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Egg Carton Dragon Puppet

  • All Ages

Make a recycled puppet craft, such as this dragon design, out of an egg carton!

Materials


  • EZ Grip Paint Brushes, 5 pack
  • Acrylic Paint Jars, 24 Assorted colors
  • Craft Sticks 150 Pack
  • Craft glue
  • Foam sheet (purple)
  • Egg Carton
  • Masking Tape
  • Pencil

Instructions


Step 1. Gather your supplies.

puppet

 

hand puppets

 

 

 

Step 2. 

 

To create the head, cut the carton so that you have (2) pairs of (2) egg carton cups.

 

kids puppets

 

 

 

Step 3.

 

Tape or glue one egg cup pair to the second to make the head, as shown. Paint with red acrylic paint and set aside to dry.

 

how to make puppets

 

 

 

Step 4.

 

To create the tail, cut (1) single egg carton cup and paint red. Paint 2 craft sticks with red paint and set aside for a later step.

how to make puppets

 

 

 

Step 5. 

 

Fold a piece of paper in half length wise. Fold a second time as shown.

kids craft puppet

 

Step 6.

 

Cut the corners off all four corners of this long piece of folded paper.

puppet craft

 

Step 7. 

 

Accordion fold the paper as shown. This will become the body of the puppet.

hand puppet

 

Step 8.

 

Glue one of the wood craft sticks painted in Step 4, to the head as shown. Glue the other stick to the painted tail piece.

 

recycled puppet craft

 

Step 9.

 

Glue one end of the accordion fold to the head of the dragon and the other to the tail as shown.

 

chinese dragon puppet craft

 

 

 

Step 10.

 

Decorate the head with Wiggly Eyes, poms and foam shapes as shown.

To make the dragon dance, move the craft sticks up and down.

Further Discussion: 

 

Learning through play is a key part of early childhood education. Puppets can enhance the learning experience by creating a ready-made story telling environment where children can role-play and act out different characters. Puppets can help a shy child feel less bashful, entice a new group of children to get to know each other or give a new life to an old story. Puppets can even make cleaning ones room more enjoyable!

Puppets focus attention, break down barriers, speak all languages. Make these versatile learning tools from recycled materials around your home, such as the egg carton design you see here, or puppets made from paper plates, socks or even an old glove!