Shadow Puppet Theatre

One of the activities that I love doing with our Panda kids is the Shadow Puppet Theatre, made of cardboard. This activity allows the children to enhance their imagination and creativity. It also expands their speaking and listening skills.

Materials:

· shoe box

· desklamp

· parchment paper

· craft sticks

· masking tape, glue

· black paper

· Exacto knife or scissor

To make the theatre:

· Tape the box up well to make it sturdy

· Draw a square or a rectangle (2 inches away from the edges) on the large faces of the cardboard.

· Using an Exacto knife (adults only!), cut the shapes drawn.

· Tape the sheet of wax paper (from inside) on one of the cut-away sides

· Draw (or print from the internet) your images i.e. animal, people on black paper

· Cut the images and taped them on craft sticks

Now that the theatre and the puppets are done, you can set up the room. Place the shoebox theatre on the table. Then place the lamp behind it, turn it on. Turn off the house lights. The puppeteers should be between the screen and the lamp, making sure the light is not blocked.

To make it more fun, let your little ones be the puppeteers. Let them create their own story. They have natural ability to make story and make us laugh with their wit, creativity and imagination. Note: They can also use their Little People figures, animal toys or even their dolls. You can also add background music.

Enjoy the show!