Art class turned into a theater this month as students in Mrs. Termina’s class designed, built, and performed with their own sock puppets.

The project started with a script. Students were paired up and handed superhero scripts, then given the job of designing puppets to match their characters. They thought through what their hero should look like, which colors fit the personality on the page, and whether the puppet would still read clearly from across a room.

Building the puppet was only half the work. Once the characters were finished, students had to learn how to bring them to life. That meant figuring out how to move a sock puppet so it looks like a person rather than a hand in a sock, and how to show emotion through movement alone. It is harder than it sounds, and the students took the challenge seriously.

The payoff was a live performance. Our puppeteers took their shows on the road to Mrs. Eifert’s kindergarten class, who made a wonderful audience. The kindergartners watched wide-eyed from the floor while the heroes acted out their stories above the table.

The verdict from the artists? They loved it. There is something about performing for a real audience that turns a class project into an event.