[Childcare] Paper theater ideas to use in activities—great for filling small gaps and for birthday parties
Here are some ideas for “paper puppet shows,” a familiar activity in nursery schools and kindergartens!
A paper puppet show is basically a paper doll theater.
You draw characters and other illustrations on two pieces of thick paper, attach a stick between them, and twirl the stick as you perform.
You can use it during short breaks in childcare or as a play for events, and it’s also great for activities that spark interest in food or help children enjoy songs more—the possibilities are endless!
Once you make one, you can use it anytime, which is another nice perk.
Enjoy a variety of paper puppet shows together with the children.
- [Childcare] DIY Ideas for Circuit Play
- [Childcare] Ideas for props for a school play. Easy ways to make them.
- Useful for childcare! Birthday party performances and popular entertainment ideas
- [Childcare] Entertainment that excites a birthday party
- [Childcare] Fun Craft Ideas for Hinamatsuri (Girls' Day)
- [Childcare] Make and play! Origami ideas
- Fun Performances for Preschool Teachers: Perfect for Birthday Parties and Seasonal Events!
- [Childcare] Play with Toilet Paper! A Collection of Craft and Play Ideas
- [Entertainment/Performances] Ideas for Performances to Introduce at Kindergartens and Nursery Schools—Great for Children and Staff
- Cardboard Play Ideas by Age Group to Enhance Childcare
- [Childcare] Fun for Hinamatsuri! Performance ideas perfect for the event
- [Childcare] Newspaper play ideas! With a little creativity, the ways to play are endless.
- [Childcare] Recommended for toddlers! Toy ideas you can make and play with
[Childcare] Paper puppet show ideas to use in activities. Also great for filling small gaps or birthday parties (1–10)
Gluttonous Gorilla
This is a paper puppet show about a gluttonous gorilla who eats lots of delicious foods.
Up to a point, he happily munches away, but when it comes to the onion, he peels it too much and it disappears, so he can’t eat it… The gorilla’s face has a smile on one side and a crying face on the other.
Since you can peel many types of ingredients, you can make various arrangements—try incorporating things the teacher likes or the children’s favorites.
You could also create body parts to match and bring out more of the gorilla’s vibe!
Ogre Pants
This is a paper puppet show based on the children’s song “Ogre’s Underpants.” Just like in the song, the ogre’s underpants appear, but not only ogres—many animals show up as well.
Underpants illustrated with each animal’s traits and favorite things appear, and when you flip them around, the animal’s face is revealed.
Try to guess which animal will appear by looking at the underpants.
It’s a fun way to spark interest in animals’ colors and patterns.
Also, since the theme is underpants, it’s great as an introduction to toilet training.
With cute and cool underpants to wear, children will be motivated to try their best.
The Three Little Pigs
Let’s perform the fairy tale “The Three Little Pigs” as a paper-puppet show.
Even if everyone knows the story, watching it as a play offers a different kind of enjoyment than reading it in a picture book.
Express lively movements for each pig, their respective houses, and the wolf.
If you make the pieces large, you can also use them for events like birthday parties.
The key is to draw clear lines and bold colors.
In the scene where the wolf blows the house down, it would be fun to have the children pretend to blow along too!
[Childcare] Paper puppet show ideas to include in activities. Great for filler time and birthday parties (11–20)
Mr. Ant on an errand
This is a paper puppet show (peep-show theater) set to the children’s song “Otsukai Arisan” (“The Errand Ants”).
Two little ants bump into each other in time with the song and scurry about busily.
If you add a simple storyline, you can enjoy it like a little play.
It also helps spark interest in words and familiar objects.
If you add more items, it can be used as a puppet show for birthday parties, too.
It’s also great fun to sing “Otsukai Arisan” together while you watch! After enjoying the puppet show, why not go outside and try looking for real ants?
The fish jumps.
Familiar from hand play, “Sakana ga Hanete” is arranged here as a paper puppet show! Not only can everyone enjoy singing along as the fish jumps and sticks to different parts of the body, transforming each time, but you can also use illustrations of items like hats, masks, and gloves to do a forgetfulness check.
With hand play, you express everything using only the song and your hands, but with a paper puppet show, you can perform while looking at pictures, which might help everyone picture each item more concretely.
Silhouette Quiz
Let’s try a silhouette quiz with paper puppets (pape-sart).
Incorporating a silhouette quiz into your paper puppet show makes it fun for everyone to participate.
Look at the silhouette and guess what it is.
Flip it over, and the correct answer appears.
Choose familiar motifs for children, such as foods, things found in the classroom, or shoes.
It’s fine to make and add more items based on the children’s reactions! You’ll likely enjoy a variety of responses—some kids will try hard to answer the quiz, while others will watch with intense focus.
carrot, burdock, daikon
A paper puppet show featuring dirt-covered vegetables taking a bath: “Carrot, Burdock, and Daikon.” While children often see clean vegetables, many may have never seen vegetables with soil still on them.
The veggies look adorable after taking a bath and washing off the dirt, too.
Even children who aren’t fond of baths might come to appreciate how nice a bath feels by watching the show.
You can adapt it with any vegetables that grow in the soil, so why not introduce a variety of ingredients?