This quick activity involves a scrap of card – paper will work – and scissors, and can result in a ‘puppet’ that kids enjoy playing with for a few minutes. It might also become a cast of characters who enact a play or story on the kitchen table.
Legless figures are drawn on the card and cut out. The figures have rounded bottoms large enough to cut out two leg holes the size of the child’s fingers. Insert fingers through the holes and experiment with making the puppet walk and dance, bow and curtsy. Puppet people can be as detailed and elaborate as you want them to be. Consider adding collage clothes, painted faces, etc.
Dr Toni Risson is a storyteller and a cultural historian who has penned everything from children’s picture books to a PhD on the Magic of Lollies. An expert on the Greek cafe phenomenon, Toni curated Meet Me at the Paragon for the State Library of Queensland, and her latest book, Brisbane’s Greek Cafes: A Million Malted Milks, was a finalist in the 2019 Queensland Literary Awards. Having encountered the elegant Paragon Cafe in Katoomba as a child, Toni developed a fascination with silky oak panelling, bevelled mirrors and Art Deco wall lights long before she understood the stories behind Australia's iconic Greek cafe. She continues to document our lost café culture.
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