Making Finger Puppets Out Of Toilet Paper Tubes

Hold onto those collage supplies collected last week, and start saving your paper towel and toilet paper tubes for a fun introduction to finger puppets.

As we continue to focus on recycled materials, tubes are a great challenge to kids to see what they can create from this simple cardboard shape. Many will be inspired to create colorful characters by adding eyes, limbs, clothes and faces. You can begin with markers, glue, and your collage collection using the tube as a base for building a person.

A finger puppet is one operated simply by the finger. So the tube can be the body of the puppet or you can expand and add a paper head and clothing that extend off the tube, making a much larger character. Both are considered finger puppets because it is the finger that holds the puppet.

Young kids may enjoy coloring right on the tube with markers or crayons. They may need some help gluing embellishments to add fun faces and costumes. Bits of yarn work nicely for hair or even shredded paper. The nice thing about finger puppets is they are small so you don't need a great deal of any one material—this is a great project to use up and re-imagine some of those supplies left over from collage.  

Try to work with all recycled materials—rather than rushing out to buy google eyes—see what you can do with buttons or other shapes found around the house. Twist ties make simple arms and attachments and are easier for little fingers that may have trouble tying.  Stiff paper can be cut to make facial features and fun ears for animals.

If you want larger puppets and an opportunity to expand on the idea of puppetry, create round paper faces inspired by animals or characters and glue these to the top of the tube. Use patterned paper or draw your own pattern and cut out the shape of a garment to glue to the tube below the head.

Feel free to make a puppet of your own to dialogue with your child's puppet. Don't be concerned if your child draws a simple face and is ready to move on to animating the puppet.  Puppetry is a combination of visual and performing arts and both parts are equally important. The ability to animate and play with a very simple shape or representation is a great strength of the young child's imagination and is building flexible thinking and creativity skills. The play with puppets may even inspire additional characters or an interest in making other props or a set for the characters.  

Have fun and see where the process leads you. For other fun art ideas with tubes, visit the Art at the Center blog, Not a Tube.