Young children enjoy dramatic play with puppets in part because they provide a bit of distance between the child and characters that may frighten them, such as monsters. Puppet play allows them to try on these roles in a safe environment. Plan an activity allowing children to create their own simple puppets using craft items such as fabric scraps, styrofoam balls and googly eyes for example. Have them create any type of puppet they wish, whether people, monsters or creatures. Allow children to practice trying out different voices and scenarios as their puppet characters, interacting with their classmates.
Create a puppet center in your kindergarten classroom. Allow students to create a home for their handmade puppet using a shoebox, decorating and furnishing it themselves. Add a few store-bought or professionally made puppets to the puppet center; include hand puppets, finger puppets, paper bag puppets or even marionettes on strings. At first the children may use the puppets only as an artistic endeavor or engage in rudimentary puppet play such as making the mouth open and close, but regular exposure to the puppet center will lead to more imaginative play, increase their vocabulary, build social skills and allow them to dramatize real-life scenarios both whimsical and serious.
Create simple feelings puppets for your classroom to help children to talk about emotions. Draw several different faces on paper plates and attach the plates to popsicle sticks. Show faces that are happy, sad, surprised, scared and mad, for example. Use these simple puppets to act out a dialogue with the children. Ask questions such as "How did you feel when you won the costume contest?" and allow children to answer using the puppets. Youngsters may discuss their feelings more openly with the degree of separation the puppets offer. Feelings puppets may also foster a sense of empathy for others; try using two emotion puppets to create a dialogue between two children who are having a disagreement. Help them to use the puppets to discuss their emotions and begin to understand each other's point of view.
Observing children's puppet play can offer tremendous insight into the emotions and inner thoughts of the children. For example, a child may feel safe acting out a difficult scenario using puppets that he otherwise wouldn't be comfortable discussing. Watch the kindergartener's puppet play carefully for signs of underlying emotional conflict or difficulties. Encourage children to participate in a puppet dialogue with you. The safety of one degree of separation between the child and the difficult feelings will help children feel safer opening up and sharing their feelings.