Make sock puppets

This is a great activity for a rainy day! Once you’ve made a few sock puppets you can make a theatre from an old cardboard box. All you need is an old sock or two, PVA glue, an A4 sheet of card, googly eyes or buttons, some wool and any other crafty bits and bobs that you have at home.

1. Using a pair of scissors, cut out a circle of card and fold it in half. Measure it against the width of your sock before you snip!
2. Place it in the toe end of your sock and from the outside, push the sock inside the fold to form a mouth. Your child’s hand will go around this piece of card when they get the puppet to 'talk'.
3. Cut wool or strips of other material to make hair for your sock puppet – then together, stick it to the sock using the PVA glue.
4. Add eyes by gluing buttons or googly eyes to the sock puppet’s face.
5. If you don’t want your sock puppet to have hair, you could cut out long floppy ear shapes from any leftover card, and stick them on instead. This will make it look like a puppy dog!
6. Once you’ve made your sock puppet, get your child to place their hand inside the sock and move their fingers up and down. What does the sock puppet want to say?
7. Make a few more sock puppets and if you have one, take an old cardboard box and make a theatre so you can put on a performance together!

Playing with puppets is great for expanding your child’s imagination as they come up with stories about their puppet characters. This can also help them develop their verbal skills through speaking and role-playing. As you put the puppet together, you’ll be encouraging them to develop their fine motor skills and their ability to work well in a team.