Monday Made It - Puppet Stage

Once again it's time for Monday Made It with Tara from 4th Grade Frolics. I get so excited over seeing everyone's great classroom projects. I incorporate those ideas into projects around my school, my library, and now my niece's classroom. A couple weeks ago I was inspired by  Mr. Greg from Smedley's Smorgasboard of Kindergarten. Greg had made a math tub center from PVC pipe. Now I don't need a math tub center in the library, but I did need a puppet stage.

I was so excited! Off to Lowes I went. Now the sweet little guy at Lowes tried to help me, but looked a little confused when I said I was shopping for parts to build a puppet stage. I should have taken a picture. His reaction - priceless! Must not get many requests for those in the plumbing section.  I should probably get a prize at my local store for asking the oddest questions. (Yes, Mrs. Brown, you can build a puppet theater from PVC pipe!)

After a little experimentation, my finished project!

Just in case anyone wants/needs a puppet stage, here's how I did it.
From Lowes:
Purchased 55 feet of PVC Pipe (5 - ten foot pieces and 1 - 5 foot piece) 8 elbow joints, and 2 T joints. I only need 50 feet of pipe, but after cutting realized I would have 2 odd pieces and be short.  So I purchased one extra short piece.

When I got home, (And yes you can put 5- ten foot pieces of PVC pipe in a Camry!) I sweet talked the oldest teenager into cutting the pipe for me.

 5 - 4 foot pieces

6 - 2 foot pieces

2 - 3 1/2 foot pieces

2 - 5 1/2 pieces

 

Then came the assembling! All joints were elbows except for the two middle joints in the front. For now it's strong enough. The kids can't swing on it or do chin ups, but should be fine for a puppet stage.

 

 I went to Hobby Lobby, found some material I liked and added curtains to the front and sides. I purchased 7 yards of the black and white. Could have used a little more..... 1 yard was plenty for the red. (My sweet mother-in-law did the sewing for me!) Basically, just sew a seam at the top and slide on the pipe like a curtain. Yes, she hemmed all the sides except for the bottom of the front. (I'm a little spoiled!)  I should have purchased a little extra of the black and white.









As for the cost, my Lowes ticket was around $21.00  I spent another 45 dollars on fabric. Yes, I spent a little over $60 on my puppet stage. But, I like it! Love that it's portable. I can easily take it apart when I don't have the puppets out and store it in the library.  If you want a more detailed set of instructions, email me at easttennesseebookworm at gmail.com and I'll be happy to send you a set - with pictures!

 

The kids are going to laugh. It matches my chair perfectly! (Ignore the paperwork, I wanted to get my stage done.) Can't wait to see their faces when they see it this week.

 

 

Have a great week and don't forget to check out other Monday Made It's on Tara's blog - 4th Grade Frolics.

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