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Baby Bubble Fun

Playing with Puppets

12-18 Months

FromActivities for Responsive Caregiving,  Jean Barbre

What to have – White socks – Scissors – Glue – Crayons – Markers – Buttons – Pom-poms – Yarn – Felt – Fabric – Ready-made puppets Suggested Books – Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson – Bear’s Busy Family by Stella Blackstone – Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion – The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

What to do Puppets are fun for all ages. You can make a puppet or use ready-made ones when you tell a story or talk with a child. Puppets can be used to develop a sense of self in young children by fostering communication, role play, social interaction, imitation, and imagination. To make a sock puppet, take a white sock and either sew buttons on for eyes or color them in with a black marker. Decorate it using pom-poms, yarn, felt, and fabric. Use funny voices when you use the puppets to talk or read with the children. Supervise the children while they play with sturdy puppets and use them for pretend play and acting out stories. Read the suggested books and introduce the vocabulary words to the children.

Why LEARNING OUTCOMES Social-Emotional Development - Sense of self – Personal identity – Relationships with adults – Relationships with peers – Sharing Physical Development – Fine-motor skills Cognitive Development – Memory – Connecting experiences – Imitating others – Progression of play – Following simple directions Language Development - Receptive language – Expressive language – Communicating needs – Engaging in print – Using language in play

For more activities check out
Activities for Responsive Caregiving: Infants, Toddlers, and Twos

By Jean Barbre Copyright 2013 12-18 Months

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