Puppets and Stories is an artist residency I designed for the elementary school children in Pittston, Maine. This past winter, art teacher Karol Carlsen reached out to me about doing a puppet-making workshop in her school. Excited about this opportunity, I proposed a plan to combine “Beautiful Stuff” collage with puppet-making and story telling. By using “Beautiful Stuff,” or found objects brought in from home, we invited children and families to participate in our classroom learning project.

“Beautiful Stuff” as an Ethical and Creative Way to Enrich Classroom Learning

I love introducing repurposed materials, or “Beautiful Stuff” as materials for art-making with children. Recycled or repurposed cardboard, fabric, and other materials can provide an ethical and creative alternative to the typical materials found in an art or early childhood classroom. And when teachers integrate Beautiful Stuff into their classroom environment, children can start to see the stuff around them with new eyes. As Cathy Topal and Lella Gandini demonstrate in their classic text, a lot of learning can happen with found materials. You really can make art out of anything!

Collecting “Beautiful Stuff” from home

As a visiting artist in a small Maine elementary school I wanted to create anticipation, excitement, and engagement from everyone–classroom teachers, students, and their families. So I loaned the art teacher Karol my copy of Lella Gandini and Cathy Topal’s Beautiful Stuff . Motivated by the book, Karol sent home a letter with the children attached to a paper bag. In the letter, she invited families to collect items that could be repurposed for puppet-making. Her list of possible items was long. And when the children returned to school, they brought bags and bags of materials from home.

Sorting and Presenting Beautiful Stuff for puppet-making

To prepare for the puppet-making workshop, Karol and the children sorted the materials into categories. These included natural materials, metal objects, buttons, broken jewelry, and yarn. With the addition of a few purchased items–paper lunch bags, fuzzy “pipe cleaner” wires, and wiggle eyes– we were ready to begin!

Respect for Children’s Ideas–Creating their Paper Bag Hand Puppet

I decided to demonstrate making paper bag hand puppets because they are simple yet very expressive. Interestingly, some children came to the project with a clear idea for their puppet–a ball player, princess, or favorite animal– while others improvised with the materials until an idea emerged. Regardless of how they approached making a puppet, I believe every child’s ideas are worthy of respect, provided they stay within safe parameters.

I stepped back, observing the variety of approaches children took as they got started with the process of designing their puppet character. Once their puppet was finished, I gave them a fact sheet to write some details about their puppet. What is their puppet’s name? How old is their puppet? What are their favorite foods, activites, etc.? These questions gave children a chance to deepen their relationship with their puppet character.

Two Finished Puppets from Week 2

Introducing Our Puppets Using a Stage

To make the magic of performance happen in the classroom, I constructed a tabletop puppet stage using recycled cardboard, an Exacto knife, and my hot glue gun, I assembled it rather quickly but it filled the bill, allowing children the illusion of a stage in which to tell their puppet stories.

My puppet stage design, with its simple proscenium arch, gave children a chance to become performers, introducing their puppet character to their classmates in the audience. I would like to have shared photographs of the children using the puppet stage to perform puppets. But due to privacy concerns, these photo of my cat Toshi will have to suffice.

The Magic of Puppets in the Classroom

The magic of this project was multi-faceted. First and importantly, making a puppet allowed children a direct experience of making something by transforming ordinary objects and materials into a puppet. Additionally, they had a chance to explore character and personality by developing the puppet’s personality and even generating a story for the puppet to act out. After completing my “Puppets and Stories” artist residency I am reminded that often it’s the simplest projects, like a puppet made from a paper lunch bag, that can be the most fun for children.

Arts Education’s True Gifts: Making Space for the Creative Imagination

The idea of making puppets generated a lot of excitement in the classroom by creating a space within the classroom for the imagination. Once we began the project, the children quickly became makers, entering into the creative process. The true gift of arts education we allow children to connect with their innate creativity. It’s always harder for some children than for others–I think of the boy who was all about hunting and guns on my first day in this small rural school–but even he gradually came around. I like to think that my being playful, rather than judgmental, in my comments to him helped him overcome some resistance. Ultimately, he chose to tell a hunting story with his puppet “Tom” from the point of view of the turkey rather than the hunter. 

I did not offer a template, just the encouragement to “Make a face for your puppet” and add details. By doing so, each child connected with their innate capacity for being imaginative, creative artists. In the second week, not everyone was ready or willing to perform their puppet. Children can learn a lot by watching how others perform. And I was thrilled as the children make their puppets talk to their peers. Watching the children perform their puppets was simply magical!