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How to Fit Drama into Your Homeschool
Hand puppets are a lot of fun to create then put on a show. It doesn’t have to be an expensive project because you can use what you have around the house like we did. It’s amazing what you can do if you just look around and use a little creativity.
Hi! My name is Danielle and I have homeschooled my kids from Pre-K through high school. When we started homeschooling, I was concerned my kids may not be able to participate in some of the fun activities like drama that I was able to do growing up, but I quickly found out that I had nothing to worry about and found there are a lot of ways to fit drama into your homeschool.
I do not sew, therefore when using a thread and needle to make something it needs to be very simple. Here’s the steps we took:
Trace widely around your hand onto a cardstock piece of paper, leaving only the thumb and the pinky finger. Cut the middle three fingers off for the neck. It should come down the sides from the thumb and the pinky finger to have enough space to slip your hand into the puppet. My template is 9 inches long as you can see in the picture.
Trace the template onto scrap material, old sheets, etc. making two of the same material for each person. (this will be the front and back of their bodies)
Cut out the material.
Put the two pieces together with the side of the material that you want on the outside facing the other piece.
Do a basic stitch that would be enough to hold two pieces together. When I say basic, I mean basic. Remember, I don’t sew. Start on one side halfway up the material and put thread through both pieces going in and out up to the “hand” and to the neck. There will be a hole for the head to be attached, so don’t sew the neck closed. Stitch up the other side the same way.
Turn the material right side in so the proper side is facing out and you don’t see the stitches. (I chose to use the lighter side because the pattern is less elaborate.)
Next make the head by cutting out two circles.
Put the circles back-to-back and sew around the edge like you did for the body sides leaving an opening to stuff it.
Put a little stuffing material (or cotton balls) in the middle to fill out the head.
Glue the head to the body. Add eyes and a mouth and any hair or material to cover the head.
Add any decorations you want to the clothing. In some areas we used glue and brought back-up safety pins when we did a puppet show just in case. You can take off a crown, for instance, and dress them up to look different for other characters in the same play or a different play.
Write a little script or just allow the kids to come up with something on their own and present your play. Puppets can lead to hours of enjoyment.
We did a Nativity play for an event once and used these puppets for the show. We adapted the Nativity story to be really short while still telling important details. We would each have two puppets since there wasn’t a lot of space behind the curtain. In the years to follow, I would have students from my class at our homeschool co-op take the roles and perform this tradition. This is something you can simply enjoy at home or share with friends. (read more about it here)
My kids helped build the puppet theater by using PVC pipes and a blanket that we sat behind. Between making the puppets and building the "puppet theater," I think it helped my kids to learn to use what they already have and that it doesn’t have to be perfect.
If you don’t want to build a set, you can simply perform from behind a table or couch or half wall. Don’t let a lack of having a puppet theater stop you from acting out a puppet show.
All you need to do is find some scrap material around the house, a needle, thread, and some glue and follow the above steps.
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Looking for a fun script you could use for a puppet show or short skit, check out Fairy Tales and Fables mini plays!
Thanks for joining us!
Danielle at homeschooldrama.com