This post is sponsored by Duracell.
Hands up if you have a Star Wars fan in your home? We do and he has been waiting for the day to share his love with our kids! I mean, that really is one of the joys of parenting isn’t it– sharing those passions and joys that were so super cool during your own childhood with your kids? And Dad 101’s love of Star Wars is so much cooler than my excitement at recently find Jem and the Holograms on one of our pay TV channels 😉 Anyway, in our home, apparently the time for the sharing is now, largely due to the greatly anticipated upcoming release of the seventh installment in the series, Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
To celebrate the release, we’ve teamed with Duracell, an official partner of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, to power some fabulously fun Star Wars inspired play in your home. Puppets are one of my absolute favourite toys for encouraging literacy development in children. Playing with puppets is not only about speaking and listening, it’s also about developing story telling skills such as planning, sequencing and comprehension. There are also a whole host of creative, imaginative and social benefits of puppet play. And puppet play is not just for little kids. Oh no, hand over a set of these fab printable Star Wars shadow puppets, and school aged children will have a great time creating stories and scenarios together. All you need is a torch to power your shadow puppet play, no fancy theatre set up required!
How to Make Your Own Star Wars Shadow Puppets
You will need:
- A printed copy of this Star Wars Shadow Puppets printable – I strongly suggest printing onto photo paper or card stock and laminating your puppets (once they have been cut out) for durability
- Scissors
- Utility knife
- Wooden chopsticks, bamboo skewers or straws
- Tape
- A torch (powered with long lasting Duracell Ultra AA batteries, of course!)
To make;
- Print out the Star Wars shadow play puppets (see printable instructions above).
- Cut around each puppet and carefully cut out each white area with the utility knife – you’ll definitely need adult help for this step.
- Laminate and then cut around each laminated puppet.
- Tape each puppet to a bamboo skewer or straw.
Then your puppets are ready for play! Set up your torch so that it is projecting at the wall and hold each puppet between the light source and the wall. Have fun creating new adventures with these classic Star Wars characters – and just try to keep Dad away from the fun!
Christie Burnett is a teacher, presenter, writer and the mother of two. She created Childhood 101 as a place for teachers and parents to access engaging, high quality learning ideas.
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