Do-it-yourself shadow theater for children: ready-made template, easy instructions, as well as photos of ready-made options

Basic principle: how it works

The basis of such theater is “playing” with shadows. The performance is created by light sources. The figure or object is illuminated and a shadow appears on the screen. That is why creating such a theater with your own hands will not be difficult.

Black and white representations are not the only option. Scenes can be “painted” in different colors. You will need colored light bulbs or filters that are attached to the light source. For example, for an evening city scene - a dark blue filter, for a morning scene - shades of yellow.

"Modern shadow theater in preschool educational institutions"

Elena Gribova

"Modern shadow theater in preschool educational institutions"

The educational process in preschool organizations has undergone significant changes as part of the introduction of the federal state educational standard for preschool education. The implementation of the Program should be carried out in forms specific to children, primarily “... in the form of play, cognitive and research activities, in the form of creative activity that ensures the artistic and aesthetic development of the child...”

The most important of the tasks is to master the elementary generally accepted norms and rules of behavior in society on the basis of primary value-moral ideas about “what is good and what is bad”

, as well as the development of emotional and value perception of works of art [1].

The organization of theatrical activities in preschool educational institutions is very relevant at the present time, as it allows preschool children to develop not only artistic abilities and creative potential, but also helps them adapt to society, master the world of human feelings, communication skills, and moral values ​​of our society. Through theatrical and playful creativity, the child develops artistry, speech activity, emotional responsiveness and intelligence.

Theater is an excellent way to overcome timidity, self-doubt, and shyness. Theatrical activities allow you to shape a child’s personality due to the fact that every fairy tale or literary work for children always has a moral orientation - the heroes are kind, brave, know how to make friends and find a way out of any situation. The world of theater is an extraordinary land of fantasy, a play of fiction and reality, sounds, music and light. The fairy tale is close and understandable to children, and the child can find a reflection of his worldview in theatrical activities .

Theater is one of the greatest arts of mankind, combining other forms of art - literature, music, choreography, vocals, visual arts. In our work we use various types of theaters : finger, table, flat, bibabo, etc. But of particular interest to children is shadow theater , which is based on the use of flat puppets, which are placed between a light source and a screen [3].

According to history, shadow theater as an art originated in Ancient China in 200 BC, during the Han Dynasty. Then the shadow theater appeared in India , Turkey, spread throughout Asia, with the troops of Genghis Khan reached Europe, reached St. Petersburg and Moscow. Shadow theater performances , as a rule, took place at night, right on the street by the light of an oil lamp, and the puppets of one performance could number up to 1000 figures, not counting the scenery. Dolls for such performances were made from skins 30 centimeters high, with patterns cut out and painted. The figures were made movable from interconnected parts. The person behind the screen controlled the doll using special long rods - bamboo, steel or wood.

The most common plot for performances was the historical epic. In India, shadow theater were more often focused on religious themes, and in Turkey - on comedy. In Russia, shadow theater appeared at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries during the reign of Anna Ioannovna as part of school theaters in theological seminaries and academies. The most famous Shadow Theater now is the Javanese Theater , Wayang Kuli: dolls for it are still made from buffalo skin. In the West, shadow theater is considered one of the most elegant and elite arts; special festivals are even held in Europe[2].

Children's shadow theater is not just a type of game for a child - it is an additional way of his development. Playing with shadows stimulates the child's imagination and develops his imagination. In preschool educational institutions, these entertainments are often used as exercises to develop the child’s motor skills and speech culture.

To create a shadow theater in a group of preschool educational institutions you need:

- screen;

- Light source;

- silhouette dolls on sticks - heroes of the work and elements of the setting (houses, trees, clouds, etc.)

;

- musical compositions.

The screen can be small for productions using cardboard silhouettes of the play's characters. If the children themselves act as actors, then the screen should be no less than the height of the children. Minimalism of props and scenery. For each scene, two or three characteristic details are enough to indicate the location of the action.

One of the shadow theater is to show silhouettes of various animals on the screen using your hands. The most difficult thing is not only to make a figure with your fingers, but also to be able to correctly reflect the shadow on the screen, as well as make movements with your fingers to make the figure move and talk.

Currently, all preschool educational institutions use multimedia equipment, which allows them to raise theatrical games to new heights. You can put a color picture on the screen to create a staged scene, quickly change it to the next one, or select a specific color scheme. The use of a computer significantly expands the range of artistic works for the theater , since creating a large number of objects for theatrical activities takes a lot of time, and the space for storing attributes in groups is usually limited.

The photographs show a master class for teachers of preschool educational institutions on conducting shadow theater - the fairy tale “The Three Little Pigs”

. Silhouettes of fairy tale characters are cut out of cardboard, painted black and mounted on wooden sticks.

Literature:

1.Internet source: Ministry of Education and Science. rf Federal State Educational Standard DO.

2. Internet source: studio-molino.ru About the shadow theater .

3. Internet source: www/mir-teatra.org Shadow Theater .

Stages of creating a shadow theater

Making a shadow theater for children with your own hands combines two stages: preparing the stage and creating characters. The approximate time that needs to be spent is about 30-40 minutes. But if you start decorating and creating puppet characters, it will take a little more time.

