A puppet on a child's hand often says what the child is thinking...and feeling. Whatever the puppets may look like, children bring their own life story to let the puppets act out.

Materials:

• Paper cups
• Scrap craft materials (buttons, yarn, paper, etc.)
• Non-toxic markers or crayons
• Glue

Directions:

Put the paper cup on the child's finger.

Cut a hole in the paper cup big enough for a child to poke a finger through -- the finger will be the puppet's nose. Let the children use buttons, yarn, or paper to make the puppet's other features, or have the children draw on the cup with markers or crayons.

To make simple clothes for the puppet, make three holes in a piece of cloth big enough for a child's thumb, pointer, and third finger to fit through. Put the cloth over a child's hand, and stick the child's pointer finger in the hole in the paper cup. The child's thumb and third finger can act as the puppet's hands.

Encouraging Puppet Play

• Start by talking about the puppet -- what it is, what it's made of, how it feels, what kind of puppet it might be.
• Slip the puppet on your hand or hold it and begin talking to the puppet, telling it about the children or something that has happened that day.
• As the children become more interested in the puppet's reaction, you can begin talking for the puppet, answering the questions you ask, and turning the puppet to talk with the children as well.
• When the children seem comfortable with this kind of pretending, let them have their puppets talk to yours.

Here are a few suggestions to get puppet play started.

The best stories are generally the ones that come from you and the children as you play together.

• Everyday experiences in a puppet family as they wake up, eat, or do other daily routines
• Taming a scary puppet
• A new child comes to your neighborhood
• The puppet is worried about starting school
• The puppet doesn't want to go to bed

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