Learning and Playing with Puppets

Puppets are very easy to make.

Hands are great as shadow puppets, get your children to make a butterfly or a bird shadow by linking their thumbs and flapping their fingers or a crocodile by snapping their hands together from the wrist. Have fun experimenting and seeing what other animals you can create.

Simple stick puppets are easy to make by decorating wooden spoons - add faces, hair, pipe-cleaner arms and clothes to make people or add whiskers and ears for animals - the only limit to the characters you can create is your imagination

Sock puppets are a fun way of recycling old socks! Find an odd sock that is big enough for your hand, add eyes and anything else you fancy, for example, a nose, whiskers, tongue or a hat.

There are many different ways puppets can be used to assist children's learning, including:

* developing communication skills, children can use their puppet to follow instructions, answer a puppets question, or talk to the puppet.

* the development of fine motor skills in a fun way by encouraging children to move their fingers to make the puppets move.

* providing a visual aid which makes songs and stories more enjoyable for small children

* the promotion of imaginative skills by providing a material for acting out stories
the demonstration of different situations and role play scenarios

* teaching emotions - wooden spoon puppets with simply drawn faces are ideal for this.

You can buy a range of different types of puppets from Littlesheep Learning. Including a range story telling sets, teaching glove puppets / song mits and people who help us puppets all of which can help song and story telling and are ideal for story sacks and encouraging learning.

Song puppets are a great visual aid for teaching children popular songs. These song puppets are great for teaching the different number songs: 5 Little Ducks, 5 Little Monkeys, 5 Little Speckled Frogs, 5 Little Men in a Flying Saucer, 5 Currant Buns, 10 in the Bed and 10 Green Bottles.

These teaching song mitts are designed to fit an adult's hand and are perfect for using with young children and will provide hours of fun. The glove puppets will help children join in the rhyme and learn counting skills and comes with a card showing the words of the rhyme.

The popular range of people who help us glove puppets are fantastic for helping children learn about community helpers. Roles available including a fireman, policeman, lollipop man, doctor / vet, nurse and park / zoo keeper. These glove puppets are a great resource for both teaching about occupations / jobs people do and for role play of scenarios.

In addition the People who Help Us Teaching Mitt which is designed to fit an adult's hand, is perfect for using with young children for promoting discussion and help children learn about occupations and people who help us. Jobs featured on the five fingers of the glove are: doctor, fireman, nurse, policeman and postman.

Children also love dressing up and there is no reason why they can't dress up their puppets, dolls or teddies with the puppet dress up sets which enable them to dress their puppet as a < doctor / vet / dentist, a police officer, a fire fighter or a lollipop person.

Story puppet sets are a great way to enhance the story telling of traditional tales.

These puppet sets come with a detailed story card to help you tell the story of the fairytale and contain the main characters you would expect to find in the enchanting favourite story. The puppet sets are great for children learning traditional tales, beginning role play activities and are ideal for giving as a gift coming in it's very own see-through PVC handy bag / carry case. They are also a great for inclusion in story sacks.

Sets include:

Jack and the Beanstalk
Cinderella
Sleeping Beauty
Three Little Pigs
Three Billy Goats Gruff
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Red Riding Hood
The Gingerbread Man

Puppets are great for teaching children to recognise the different facial expressions for emotions.

You can make your own simple puppets as explained above (or buy a ready made set of emotions puppets) to show each different emotion or play with this emotions teaching mitt (glove puppet) which has five different expressions. Designed to fit an adult's hand, this expressions teaching mitt is perfect for using with young children and will provide hours of fun, promote discussion and help children learn about expressions and emotions. The emotions featured are: angry, happy, sad, surprised and worried, with one finger featuring each clear simple line drawn expression.