One of my favorite things to play with when I was a kid was my homemade puppet theatre.  It was easy to make and provided many afternoons of puppet making and many days of performing shows for my friends and family.  This is a great project that could last all winter.

Theater Items Needed:

1 Old White Sheet

Scissors

Fabric Markers (you can use paint, but markers don’t make as much of a mess and give kids more control)

Broomstick or Purchased Dowel Rod

2 Cup hooks

Rope

 Sheet Preparation (this should be done by an adult):

Cut sheet to fit a doorway with about one foot of space from the top of the door frame. Be sure the top of the sheet (the part that would be closest to the pillows) is at the top of the door.  If you do not need to cut down the edges of the sheet to make it narrower, then just cut down on the edges of the sheet’s top border. This should open up the sides of the hem, leaving room to slide the broom stick or dowel all the way across the sheet and out the other side. 

Once the broom stick has been inserted all the way across the top of the sheet, tie the ends of the rope to each end of the broom.  The length of the rope can be adjusted based on the desired height of your theater. You will place two cup hooks into the top of your door frame about 1 foot from each other. Hang the rope across the two hooks.

When your sheet is hung, you will measure a space to cut out for the puppet show.  The space should be about 2 ½ feet by 2 feet (this does not need to be exact, just estimate).  You will want to use your child as a guide for how high to cut this space.  Have your child sit in a chair behind the sheet and mark the sheet at a point about 1 inch above the top of your child’s head. This will be the bottom of the space you cut.  Once you have marked the bottom, measure the space and cut it out with scissors. Remember this does not have to be perfect. Your kids will love it even if the rectangle does not have perfect 90 degree corners.

 Now the Fun Part!!

Once you have cut the sheet, it’s time to let your kids decorate their theatre.  Just lay the sheet out on top of newspaper or another old sheet and set them loose with the fabric markers.  They will want to draw curtains or a frame around the opening.  They could paint a frame under the opening to have space to pin a sign with the upcoming show times. They might even want to paint a background for their productions (e.g. a castle, a street, etc.).  Once they’re done, rehang the sheet and they are ready to perform.

Puppet Ideas

Puppets can be made out of all kinds of things: socks, paper bags, paper plates stapled to Popsicle sticks, fingers cut from an old pair of gloves, paper taped to straws or even just their hand.  Again, just let your kids be creative.Throughout the winter, they can make new puppets to fit their show ideas!!

My Favorite Craft Idea Websites

* Familyfun.com:Great site for arts and crafts for all ages and categorized. 

*Crayola.com: Family Arts and Craft night

* Preschool Art ages 3 and up: Here is a variety of fun activities.