For the theater to “work”, you will need:

1. Choose a suitable light source.
2. Make a screen out of a sheet, whatman paper or white paper.
3. Take care of the frame (made of cardboard or an artistic stretcher).
4. Correctly position the light source, screen and characters.

Shadow theater for children: how to play correctly so that the theater does not become a toy for one time? article

Shadow theater for children: how to play correctly so that the theater does not become a toy for one time?

We live in a wonderful time when there is a large selection of shadow theaters for children on the Internet, in children's stores and bookstores. This is a great gift, impression, joy for a child. Shadow theater is very useful for children!

1. Shadow theater develops a child’s imagination and teaches him to think creatively.

2. Unlike “ready-made” toys, these are silhouettes, but the child completes the drawings and comes up with elements in his head that are not shown, and such a thought process is very useful. Shadow theater encourages the child to engage in this thought process.

3. Shadow theater develops a child’s speech. Unlike a “ready-made” toy and due to the special atmosphere of theater and performance, shadow theater implies that the child will stage the play and speak out loud on behalf of the characters, rather than silently walking Spider-Man around the bedside table. It is important to be with the child at this moment, to be his spectator. Let him not be shy to invent and tell a story. Support your child's story with admiration and questions.

4. Shadow theater calms kids before bed, because the play takes place in the dark and at a calm tempo rhythm. This is not a game of toy soldiers.

5. Shadow theater instills in a child the idea that you can create with your own hands whatever you want, any toy, and not just go and buy it. The child develops an interest in crafts, homemade items, creativity and creation.

A shadow theater is easy to make, but it will bring much more pleasure than any purchased, bulky and expensive toy.

6. Shadow theater helps to overcome children's fear of the dark, since the associative series of “monster under the bed” and “scary creatures in the darkness of the room” is overlapped by an association with the solemnity of the performance, a miracle in the dark.

Is your child afraid of the dark? Play shadow theater with him and the fear will gradually disappear due to a change in associations. In the photo, my mother and my niece are putting on a shadow play.

7. Shadow theater creates family traditions and warm relationships with parents. Of course, provided that you are participating in the child’s performance, and not sitting on your smartphone in front of the TV on in a room with the lights on, while your child in the corner is trying to understand why he needs to play cardboard on a stick. Shadow theater is like a board game, it looks like some kind of cardboard and pieces of paper, but if you master it, there is a whole world inside and a lot of impressions and experiences.

The last point is where problems most often arise. Parents buy their child a beautiful shadow theater, the child is happy, the parents try to play it once, play for 15-20 minutes, then maybe a second time, and then the theater goes to lie among the toys and no one takes it again. It is difficult for a parent who comes from work as an accountant or lawyer to voice a paper cat after a hard day at work. He is embarrassed to do this in front of the child, feels awkward, like maybe I’m talking some kind of nonsense in front of my child. And how do you come up with a plot? Stage the same fairy tale? But it’s boring for a child to play shadow theater alone, and a brother or sister may be too small/“big” for this. As a result, a shadow theater most often becomes a one-time purchase. Almost no one buys any second type of shadow theater or collects a collection of different figures. Let's play and that's enough.

But the truth is that a shadow theater can serve a child for many years and can become a frequently used and even favorite toy. Shadow theater can be an effective tool for child development. And parents will not be upset that they spent a thousand rubles, and the child only played once. How to do it? How to play shadow theater correctly?

Shadow theater requires a special approach and preparation, just like, for example, board games. It looks like paper and cardboard, but inside there is a whole world. Prepare for the shadow play correctly and your child will play shadow theater more than once.

90% of the success of this toy is the atmosphere. Create an atmosphere!

1. Turn off the lights. Fully. When playing shadow theater, there should be one light source in the room - either a regular flashlight or a smartphone flashlight.

2. It is better to buy an ordinary powerful flashlight for the shadow theater, so that the phone screen with notifications and time does not distract anyone from the game and performance. Or put on airplane mode during the game, otherwise you will interrupt the performance with “you have to answer” or “this is for work.” But a regular flashlight is the best solution. Don't take the cheapest and smallest ones, they give off weak light. Do not buy from an online store, where you will not be able to check what kind of light it actually produces. Go to a hardware store or hardware store. Stock up on batteries. Give your child his own flashlight, he will be very happy. Using a lantern will add atmosphere to the game. You can also use a flexible table lamp where you can direct the beam of light. The option is excellent, but make sure that the child does not touch the wire, does not get burned, and that it is not too heavy.

3. Turn off the TV, stop intimate conversations at the table, remove family members with their faces sanctified by their smartphones from the dark room to another room, and best of all, let them be spectators. When playing shadow theater, there should be one focal point in the dark room - the theater itself. It will not be possible to play shadow theater if there is a performance in one corner of the room, and adults “communicate” in the other. When playing shadow theater, everything should be like in a real theater: the lights go out, the phones turn off, the audience falls silent, and outsiders, out of admiration for the shadows or inventing the plot of the theme, watch the performance and participate in it.

