Shadow puppets are a long-practiced tradition in Bali and other Southeast Asian cultures. Introduce your child to a new cultural practice and give this tradition new life by making it a part of your holiday celebration this Christmas! Help your fourth grader use poster board to make a silly shadow puppet of Santa.
What You Need:
- Black poster board
- Hole punch
- Brass brads
- Long bamboo skewers or dowels (15 inches in length)
- Hot glue gun
- Template
What to Do:
- Download the template for your child to use as a pattern in cutting the puppet pieces out of the black poster board.
- After cutting out the pieces, your child can punch a hole near the top of the legs as well as one near the base of the body, then attach the legs to the body with a brad. Repeat with each arm. Each part should be movable.
- Help your child hot glue a skewer (or dowel) to each arm. The puppeteer will hold these rods and use them to move the puppet across the screen and also to move the arms. When the puppet moves, the legs will swing freely.
- While the glue dries, encourage your child to make up his own unique story about Santa!
- To perform: Hang a white sheet across a doorway and place a light behind it. Your puppeteer will sit between the sheet and the light, so that the puppet’s shadow is cast on the sheet. Sitting closer to the sheet makes a clearer image.
Here's an Idea:
To involve other children, make puppets of other Christmas or winter characters such as reindeer, elves, or a snowman. While you wrap their gifts, the children can write a Christmas play to perform for the whole family Christmas day.
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