Puppets in Education
How to Make Pipe Cleaner Puppets
These easy to make pipe cleaner puppets can be used as funny pencil toppers, as characters in a play or inserted into cups to make pop-ups.
Make Puppets!
Materials
- 1 pencil
- 4-6 pipe cleaners
- 1 small styrofoam ball
- markers
- tape
- knitting needle
Steps to Assemble Puppet
- use the knitting needle to gently poke a hole through the styrofoam ball
- insert a pipe cleaner through the hole far enough to turn over the short end to make a topknot for the hair (If you prefer, the pencil can be inserted directly into the head instead of a pipe cleaner.)
- with the markers draw a face on the head
- wind the "neck" end of the pipe cleaner around the top of the pencil and secure with tape
- prepare the arms by winding 2 pipe cleaners around the pencil to make the coils, slide them off the pencil
- pinch one end of each arm to make the hands and wrap a short piece of the other ends around the top of the pencil to attach just under the head (add a little tape if necessary)
- prepare the legs by winding 2 pipe cleaners around a marker or something with a bit larger circumference than the pencil to make the coils, slide them off the marker
- pinch one end of each leg to make the feet and wrap a short piece of the other ends around the middle of the pencil to attach just under the arms (add a little tape if necessary)
- poke a hole in the bottom of the cup and slide the pencil through to hide the puppet inside
- If making a message card for memory work, poke holes in the card and poke the hands through to hold onto the card
Optional Puppet Design
Instead of using a styrofoam ball for the head, one more pipe cleaner could be curled around to make a flat head. Facial features could then be glued onto the face.
Looking for more free puppet patterns?
- Recycle household and classroom materials.
- Try paper cup marionettes.
