Dinner Plate Puppet

Invite kids to create plates that are part craft, part instant autobiography with this mask-making project.


CRAFT MATERIALS:

Paint stirrers
Heavy-duty paper
Dinner plates
Scissors
White glue
Glue sticks
Old magazines and catalogs
Markers and crayons
Colored construction
Paper or card stock
Yarn and/or fun fur

Time needed: Under 1 Hour
1. Attach a wooden paint stirrer as a handle to the bottom of each plate. To help the handle lie flat over the plate rim, cut a tab in the plate that?s the same width as the stirrer. Then glue the handle to the tab and the back of the mask.

2. Set out magazines, markers, crayons, and other decorating supplies along with glue sticks and scissors.

3. Hand each child a mask and ask her to pair up with a pal. Have the paired-up kids sit face-to-face so they can do a portrait of each other using the supplies set out for hair, eyes, lips, noses, freckles, and other features. If your crowd isn?t big enough to pair everyone up, let the kids make self-portraits.

4. Use sharp scissors to make eyeholes for those artists desiring real ?vision? in their portraits.