How to Make a Puppet with Magazine Cut-outs

Not quite three, Master N was having trouble using scissors in daycare. So on a Saturday, we were cutting out images from magazines for practice.  I planned to have him paste the images on scrap paper to make a book. Instead, I began wondering about how we might make a puppet….

If we paste the images onto cardstock to stiffen them…we use empty cardboard toilet paper rolls as handles for the puppets…why not? So we did!

How to Make a Puppet

• Child-safe scissors
• Big magazine images
• Cardstock
• Glue stick
• Empty cardboard toilet paper rolls
• Glue gun

First, cut out images from magazines.  Then use the glue stick to glue to the back of the image and affix to cardstock.  Finally, re-cut the image from the cardstock. Once the images are cut, have an adult use a glue gun to glue the images to toilet paper rolls.

Beat the heat and have fun with water play using grandma’s kitchen tools.

How to Make a Puppet Show

Now that you’ve assembled the puppets, you need a basic script to tell a story. Don’t worry if the script is nonsensical—you just want a reason to manipulate the puppets and have fun.

Here were the random images we had to work with:

• Shoe
• Cat
• Dog
• Wrapped gift
• Lime
• Mouth

Create your own custom stories using whatever images you cut out. Encourage children to come up with their own ideas. Here are two examples of stories created around our puppets.

Story Idea 1

In this story, the shoe is the main character:

Once upon a time, there was a shoe.  It was Shoe’s birthday.  His friends, Dog and Cat, came to his birthday party (all sing happy birthday to Shoe). Shoe got a big birthday present from his parents. He was so excited to open it, but when he did, he was so disappointed!  Shoe’s parents were poor. So Shoe didn’t get a toy; he got a lime instead. Shoe thanked his parents politely, anyway.

After the party, Shoe, Dog, Cat, and Lime went for a walk.  They met a big, hungry mouth who wanted to eat them all up! But Shoe said bravely, “Don’t eat us! Eat this lime instead.” Then Lime bravely went to Mouth, ready to be eaten up. But Shoe knew Lime wouldn’t get eaten because he was too sour. Sure enough, Mouth spit Lime out and let them all go. “It was a good thing you got Lime for your birthday,” the friends said! The end.

Story Idea 2

The dog and cat are the main characters in this story:

Once upon a time, there was a dog and a cat.  They were always fighting and could never be friends.  One day, they were walking to school, still fighting, when they saw a shoe.  “I want to wear that shoe,” said Dog.  “No, I want to wear that shoe,” said Cat.  So they began fighting about who would get to wear the shoe when the shoe ran away. 

And then they saw a present. “This present is for me,” said Dog.  “No, this present is for me,” said Cat.  They opened the present together, fighting the whole time. They found a lime inside.  “This lime’s for me,” said Dog.  “No, this lime’s for me, said Cat. But before they could eat the lime, a giant, hungry mouth came by and gobbled it up.  “Stop fighting,” said the lime, or I’ll eat you BOTH up next!” Dog and Cat were so frightened, so they ran away together. They stopped fighting and have been friends ever since. The end.

You can come up with endless variations, working with the children. Use the stories as a framework and for general direction–let the children tell the story in their own way.

If more than two characters are “on stage” at the same time and only once child is staging the puppet show, use paper clips to clip the toilet paper rolls together to help the child hold more than one puppet in each hand.

How to Make a Puppet Theater

Cover a large carton with a blanket to use as a puppet stage  Or cover your dining table with a quilt .  Finally, arrange assorted chairs, theater fashion, for the family to sit and watch the performance.

What Children Learn from this Activity

• Ways to use their imagination to create stories
• How to plan and coordinate a simple show
• How to work together to tell a story
• The joy of performing for an audience
• Improved cutting and pasting skills

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