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Nursery Rhyme Puppet Basket
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Nursery Rhyme Puppet Basket

Four puppets, four rhymes they already know by heart, and a cardboard box stage. The first performing a small child ever does - because the words are already in there.

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Ages 3-620 min prepSave to Pinterest

The reason this works is that nothing has to be learned. Baa Baa Black Sheep is already in their head, so the only new thing is holding the puppet up and singing it out loud.

My shy one would not perform anything for months. She sang an entire rhyme from behind a cardboard box within ten minutes, because the box was doing the being-looked-at, not her.

We now have a bedtime version. Two rhymes, two puppets, lights low. It has replaced about half of the stalling that used to happen at bedtime.

A box, a tea towel and two puppets: a whole theatre.
A box, a tea towel and two puppets: a whole theatre.
Four puppets for four rhymes, waiting in the basket.
Four puppets for four rhymes, waiting in the basket.
A lamp on top of the box and the cushions lined up for the audience.
A lamp on top of the box and the cushions lined up for the audience.

What you'll need

  • Four or five hand or finger puppets - animals are the most flexible for rhymes
  • A cardboard box with a window cut in one side, for the stage
  • A tea towel or a scrap of fabric for the curtain, held with clothespins
  • A nursery rhyme book, kept in the basket so the words are always to hand
  • A torch or a small lamp, aimed at the stage opening
  • Two cushions for the audience, and a paper ticket each
  • A wooden spoon and a scarf, for the rhymes where no puppet fits
  • A shoebox for keeping the puppets in, so they stay a special thing rather than floor toys

How to make it

  1. 1

    Cut a large rectangle out of one side of the box and stand it on a low table or the floor.

  2. 2

    Clip the tea towel across the top as a curtain. Opening and closing it is a job in itself, and a favourite one.

  3. 3

    Choose four rhymes everyone already knows - Baa Baa Black Sheep, Incy Wincy, Old MacDonald, Twinkle Twinkle.

  4. 4

    Match a puppet to each rhyme. It does not need to be a good match; a duck can be a sheep and nobody minds.

  5. 5

    Sing the first one together with the puppet up, so the pattern is obvious before they are asked to solo.

  6. 6

    Then step back and be the audience. Sit down, be quiet, and clap loudly at the end of every single one.

  7. 7

    Add the torch for Twinkle Twinkle with the room lights off - this is always the highlight.

  8. 8

    Hand out tickets and do a proper show for another grown-up in the evening, with a curtain call and a bow.

Tip

Use rhymes they already know cold. A brand new song turns this into a lesson, and the whole point is that the words come out without effort. Sit down when you become the audience - standing over them makes it feel like a test.

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