Sock Puppet Show
Expressive Arts and DesignLiteracyCommunication and LanguagePersonal, Social and Emotional Development
What you need
- two old socks
- stickers for eyes
- the back of a sofa or a big chair to hide behind
How to do it
- Make two puppets: stick eyes on a sock each, and give them names.
- Kneel behind the sofa with your child so only the puppets show.
- Let the puppets act out a story you both know, then a new one your child makes up: where are they going, and what goes wrong?
- Stop now and then and ask how a puppet is feeling, and why.
Why it matters
A puppet can say things a child might not, and making up what happens next builds a story one turn at a time.
What they're learning
- Making up a story
- What happens next, and then what?
- How someone feels
- Asking the puppet if it's happy, cross or scared.
- Voices and characters
- A squeaky voice for one, a growly one for the other.
What to look for
Notice their puppet saying how it feels.
A tip
Use socks that don't matter and stickers that peel off easily. Stickers only for faces, no small sewn-on bits.
Make it easier or harder
Easier: use one puppet each and just say hello and chat
Harder: let them make a whole puppet family and tell a story with three
