puppet is made to walk and move in different directions.

All these skills improve balance and directionality as the child has great fun playing with the puppet.

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Putting on a puppet show for kids often happens quite spontaneously when children have access to puppets.

It is really encouraging to see how children develop their self-confidence through the act of handling a puppet. As their confidence grows they will be happy to entertain family or friends.

The puppet is center stage and the child becomes more confident to speak in front of other people with the help of a puppet friend.

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Puppets encourage creativity on several different levels.

Making your own puppets from recycled socks or paper bags is just the starting point. There are many interesting ways to create your own puppet characters.

Creativity continues by putting together a puppet show. The show will need a simple puppet theatre and decorating an old cardboard box for this purpose adds to the creativity factor.

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Storytelling comes alive with puppets. Retelling favourite fairy tales can make it easy to think of puppet show ideas when starting out.

Learning how to repeat the rhyming part of the story, like in The Gingerbread Man, helps with memory skills.

Puppets lend themselves to being the characters in your stories and allow children to join in with the action.

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The Benefits of Using Puppetry in the Classroom

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1. Sock Puppets: Socks, buttons, pom-poms, yarn, google eyes, felt

2. Stick Puppets: popsicle sticks, sporks, scrapbook paper, google eyes, wooden spoons, feather duster, card stock, brads, wooden skewers

3. Hand Puppets: gloves, felt, google eyes, buttons, pom-poms,

4. Bag Puppets: paper bags, construction paper

5. Finger Puppets: TP tubes, pipe cleaners, pom-poms, google eyes, printable

6. Your Hand: face paint

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https://raisingchildren.net.au/guides/activity-guides/emotions/puppet-play-activity

https://empoweredparents.co/playing-with-puppets/

https://earlyimpactlearning.com/22-ways-to-use-puppets-in-teaching/

https://earlyimpactlearning.com/14-brilliant-ways-to-use-puppets-for-storytelling/

https://education.wolftrap.org/prelogin/puppets-transition-devices

https://www.danceadvantage.net/puppets-in-preschool-dance-room/

https://learnwithless.com/podcast/become-a-puppeteer/

https://childcare.extension.org/using-puppets-in-child-care/

https://jbrary.com/toddler-storytime-using-puppets/