Lesson: Love Monster Puppets

February 11, 2015 | By Rachel Zink

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and a love monster makes a perfect valentine—one that can be enjoyed long after the holiday has passed! This lesson will help you tap into your imagination to create a love-filled, interactive puppet.

Goals:

To create an interactive puppet
To practice bringing several parts together to make an imaginary creature

Materials:

A paper bag
Various strips of paper for antennae, arms, and/or legs
Precut head, ears, eyes, teeth, mouth, and belly: precut or punched circles, hearts, and other shapes
Anything else YOUR monster needs

Directions:

Start by gluing down the base layers: head, mouth, teeth, and belly. Be sure to glue the teeth to the inside of the fold of the bag so that they will move with the puppet’s mouth.
For the rest of the parts, there is NO wrong way to glue them down! Do you have a one-eyed monster? Heart nose? Ears or horns? Will you use the paper strips to make antennae, arms, or legs? Make your monster your own: Just make sure to add an extra splash of LOVE!
You can stop here, or to turn your puppet into a valentine, add a special message to your puppet’s belly or back, or slip a card inside.

Tweak It:

To simplify for your young artist(s), pre-glue the base layers (head, mouth, teeth, and belly) so they will only have to add their flair.
To simplify more, just have them color the details.