Types of puppet theaters and materials
Any parent can create their own home theater. You can also involve a child in this matter. Surely in this case the process will be more fun, and the baby will be busy.
For work, something that many people will definitely have at home is suitable. Even some waste materials will come in handy, so don’t rush to scrap them.
It could be:
- Disposable plastic tableware,
- Felt,
- Boxes of different shapes and sizes,
- Colored paper/cardboard,
- Rolls of paper towels, foil or toilet paper
What types of dolls are there?
- Stationary
- On hand
- Finger
Paste
Special modeling material is perfect for creating figures. It is replaced with ordinary plasticine, and salt dough is also made. Ordinary figurines and finger products are created from such materials.
It is difficult for a child to sculpt, so parents will need help. If the figurine is ready, you should wait for it to dry. Then you can start painting it.
Paper
Paper is one of the simplest and most accessible materials for creating crafts on the theme of puppet theater.
Choosing a piece
You will need to decide in advance on the characters of your theatrical production in order to find suitable templates for the paper finger theater. Most often, for the very first children's productions, teachers and psychologists advise taking simple, long- familiar fairy tales and stories. On the Internet you can often find templates for finger theater made of paper for such fairy tales as Turnip, Teremok, Kolobok, Masha and the Bear, Three Little Pigs and so on /
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In any case, you should take for the game a work or story from a book that is familiar to your child. Perhaps you have even been to a real puppet theater, have already seen some kind of play, and the child liked the plot.
First way
You will need:
- Paper or cardboard,
- Cereal box/desired size,
- Plastic straws,
- Wooden sticks,
- Glue,
- Scissors,
- Paints,
- Pencils.
Progress:
- On thick paper, depict the characters of the chosen fairy tale or story.
- After they are cut out, glue tubes or sticks on the inside.
- The box will act as a stage, so you will need to cut out the "screen" or one of the larger sides.
- A slot is also made in the lower part. Prepared figures of heroes on sticks should be inserted there.
Such a theater is either installed on a stand or hung around the neck thanks to a ribbon attached to the box.
Secrets of successful theater productions
How to make a paper theater more durable? After all, paper parts often tear and become unusable. And, most likely, this will happen after the first production of your play. Here is another option for making a theater at home, which, although more time-consuming, will last longer.
The first stage of production remains unchanged - we find templates (you can even draw them yourself if there are no ready-made ones). We print them on a color printer. Then we cut out the largest decorations, glue them to cardboard and additionally seal them with tape - this will add strength to them, and they will not get dirty.
Then we start making fairy tale heroes. At this stage we will need additional materials, namely:
- Small plastic jars for yoghurts like Rastishka or Agusha.
- Wooden ice cream sticks (if you don’t have them, plastic forks or spoons will also work).
- Stationery knife.
We cut out the characters and glue them onto a cardboard base. If your paper is quite thick, then you don’t have to do this. But most often, thicker paper is not “grabbed” by the printer for printing. Keep this in mind and try using different paper weights in your printer.
Be sure to tape it with tape to prevent the parts from fraying. Then we take ice cream sticks or plastic spoons and tape them with tape to the back of the paper blank so that the stick is “behind” the hero and has a free part at the bottom (3-4 cm). Using a utility knife, we make two cuts on the bottom of the yogurt jar - you should get a cross - and then simply insert the stick with the doll into this hole. All is ready! You can start playing!
As you can see, a home theater is a great way to diversify a child’s leisure time without much expense, because printing and cutting out the templates is not at all difficult. In addition, this is a good option for spending time together, which children always like, and also strengthens family relationships.
Second way
As a base for the characters' bodies, either homemade paper tubes or ready-made paper towels or toilet paper are used.
Depending on whether the doll will fit on your hand or on your finger, the size itself is selected. The scene is also made out of the box, as in the previous version.
This craft can be made for kindergarten or for some event.
MAGAZINE Preschooler.RF
“Types of puppet theaters in kindergarten and at home. Making theatrical puppets"The world of theater is a path to the inner feelings of a child, his soul. L.S. Wygodsky
What is theater?
This is the best, according to K.S. Stanislavsky, a means for communication between people, for understanding their innermost feelings. This miracle is capable of developing creative inclinations in a child, stimulating the development of mental processes, improving bodily plasticity, and forming creative activity; help reduce the spiritual gap between adults and children
Theater is a collective theatrical activity, and it is aimed at a holistic impact on the child’s personality. The child becomes liberated, begins to create independently, through the theater the child gets to know himself and begins to grow as a person. Theater creates conditions for the socialization of a child in society, strengthens adaptive abilities, corrects communication skills, and helps to realize a sense of satisfaction, joy, and success.
