TODDLER
Craft time
with your toddler
Pre-school teacher Karen van Lelyveld has the perfect
activity to do with your little one – it’s fun, cheap, easy
and educational!
Paper Bag Puppet
Step 1:
Step 5:
Let your toddler decide what type of
animal her puppet will be, and discuss
with her what shapes and colours she
will need for its features - like ears,
eyes (if not using googly eyes),
nose and tail.
Let your toddler embellish her
puppet with any additional bits and
pieces – string can make whiskers,
glitter can add sparkle.
Have fun with it.
Step 2:
Assist your toddler with drawing
the shapes she needs on the chosen
coloured paper, or felt if you are
using this. For harder shapes you can
trace around other objects. (Parents
– please note that assisting does not
mean doing it for your child! Let her
try her hand and don’t let either of
you get too caught up on things
looking perfect.)
Step 3:
What you will need:
• A brown paper bag*
• Coloured paper or old magazines
• Child-friendly scissors
• Glue
• Optional extras: googly eyes, buttons,
bottle tops, string, coloured felt tip pens,
coloured crayons, glitter – let your
imagination go wild!
*An alternative here is a sealed envelope of
any size, new or used, with one of the short
ends cut off.
Carefully supervise your little one
with cutting out her shapes with
the scissors.
Step 4:
Let your toddler place each shape on
the puppet according to where it needs
to go. Discuss where each feature should
go, and compare her puppets features
with her own. Once everything has
been placed so it looks right, let her
glue each shape on, one by one.
Top tips
• You don’t need fancy materials to
make your puppet – use old envelopes
and paper from your junk mail.
• Use this opportunity to talk about
and name the different colours and
shapes throughout the activity. This
is a great learning opportunity.
• Why not also make your own puppet
alongside her. You can then ask her
to pick out differences between the
two, and start drawing comparisons
between the types of animals they are,
and their different sizes, shapes and
colours. Use this to encourage an
appreciation of diversity, and that
everyone is different.
• When you have made your pup pets,
put on a puppet show, or role play
different situations. These are great
ways to start teaching your child
about empathy and other social skills.
If you have made animals like your
own pets, use the role play as an
opportunity to teach her about
pet care and health.