Create an Easy-Store Puppet Stage

Is your child determined to be the next "It" actor? If he likes to pretend, or host his own puppet shows, your child will love to do that on his very own stage! This activity lets kids construct an easy-to-make and even easier-to-store puppet stage. All you need is a curtain rod, an old sheet or other material, and fabric pens, and you'll soon have the perfect set-up for your young thespian to practice on! All the world's a stage, and soon your child will have this portable one to prove it.

What You Need:

• One spring-tension curtain rod to fit a doorway
• Old sheet fabric
• Fabric Pens
• Glue paint (tacky glue and tempera paint mixed together)
• Dishes for paints
• Paintbrushes
• Sewing machine, optional

What You Do:

1. Spread a spring-tension curtain rod in a doorway at a height suitable for young puppeteers.
2. With fabric pens or glue paint, decorate an old sheet for the puppet curtain. You can make the curtain more glamorous by adding glitter to the wet glue paint.
3. Let the paint and decorations on the curtain dry completely.
4. Drape the sheet over the rod and produce a puppet show by crouching behind the curtain. Or, you can also sew a simple casing at the top of a decorated sheet cut to fit the doorway and rod. Push the curtain rod through the casing and place it in the doorway.

Now your child has a glitzy stage! To store, roll the curtain up around the rod and put it in any corner or spare closet space. Pull it out when you're ready for another round of pretend play!