The prosperity and development of theatrical activities in kindergarten is not possible without the use of puppet theater. It is the main link in the development and improvement of children’s knowledge in the field of theatrical art. Puppet theater is one of the most favorite shows for children. It attracts with its brightness, colorfulness, and dynamics. In the puppet theater, children see toys that are familiar and close to them, which come to life and move, speak and become even more attractive and interesting. Puppet theater brings a lot of pleasure and joy. It is one of the most accessible forms of art for children.
Types of puppet theaters
- Tabletop puppet theater.
- Stand theater.
- Theater on hand.
- Horse dolls.
- Floor dolls.
- Living puppet theater.
- Tabletop puppet theater. Toys for a tabletop theater can be made of paper, foam rubber, boxes, wire, natural materials, etc.
- Theater on a flat picture
- Theater on circles
- Conical
- Toy Theater
- Flat toys
Draw two sides of the character on the cardboard and cut them out; at the bottom you need to leave a small part of the cardboard on both halves. Then bend these parts and glue a circle to them - a stand. You can also use the following as a stand: caps from plastic bottles, halves of Kinder eggs, etc.
- theater on a flat picture
- Theater on circles
- Cut out a picture of the character and stick it on a mug or glass.
- Cone Theater
Toys made from cones and cylinders.
To get a cone, you need to cut out a circle, fold it in half and cut along the fold line. Glue cones from semicircles, turning them into figures, and glue the parts.
To get a cylinder, glue them together from rectangular sheets of thick paper. Decorate with applique by gluing character details
Toy theater
Ready-made and homemade from different materials: kinder eggs, flour salt, plasticine, etc.
Tabletop theater
Tabletop theater may also include: theaters of knitted toys, theaters from boxes, on disks, on cubes and many others.
2. Stand theater
- Flannelograph
- Shadow play
- Magnetic
- Stand book
Flannelograph Draw figures on thin cardboard, cut them out, and stick pieces of flannel on the reverse sides. Screen – thick cardboard or plywood covered with a piece of flannel
Shadow theater
1. Finger.
Cut out the character's head from cardboard and glue a paper tube to it for the performer's index finger. The performer's hand is the character's torso, and the middle and thumb are the legs.
2. Theater of “live” hand shadows.
Using the fingers, various animals, birds, objects, etc. are depicted.
3. . Cut out silhouettes.
Cut out different silhouettes from cardboard and stick them on long sticks. During the show, the silhouette must be held by the stick and moved as necessary.
Shadow screen device.
The screen is made from any translucent material (fabric, tracing paper), stretched over a frame made of plywood, cardboard, installed like an ordinary screen, and a light source - a lamp - is installed behind it.
The theatrical performance is also shown from the reverse side. Only the silhouettes of the characters are visible in front
Magnetic Theater
Glue a piece of magnet onto the cardboard with the image of the character on the back side. The theater is ready for use
Stand – book
3. Theater on hand
The characters are placed on the hand of a child or an adult; when the fingers move, the impression of the character’s movement is created.
- Finger
- Mittens
- Glove
- Theater on hand
1Finger
Characters for finger theater can be made from different materials: knitted from threads, sewn from fabric, from foam rubber, etc.
22. Mitten Theater.
Characters are sewn from
fabrics in the form of mittens. It can represent a doll's head, with the thumb serving as the character's nose. It can also be turned into a whole animal, then the thumb will be the tail, and the mitten itself will be the body, the head and other details are sewn to it. You can use old unnecessary mittens.
3 Glove.
The head, clothes, and necessary details of the character are sewn onto the glove.
4. Horse dolls
Puppets that are necessary when showing theatrical action using a screen.
On spoons
Bibabo
Cane puppets
1 Theater on spoons - The oval or round part of the spoon is shaped like a head (thread hair, eyes, mouth, etc.), then the body is attached to the head in the form of a dress, a shirt - a piece of fabric.
2 cane dolls - Cane dolls can be made in the form of a toy on a stick - a cane or in the form of a cardboard toy, which is also glued to a stick.
3Bibabo -The doll's head is placed on the index finger, and the thumb and middle finger serve as hands. Dresses are sewn for them, decorated with details (pocket, apron, belt). The heads can be made of foam rubber, fabric, papier-mâché. For the head, you need to make a circle from any fabric, gather it around the perimeter with a thread, and stuff it with cotton wool. Sew on nose, hair, etc.
