Lights, camera, action!
Challenge kids to an impromptu bush puppet show with these instant finger puppets. The bush or garden is your stage. Record it with your phone and text it to Grandma – a homemade movie.
Materials:
- Gumnuts
- Felt-tip pen
Directions:
1. Ask the child to gather gumnuts. The most obvious place to look for gumnuts is under a eucalyptus tree.
3. Draw funny faces on the child’s fingertips.
4. Put gumnut “hats” on fingertips. Now you have finger puppets!
You can also use acorn caps if you have an oak tree near you, or, try finding other seed pods and nuts to make different fashionable hats and characters. Nature provides a variety of costumes for your theatre production.
An alternative to a bush stage is using a shoebox with a fabric (tea towel, pillowcase or scraps of fabric or felt) curtain. This makes the perfect ‘inside stage’.
Books of interest:
Hello, Gumnuts! by May Gibbs
Meet and greet some friendly bush folk with Snugglepot and Cuddlepie! The Gumnuts are taking a stroll through the bush. Who will they meet? Who will they greet?
Nature Play Workshops for Families by Monica Wiedel-Lubinski and Karen Madigan
Nature Play Workshop for Families reveals the benefits of nature connection for young children and describes how caring adults can nurture it through outdoor play in all seasons!
How to Create and Animate a Clay Puppet with Stop Motion Pro
Websites of interest:
Create a Butterfly Finger Puppet for an adorable nature project with the kids!
Expand the fun and learn new ways to create Nature Finger Puppets - the creative abundance of nature is endless!