There was an Old Lady....

I think most of us are familiar with the traditional children's song and story "There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly"! Well here's a cute hands on twist to the tale. Children love to act out, role play, or have some kind of hands on experience with literature. A familiar story can become that much more exciting when you add one new element. Puppets are a great way to engage children in literature and storytelling but what about a very large interactive puppet? Even better right? I think the "Old Lady" puppet is so much fun! Mine pictured above is made from two paper shopping bags but one could be really crafty and make a perhaps more durable fabric version.
How to make it:
~Take your first paper shopping bag and cut a rectangular hole in the center of it. Make sure it is on the side of the bag where the bottom flaps down.
~Under the flap cut a mouth shaped hole {a large half circle}. This will be the mouth opening of your puppet.
~Use a clear transparency or perhaps a transparent report cover to cover the large rectangle you cut in the center of the bag. You can glue this on from the inside of the bag. This will form the Old Lady's see-through tummy.
~Take your second paper bag of similar size and insert it into the first so they form a doubled bag then staple them together around the bag opening.
~Out of cardboard or bristol board create two old lady legs, arms and a large face to fit over the flap formed by the bottom of the bag. Glue or staple on these pieces.

You should now have an "Old Lady" puppet. You can embellish it by adding cotton ball hair, a protruding pointy nose, pipe cleaner glasses, or maybe some lace around the bottom of her dress to hide the staples.

Now to make it interactive!
~Find graphics online, in colouring books, or even draw your own pictures of the animals the Old Lady eats in the story. Cut these out and if you like laminate them to make them more durable. Your children can now feed these to the Old Lady as you tell the story and because her tummy is see-through your children will be able to see her tummy fill with animals!

There are now many new versions of this timeless favourite. "There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Bell" is I believe the title of the Christmas version. You could create the graphics to fit each new version and the puppet will become a new thrill all over again!