Do you ever get bored with your basic Bible class curriculum?  It may be good content, but reading the story from the teacher’s manual and showing the picture that comes with the curriculum can get old.  It gets boring not only for you, but for the children that you teach.

Why not spice things up a bit?  There are SO many ways that you can present a Bible story and you should!  If you’ve read the posts on Learning Styles you’ll remember that it is important to vary your lessons.  Children learn in a variety of ways and those all of those ways need to be addressed.

In my next few posts, I will give you some ideas for presenting a Bible story that goes beyond the typical curriculum lesson.  Let’s start by looking at some of the possibilities for using puppets to present a Bible story to younger children.

Purchased Puppets

Puppets may be purchased from school or Bible supply stores.  The price of the puppets run between $50-$65 each.  They are a bit pricey, but may be a good investment.  They can be used with larger groups, Vacation Bible Schools, Bible camps, or other settings.

I found these 9 inch size hand puppets for just $9.95 at www.sonshinepuppetco.com

If the purchased puppets just aren’t in your budget, there are many kinds that can be made from very inexpensive materials that you may already have at home.  Here are a few possibilities that I have found:

Paper Sack Puppets

Some of you may have seen these puppets to teach the Ten Plagues on Pinterest.  They came from this site www.moderntribe.com for sale, but you could make something similar.

Glove Puppets

This particular one I found when I Googled is sold on Etsy.  Palma Smiley also has a variety of glove puppets that can be used with young children.

Sock Puppets

This site gives directions on how to make a sock puppet.  www.puppetgifts.com/How-to-Make-a-Puppet.html

Paper Plates & Paper Towel Tubes-Directions to make this one found here:

http://bibleclasscreations.blogspot.com/2012/06/paper-plate-puppet-with-moveable-mouth.html

 

Though not a necessity, a puppet stage makes for such a better presentation.  Depending on the size of your puppets,  you may need a larger or smaller stage.  Both of the shown stages were created inexpensively by individuals.

This larger stage was created using PVC pipe and curtains.  It was perfect for the larger purchased puppets.  I found a site with directions for a similar type of stage.

www.childrensministry.org/howto/howto5.htm-collapsable

 

If you just need a super easy & inexpensive stage for a classroom set up, this one was made with a trifold board like the ones used to demonstrate science projects.  A window was cut in the middle and a curtain attached at the top.  Here’s the site with the original post about this puppet stage.

http://bibleschoolteachers.blogspot.com/2009/01/puppet-theatre.html

There are so many ways to tell your Bible story.  Puppets are just one possibility out of many.  However you tell the story, just be sure to add variety and include the learning styles of all your students!