Materials Needed:

Felt

Fabric squares, ribbons, buttons

colored paper, scissors, glue

thread and needle

Children enjoy making finger puppets. They can draw faces on their own fingers, or they can cover their fingers with fabric and decorate to make finger puppets. These could be made from the fingers of old fabric (not knitted) gloves, or made according to the pattern below.

A very simple finger puppet can made from a small rectangle of felt rolled and taped to fit a child's finger. The teacher could also provide a pattern for the puppet, essentially a rectangle, curved at one end, large enough to allow for finger movement and a 1/4" seam on the top and sides.

Cut out two pieces of felt for each finger puppet. Match them with right sides together. Stitch around the edges, using a simple running stitch (- - - - - - ), leaving the bottom edge open. Turn and decorate as desired.

To make rounded ears for animals like a mouse or a bear, make a small pleat on the bottom of the ear and stitch to secure before sewing to the head. Of course, eyes, whiskers, nose, mouth and hair could be added from fabric scraps, yarn, or buttons, and sewn or glued on, as desired.

For a bird puppet, a beak could be cut from a small diamond shape, folded in half, and then attached. Feathers could be cut from felt or colored paper.