5Floor dolls
Puppets.
Puppet theater characters are also made from different materials. The parts can be sewn according to the principle of making a soft toy using a template - a pattern, which is applied to the fabric, outlined with chalk, cut out, and simple parts are sewn together. The principle of operation of such toys is thanks to a fishing line tied to the cross.
6 Living Puppet Theater
- Puppets
- People dolls
- Masque
Puppet theater is a wonderful journey into the land of a fairy tale come to life! Not only every child, but also an adult who has retained a living perception of life in their hearts, crosses the theater threshold with a justified expectation of miracles and magic! It is here, seeing the heroes of books and fairy tales come to life, that the child begins to learn the joy of co-creation, empathy, and love of art in the broadest sense of the word!
I wish everyone creative success in mastering theatrical art.
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Felt finger puppets
Here we will talk about felt crafts for elementary school on the theme of theater. This dense material will allow you to create many detailed and at the same time simple dolls. They are usually the right size for a finger theater.
To make them you will need:
- Felt in several colors
- Threads, needle,
- Scissors,
- Glue,
- Paper and cardboard.
Screen for presentation
The easiest way to make a theater screen is to use a curtain (a piece of any fabric) and cut out a square window. Then stretch it in the doorway - and you can start showing the fairy tale. The decorations are attached to the screen using clothespins, which are best camouflaged with colored paper. If you stretch a rope over a screen, you can attach the sun, clouds, stars, month, rocket and other celestial bodies to it.
For a finger theater, a screen located on a table is better suited. It can be made from a large sheet of cardboard or plywood. The height of the screen must correspond to the height of the artist so that it is convenient for him to show the performance. Cover the facade of the screen with fabric or paper, which children can paint with great pleasure.
make a screen in the shape of a house out of cardboard . To do this, cut out three sheets of cardboard: two narrow and one wide. Place the narrow ones on the sides, and in the wide sheet cut a window in the middle for the stage. Punch holes in the sides of the cardboard with an awl and sew them with thread for strength. Hide the seams with colored paper. You will get a folding house.
Decorations for the theater, both in kindergarten and at home, can be made from a wide variety of materials: cut out of cardboard, cut out of plywood, use bows from gifts. The result will be a useful and exciting game that will bring joy to both children and adults.
Option with puppets
- To do this, you need to prepare a sketch in advance. There should be several elements: a large main part, hair, clothes, handles, and for animals - a muzzle.
- The next stage is transferring the pattern onto felt. Colors can be chosen to suit your taste or the child's wishes. So in photos of various theater-themed crafts you can often see pink bunnies or multi-colored cats.
- Next, once all the parts are cut out, it is better to carry out a test assembly. Thanks to this, it will be possible to correct possible errors or remove inaccuracies in a timely manner.
- The final assembly of the character should begin with the main part, adding other elements to it. You can fasten them either by sewing or using a glue gun.
Plastic spoons
Dolls are often made from various available materials. It’s easy to make figures from plastic spoons. To do this, draw eyes, a mouth and a nose on the convex part.
If a female character is needed, then the spoon is wrapped in cloth and a belt is selected for it. For a male character, you can use a tie or bow tie. Hair and hat are made of paper. The parts are then glued to the base.
Decoration and background
- Prepare in advance a diagram according to which the scene will be created in the future.
- The cut out elements are sewn onto the front side of a thick sheet of A4 felt.
- The next step is to sew together 2 sheets: a blank with decor and a felt backdrop.
- Cardboard is inserted between two fabric sheets for compaction. It should protrude a few centimeters. This strip is folded to form a stand.
Shadow play
One of the famous and interesting types of puppet theater. The main focus is on the silhouettes of the dolls, so the main challenge is to make the characters recognizable through their outlines.
A short master class on creating crafts related to shadow theater will help you organize an exciting performance at home.
Paper figures
Just make heroes out of cardboard. You can use colored paper. You can choose any product sizes. Kids will love creating a paper puppet theater with their own hands.
If a fairy-tale hero breaks, it’s easy to replace it with a new one. You will need special templates that need to be cut out. Two parts of one character are glued together.
Stage 1. Scene
Materials:
- Medium size box
- Ruler,
- Scissors,
- Pencil,
- Paper,
- Glue or stapler
- You need to get a large rectangle from the box. One of the main sides should be without folds. The outline of the screen is drawn on it, with an indentation of five centimeters from the edges. The resulting rectangle is cut out.
