Following the Children's Lead: The Puppet Theater

Following the Children's Lead: The Puppet Theater

By Calley Roering

While exchanging old toys for fresh ones in my classroom a few weeks ago, I stumbled upon a collection of puppets. I was a fan of puppets when I was a preschooler, so I thought I would bring them into the classroom for the children to play with.

During group time, I presented them to the class by having one of the puppets interact with the children. The puppet, Miss Pink, introduced herself and conversed with the children about their weekends. The children giggled as they introduced themselves to Miss Pink and giggled again while explaining to her what they did over their weekend. I could tell that after everyone waved goodbye to Miss Pink, they were intrigued and inspired. I sensed that the children loved the idea of trying out the puppets themselves.

After group time, some of the children decided to put on a puppet show for others. We didn't have a traditional puppet theater in our classroom, so one child would hide behind the easel and put on a show while the others sat in front and watched. This wasn't the perfect puppet theater set-up because the easel would fall down and interrupt the show. As they continued to put on puppet shows for each other, I knew that we needed a proper puppet theater. Ideally, the theater would have room for two or more children to work together behind the scenes and a space in front for the audience.

The next day, I found a large cardboard box and a box cutter – the perfect materials to create our puppet theater. When the children arrived, I let them know that I noticed their interest in putting on puppet shows. I said, “I found a big cardboard box. What do you think we could do with it?” Instantly, the children exclaimed, “Let's make a puppet theater!”

We got to work right away. First, a child cut the opening. While that was happening, others helped decorate the front with fun drawings. Finally, the children set up chairs for the audience. They were ready to put on their first puppet show with the new theater.
Two children eagerly ran behind it and waited until their peers were seated in the audience. The two children chose their puppets, and the show began.

Making puppet shows led to belly laughs, creativity, learning how to take turns, and practicing how to develop an original story. This kind of natural learning and joy is what happens when I follow the children's lead, allowing their interests and passions to inspire our daily activities.