This is the perfect song to bring back our fun Shadow Puppet Theater!! It’s such a fun activity the kids absolutely love and here are cool new Stars Were Gleaming Shadow Puppets to add to your collection.
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Stars Were Gleaming Shadow Puppets
*Downloads are available at the bottom of the post when signed in!*
Supplies:
- Shadow Puppet Theater — See Directions Here!
- Scissors or craft knife
- Cardstock
- Tape
- Skewers, pencils, or straws
- Bedside lamp or large flashlight
Assembling the Shadow Puppets:
Print out the Stars Were Gleaming Shadow Puppets (at the bottom of this post). I highly recommend using cardstock as it will help give your puppets structure so they won’t bend.
Another good tip is to laminate your shadow puppets! It will let you cut out finer details, then assemble the individual pieces inside a clear laminating sheet.
This will allow the light to pass through the small details you cut out, while still giving you strength and support and you just need to have one spot to attach a handle to! It really will give you a lot of flexibility with your puppets.
Cut out each of your shadow puppet designs. Leave any of the black spaces in place and remove and discard all the white pieces. You may have to leave a little bit of the white space, as necessary, to keep your puppets in one piece, but cut out as much of the excess white cardstock as you can!
You can easily do this with a craft knife like this one! Just use your extra cardboard scraps as a cutting mat to protect your surface and carve around the white areas, and press gently and they’ll easy pop out, such as the eyes on the smiley face!
Then, attach the puppets to a pencil (or craft sticks, straws, skewers, etc). I buy this big pack of Ticonderoga Pencils a few times a year – they’re the best! You can reuse them as mini rhythm sticks.
Using the Stars Were Gleaming Shadow Puppets in Singing Time
Sing through Stars Were Gleaming (flip chart) once before getting started.
Then, invite a child to come up and help you and pass out just the first puppet. Tell them what their puppet represents (stars gleaming) and have them add the puppet when they hear the word!
Turn on the light and then sing through the first verse. The kids will be LOVE seeing the stars magically appear!
Now, add 2 more helper and sing through it again, (sheep and shepherd). Then the next 2 (moon and dreaming) puppets.
Switch helpers and sing through the first full line again!
Now, switch to the next set of puppets and lines of the song. (Angels, Ear, Hill, Music note, Bells, Earth, Gift, Headphones).
Stars Were Gleaming Shadow Puppets
Guide to Included Puppets
Page 1 Puppets:
- Stars = Stars were gleaming
- Sheep = Shepherds
- Men dreaming = Dreaming
- Moon = Night was dark
Page 2 Puppets:
- Angel = Angels’ story
- Ear = Shepherds heard
- Music note = Singing
- Bells = Ringing
- Gift = Christmas bringing
Page 3 Puppets: (Optional)
- Hill = On the hill
- Earth = Earthward
- Headphones = Hear it
Page 4 Puppets: (Verse 2)
- Star = Christmas star
- Man = Wisemen
- Camel = Riding
- Desert = Through the desert
- Arrow = Onward going
More Fun Extension Activities:
- Let the kids act out the scene of the song (give them a timer like 30 seconds or a minute). Have them narrate what’s happening! Then sing through the song again and have the kids listen for the parts from the act!
- Hold up the puppets (outside of the theater) in order. Raise them high when they hear their part of the song!
Head over next to see our fun I See a Hero Shadow Puppets singing time idea post for more fun themed puppets to add to your collection!
Stars Were Gleaming Shadow Puppets Printable Singing Time Lesson Plan & Puppets!
This printable lesson plan will have everything you need to use this activity in Singing Time. It starts with a 1-page guide of how to use the puppets in singing time and the supplies you’ll need to make your theater and puppets. You’ll also find the fun extension ideas so you can adapt the lesson easily on the fly!
Then, print the puppets for the verse you’ll be teaching. There’s 2 pages of puppets for the 1st verse and chorus and an additional page of puppets if you want to add even more puppets into the mix! Then, one more page for the 4th verse.
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Head over next to see our fun The Nativity Song Posters idea!
How did this fun Stars Were Gleaming Shadow Puppets activity go over in your Primary? Do you have any more fun ideas for extending this activity?
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