It’s common to have primary music students who are reluctant to sing or even say their names. Since puppets in music class help shy kiddos sing, why not make inexpensive puppets for everyone with clothespins? Try using them for warm-ups, vocal play, call & response songs, and conversational solfege.
During primary lessons, I sing the roll to check attendance. The students answer back with a sol-mi response. They can say “
Ideas for Materials:
- Wooden clothespins
- Googly eyes
- Superglue/glue
- Markers
- Chenille stems (pipe cleaners)
- Yarn
- Pom
poms - Felt
- Construction Paper/cardstock
- Cardboard
- Scissors
- Glitter
Ideas for Decorating
- Have students color the clothespins to their heart’s desire with markers. Super glue some googly eyes to the side when they finish coloring.
- Students can decorate a circular sticker, cut it in half, remove the backing, and stick to clothespin. I found the stickers in the card section of my local arts and crafts store.
- Make Silly Singers! Add googly eyes and a
pom pom for hair. Color the “lips” red. You’ll want to glue the pom-pom and eyes with superglue after the kids pick out which colors they want. You can alsopreglue them. They will fall off with school glue. I also wrapped a chenille stem around the bottom and cut off the excess with scissors for a better grip. - Paper cutout – have students color a paper singer to glue on to the clothespin. Add crafting materials to embellish.
Free Printable Paper Cut-Outs
Below is a printable that you can use as a template for your clothespin singers. Embellish them with paper or other crafting materials.
- Give students one or two squares to color. Give them one if you only want one side of the puppet to have a face. Give them two to cover both sides, just make sure to turn one of the circles upside-down.
- Show them some examples. You can create a funny face, animal, or monster. This is a side-view so the lip lines have been added as a guide. They will have to draw their own eye.
- Cut out the circle, then cut the circle in half along the dotted line.
- Glue the top and bottom onto the top and bottom of the clothespin.
Ideas for Storage
- Write students’ names on the bottom of their clothespins
- For PreK or daycare, you could pre-make simple puppets and keep them in a bin.
- Store clothespins in a shoebox for each class
- Clip them to a clip chart. Students can take their puppet down as you call them one at a time for attendance
I hope your students have a great time singing with their puppets!
