Puppetools

I was excited to be able to look over the Puppetools website because I LOVE puppets. They are such a fun, non-threatening way to communicate with kids and even teenagers. The site shows you how to make a paper hinge that you can then use to make a variety of puppets. I has a lot of examples of puppets made by teachers and by students and videos showing how to make different puppets. It also includes 37 puppet templates. A yearly individual subscription is $20.

The paper hinge is handy, and the kids loved making and playing with the puppets. Ryan (8) liked the templates and having it all set out for him (he hates making mistakes), but Tyler (6) was annoyed and we ended up just making his freehand. (He wanted his dragon to have specific features that the template didn't have.)

While I strongly support and recomend the use of puppets and play in homeschool and everyday settings, I honestly didn't feel the resources offered by the site were that useful. However, if you need examples of puppets other people have made and ways to use puppets, the site might be valuable for you. It might also be useful for a homeschooled student who doesn't have the opportunity to look at the creations of his or her classmates to get new ideas.