Kids puppet show, can you help?

Question

Ok, i have to do a puppet show for lots of little 3-5 yr olds. Any ideas?

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Answer 1

you actually have tons of options. because imagination is your only limitation as far as story is concerned, you might want to start by looking at something simple like budget or what materials you have access to. find your boundaries first because that might dictate the kind of show you have to do. budget? how many performers do you have access to? space? rehersal time? all these questions can start narrowing down your options. but other than that, you can write your own story, re enact an already existing story, a fable, a moral/Bible story, safety story, say no to drugs story, not be a bully story, ect...if you've already answered the other questions, just start looking thru childrens plays/puppet shows. this way, you know that the story you're doing has already been adapted for kids and for puppets.  

Answer 2

Does this include making the "theater"? Or are you just looking for play ideas?

   3 to 5, no offense to them is pretty simple, but you should realize their attention span is often short, as might the "show" be.

   Also 3 to 5 would be Ok, with no "theater" and you could even sit with them as you use whatever puppets you have.

   The puppets will matter though, in how you create a show, unless they are specific characters.

   You can use any number of crafted situations from old nursery rhymes, to stories they might already know, which could help with their interactions. At that age "Familiar" is a good thing.

   Backing up a bit, I think I'd use their ages as a guide for the length of time the play lasts. 5 minutes would work well, and/or could be multiple stories in groups of minutes. Much longer and you may lose your audience.

   Also at that age, it might be a decent idea to have some moral in the story, fantasy certainly on their age/level of understanding, NO violence, or heavy subtleties.

   ADDED THOUGHT:  If you absolutely cannot come up with a script, you can still use various puppets to HELP you read a story the children know already. The puppet could help turn pages, make comments, you look back and forth at each other, you make the puppet gesture in ways that children might, while allowing them multiple areas of visual and auditory stimulation, in a setting they know already.

Answer 3

That age group LOVES to be involved in the action.  They love repetitive statements That they can shout along with (For a great example, see if you can find a recording of Robert Munch reading his stories to kids)  They also love to correct performers (Ex:  "So I'm going to take this blue balloon...."  "NO, It;s GREEN!") and to be in on a joke that one character doesn't know about (Ex: "I wish I know where Bob was."  "He's behind you!"  Character spins to find Bob who ducks out of the way)

Answer 4

Try http://www.puppetresources.com. There's heaps of free puppet plays available there, which should give you some ideas.