Old Shoes. New Story.

Use the activity below to create a brand new story using shoes as puppets!
Materials Needed: a pair of shoes per student

1. Kick off this shoe-per fun activity by having students bring in an old pair of shoes.Gather students in a circle and ask them: Can you tell us about your favorite pair of shoes to wear when you go on adventures with your family or friends? Give them a moment to think about it. You might want to share your own favorite adventure shoes to get the ball rolling. Note: As an adjustment, instead of asking students to bring in a pair of shoes, you could choose to ask students to simply take one shoe off for this activity.
2. Now, show students your own shoe puppet and share with them how they move, how they talk, what their name is, etc. Offer students a chance to ask the puppet questions (or vice versa). Then, have your shoe puppet tell students, “I’d love to make some new shoe friends!”
3. Tell students, “We’re going to bring one of our favorite shoes to life as puppets!” Encourage them to give their shoe puppet some personality—maybe it has a silly voice or likes to dance!
4. Help students dig a bit deeper by asking fun questions like:
   Where are your puppet’s eyes, nose or mouth?
   What’s your shoe puppet’s name?
   What does your shoe puppet sound like?
   How does it move?
   Where does your shoe puppet like to go on adventures?
5. Then, go around the circle and have each student introduce their shoe puppet. Ask students to gently place their shoe puppets in the center of the circle and say, “Look at all of these new shoe friends!”
6. Next, tell students that you’re going to create a story together, about all of your new shoe friends going on an adventure. Ask them questions like:
   What are these shoes’ relationship to one another?
   What kind of adventure could they go on together?
   Which shoe looks happy?
   Which one might be feeling a bit sad?
   Which of our shoe friends might be a bit scared to go on an adventure?
   Does any shoe have some exciting news to share?
   Use their ideas as inspiration to weave together a simple story.
   Maybe the shoes are going to the beach or having a picnic in the park!
7. For the grand finale, bring your story to life. Have the kids pick up their shoe puppets and act out the story you’ve created together. Encourage them to use different voices and move their shoe puppets around in fun ways as they help tell the tale!

Teacher Tip: For very young students, add two eye stickers to their shoes to help them imagine how their shoe can come to life.

Reflection Questions:

• What was your favorite part of this activity?
• How did your shoe puppet feel during the story?
• If your shoe puppet could go on another adventure, where would it want to go next?
• What other objects would you like to make into a puppet?