- The size of the paper sheet should be larger than the resulting hole. The screen is glued on the back side. Additionally, it is secured with a stapler for strength.
Stage 2. Heroes
Necessary:
- Pencil,
- Cardboard,
- Scissors,
- Glue or stapler,
- Straws,
- Tubes or wooden sticks
1. The silhouettes of the characters are transferred to cardboard and then cut out along the contour. They must be recognizable, with characteristic features or shapes. The scenery is created in the same way.
2. The cut out elements are attached to sticks with glue or a stapler.
Sock puppet
Original dolls are made from ordinary children's socks.
To make it you will need a sock, cardboard, a small skein of thick thread or yarn, pieces of fabric for the mouth, sewing thread and buttons, and a glue gun. You can take a sock in a plain color or with a pattern, polka dots or stripes - all this will create the image of a future toy.
We make a blank for the mouth from cardboard. To do this, fold a cardboard rectangle 7 cm wide and 20 cm long in half. We round the corners along the width. From the fabric for the inside of the mouth we cut out a blank according to this template.
Trim the toe of the sock. We cut off the edges along the edge of the workpiece. Glue the cardboard blank inside the sock using a glue gun. At the same time, we fold the edges of the fabric onto the cardboard. Glue the fabric interior on top.
Making a hairstyle for the puppet. Take thread or yarn and wrap it around your hand several times. Tie in the middle and cut the ends. If you spread your fingers wide, you will get a long hairstyle. Sew the hairstyle to the sock.
Non-standard theater
In addition to standard and popular children's crafts, you can arrange your own performance using non-standard materials.
An original solution would be disposable utensils made of plastic or wood, in particular spoons. Selected characters are pasted or drawn on them, and decorated as desired. By the way, it is better to use acrylic paints for painting.
Yogurt jars, as well as plastic bottles of interesting and unusual shapes. They, like dishes, can be painted or covered with colored paper. In addition, you can make mini-scenes with decorations from bottles and arrange small stories there.
The influence of theatrical play on the development of a preschooler
It is impossible to overestimate the beneficial impact of theatrical games on the development of preschool children. This activity contributes to:
- children’s learning and retention of educational material;
- development of speech and fine motor skills;
- formation of communication skills;
- development of creative abilities, identification of children’s talents;
- developing the ability to interact with others;
- the formation of the sensitive-emotional sphere;
- the emergence of a sustainable interest in fiction and books;
- education of aesthetic taste;
- development of such personal qualities as determination, will, initiative and others.
DIY scene
To fully understand how to make a full-fledged theater-themed craft, all that remains is to create a stage. It is an important part of the production because it is where the action takes place.
- The simplest and fastest option is a plain fabric used to cover the doorway. A horizontal cut is made in the center for the dolls.
- The next simple way to build a home stage is to place two chairs with their backs facing each other and cover them with fabric.
Previously, the option of using cardboard boxes was considered. It is time consuming and requires more effort, but the results are definitely worth it.
- A frame is formed from several boxes by laying them out like bricks.
- There should be a window in the center, which will be curtained with fabric.
- For the background, all the folding parts and 2 walls of one of the boxes are cut off. A rectangle is cut out at its bottom.
- The walls are fixed in a certain way, in an angular position. This is done specifically for stability.
- Small cylinders are fixed at the folds. They will not allow the structure to develop during the presentation process.
- When the base is ready, it's time to add decorations.
Table theater for senior group
When a child is well versed in the plots of longer fairy tales like “The Three Little Pigs,” it is worth expanding the supply of theater sets.
The “Three Little Pigs” finger toys will surely be loved by little ones due to their bright design and ease of use. The set also comes with a script that will serve as a cheat sheet for older children.
The Masha and the Bear walker will save time on making additional decorations.
The Puss in Boots set comes with a script and the figures are reversible. This bright set will be a delight for your child or a great gift for friends.
For any paper puppet theater it is necessary to make a stage. For the finger version you will need a tall structure, which is easiest to make from an ordinary cardboard box. Make the design foldable, then it will be convenient to store.
A low stage is suitable for flat figures. It is best to store paper puppet theater kits in one place. A large plastic or cardboard box with a lid, divided into several sections, will greatly facilitate the storage and use of the figures. Such a “chest” is not convenient for everyone.
Replace it with a flat “case”. However, you won’t find a ready-made option; you’ll have to tinker with the cardboard yourself. But the result will be a convenient case that can easily fit under a bed, sofa, or in the gap between the closet and the wall. Cover it with self-adhesive paper or similar material, then it will not get too dirty.
