Hand Puppet Theater Basket

What you'll need

• 5-8 hand puppets or clean socks
• Fabric scraps, yarn, buttons, and felt for making new sock puppets
• Fabric glue or a needle and thread (adult use)
• A soft blanket or scarf to drape over a chair as a stage
• A short picture book to inspire the first show

How to make it

1. 1

   Empty the basket together and let your child meet each puppet by name.

2. 2

   If you're making a new sock puppet, lay the sock flat and glue on eyes, yarn hair, and a felt tongue inside the toe fold.

3. 3

   Set up the stage: drape a blanket over the back of two dining chairs so the puppeteer can crouch behind it.

4. 4

   Read one page of the picture book, then invite the puppets to act out what happened.

5. 5

   Take turns being narrator and puppeteer. Encourage your child to give each puppet a different voice.

6. 6

   Finish with a puppet bow and clap for every character.