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How to Make Puppet Theaters

"Preschool and kindergarten classrooms usually have a well-equipped dramatic play area, and this is quite intentional," writes Ellen Booth Church of Scholastic Magazine. "Research has shown that pretend play provides children with a microcosm for life that encourages them to take the skills they have learned in classroom lessons and apply them to meaningful life activities. It is believed that this process of application helps your child not only develop a skill, but learn how to use it in life." Puppet theatres are an ideal pretend play toy, allowing young children to experiment with emotions, social skills while developing life-long language and thinking skills. They are easy to make, too.

Things You'll Need

Large piece of fabric or an old bedsheet
Contrasting fabric
Scissors
Marking utensil
Measuring tape or yard stick
Grosgrain ribbon
Needle and thread, fabric glue, or safety pins
Seam binding or Fray Check
Hammer
Nails

Instructions

- 1
  Select a doorway inside the house that won't interfere with daily life. For example, a kitchen doorway puppet theatre is likely to become frustrating when dealing with the daily chores of life. Instead, choose a less often used doorway.
- 2
  Measure the width of the doorway.
- 3
  Cut a piece of cloth so it is about two inches wider than the doorway. You can buy appropriate fabric at a fabric store, or recycle an old linens.
- 4
  Draw a rectangle on the piece of cloth using a pencil, sliver of soap, or fabric marking pen (available at a fabric or craft store). The bottom of the rectangle needs to be at about your children's shoulder-line and should measure about 20 by 18 inches overall.
- 5
  Cut out the rectangle, creating a hole in the fabric. This hole is the opening of the puppet stage.
- 6
  Draw a square on another piece of fabric. Again, scraps or recycled fabric work fine. The square needs to be about two inches larger the size of the rectangle you just cut out.
- 7
  Cut the square from the second piece of fabric, then cut the square itself in half.
- 8
  Pin the resulting two pieces of cloth to the back of the rectangle opening. They will become the puppet stage curtains.
- 9
  Sew the curtains in place, or use fabric glue or safety pins to keep them in place.
- 10
  Cut ribbon into two 12 inch lengths.
- 11
  Loop each piece of ribbon and pin one loop to the right hand top corner of the puppet theatre. Repeat with the second loop on the left hand top corner of the theatre.
- 12
  Sew the ribbons in place, or use safety pins to attach them more permanently.
- 13
  Sew seam binding around the unfinished edges of the puppet theatre, or simply apply Fray Check (found in craft and fabric stores) on every unfinished edge.
- 14
  Insert nails into the top of the doorframe, using a hammer.
- 15
  Hang the puppet theatre ribbon loops on the nails.

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