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We’ve been playing with butterfly finger puppets this week as we look forward to spring! They are a quick and easy way to provide opportunities for imaginative play and storytelling.
And, my daughter has been having so much fun making up spring butterfly stories:)
Butterfly Finger Puppets
I made two types of puppets for my daughter to play with because of her recent skin sensitivities. She’s become highly sensitive to her clothing recently. And, hasn’t been able to wear certain types of fabric or styles of clothing.
And, I wasn’t sure that she would be able to stand the puppets with the finger holes. Knowing the paper would rub against her skin. Right at the point where it was cut and potentially jagged.
So, I made two with finger holes and three others that form a ring around the finger.
She did end up commenting about the finger hole puppets rubbing against her fingers, so I was glad I made both. But, she has kept both kinds on to play with regardless. So, I guess the fun won out over her irritation:) And, if you have a child who’s sensitive to things like this too, then you’ll have two options.
To make the finger hole butterfly finger puppets:
- Cut around the outside of the butterfly.
- Make two small snips with scissors inside the white circles in the shape of an X. Folding the paper over slightly at the mid-point of each circle helps to make the snip.
- Then, cut the white circles from each finger hole.
Assembling Butterfly Ring Puppets
The ring puppets are great because they will also fit adult fingers and you can play with your kiddo. I made the strips pretty long so that you can cut and fold to adjust to any finger size.
To make the ring puppets:
- Cut out the butterfly and the bottom paper strip.
- Size the paper strip as well as you can to your child’s finger by folding it around itself.
- Place a piece of tape up and down around the point where the ends meet.
Pretend Play
Once our puppets were made my daughter and I sat down to do some storytelling and pretend play with her new finger puppets.
She told me she wanted to “tell the story” as we made it up together. And, I told her the name for a person who “tells the story” is the narrator.
And, we talked about what a narrator is and how they know all the parts of the story and can “fill in” the reader or listener as the story unfolds.
I also just made some spring vocabulary word cards that I plan on adding to our play as prompts for storytelling.
Making Backdrops
I chose to make a super simple backdrop for my daughter to use when making up her butterfly stories. Scenes aren’t necessary of course, but my daughter found it fun. And, she even used the grass to “hide” her butterflies in:)
Here’s how to make the one in the picture above:
- Grab two pieces of construction paper, I used one blue and one green.
- Then, cut a wide strip off the long side of the green piece.
- Using scissors, cut away small pieces of the paper by weaving in and out.
- Lastly, tape or glue the bottom, uncut section of the green strip to the bottom of the blue to finish your outdoor scene!
You could also add construction paper flowers, clouds, people, other animals or a sun. And, your child can also draw in their own elements to make their backdrops as detailed as they want.
I made a page of these puppets available for free in my shop in case you wanted to make some of these cute finger puppets with your kiddos. Grab them below.
*Find the free Butterfly Finger Puppets in my shop*
Have fun with your butterfly finger puppets!
Heidi