The effectiveness of shadow theater is atmosphere, atmosphere and atmosphere again.

4. Spectators and participants are very important for shadow theater. You can sit down mom, dad, brothers, sisters, grandparents, so they can watch the child put on a fairy tale. The best option is active participation, playing as a character, but not everyone is always ready to do this. Make shadow play a family tradition. Play at least once a week with a fully created atmosphere and spectators, and the child will have a lot of fun. Several adults or siblings can support the child by also participating in the play, playing characters and showing shadows with him. Don’t immediately put the child in a position where he plays himself in front of the audience; he will come to this on his own later and show everyone the finished performance.

Be sure to invite the audience. Dads, mothers, grandfathers, grandmothers, brothers, sisters, as a last resort, you can put the child’s favorite toys on chairs and show them the performance. The child will also be very happy about this.

5.Plot. There are a lot of options here.

a) You can put the plot of the book itself. A link to it or text is usually included in the box with the theater. If not, then searching the Internet will help you.

b) You can play the performance using an audio recording. It is also often included in the theater kit, often as a link. If not, then you can find and turn on the audiobook of the fairy tale through contact or YouTube. Don’t forget to stop recording the first showings, otherwise it may be difficult for you and your child to immediately keep up with the plot. Appoint someone to be the sound engineer.

c) You can come up with new plots and fairy tales with existing characters. Do it impromptu, or compose it in advance and then play it. Don't limit your imagination.

d) Invite your child to cut out his characters or scenery and come up with new stories. You can read about this below in a separate section. This could be anything from superheroes to dragons and dinosaurs. Let your child collect his own collection of shadow puppets and learn how to make them.

6.Process. You can set a task for your child in the morning and show you a performance in the evening. Give him a fairy tale, theater for rehearsals and let him learn responsibility and prepare events. You can also do this all together with your child and even extend the game over a week. We’ve been preparing the play since Monday, and on Saturday my grandparents will come and we’ll show it to them together. You will be surprised at how responsibly your child will approach this task. Surely such “movements” are really more interesting than leaving a child alone with cars or dolls?

7.Use background classical music. It will create a solemn magical atmosphere for the game. You can find a huge number of playlists of “children’s” classical music on the Internet. Play it in the background at a volume below average. This is not a mandatory item, try both the option with silence and with music, and choose the one you like best.

I am for imagination and for creating your own unique theater, where you need to come up with your own characters, write your own story, and then play it! This is also beneficial for parents, since they do not need to buy a shadow theater. If you and your child learn to do it yourself, then you will not need to buy any theater books.

You can make a shadow theater like this.

You will only need:

• Pencils
• Paper (print from the Internet or draw a stencil of the future doll with a pencil)
• Scissors
• Cardboard (put the stencil on the cardboard and cut out a thick doll using the stencil with scissors)
• Sushi sticks or juice straws (To attach the doll to them. Sticks are sold in packs at Ozone)
• Scotch tape (attach the dolls to the stick on the back side)
• Flashlight, lamp or phone (light source)
• White cloth or cooking paper (white parchment). If you don’t want to reflect the shadow on the wall, but make the theater “box” itself with a screen. where the dolls with the light source will be on one side of the paper, and the audience on the other.
• The basis for the 8th point, where the fabric or paper is attached. Can be made from a box or crate. You can not cut anything, run a fishing line between the backs of two chairs and hang a white thin fabric on it. Just cover the lower space from light so that it is convenient for the artists to play with dolls and not be visible.

If you want to stage a particular special performance, for example, based on the Moomins or with dinosaurs, then you can find ready-made character stencils on the Internet, including searching in English keywords using the word “stencil” (stencil). All you have to do is print the stencil on a printer, cut it out, transfer it to cardboard and attach it to a stick with tape. And the dolls are ready!

Such a miracle happens if you cut out dolls for a shadow theater yourself.

I want to share with you a selection of interesting purchased shadow theaters and tell you how to use them.

First love and children's favorite “Night Tale” by Beatrice Coron! There are many windows in which interesting events take place, there are circus performers, a house with animals, and a flower shop. So curious, it’s like peeking through different windows! Fantasies will not stop, you can endlessly come up with stories! In paper pictures, as in life, everything is interconnected!

Cover of the book "Night Tale" by Beatrice Coron.

The second find is a series of wonderful books, here you can find your favorite fairy tales! The collection is very large! You can voice the fairy tale yourself or offer to do it with your child. Turn on the audiobook and use a flashlight! Why not? I chose my favorites “Thumbelina” and “Puss in Boots”.

Take your children to this show.

Shadow theater is a wonderful toy and educational activity for a child. An atmosphere and comfort that will carry with the child throughout childhood and will be remembered with warmth in adulthood. Buy your child a shadow play, make your own shadow play with your child, and use my article to get the most out of your new shadow play!

Selecting a lighting fixture and a suitable screen

When creating a shadow theater with your own hands, you need a light source: an ordinary flashlight, a table lamp or any other adjustable lamp. You can even use mobile phone lighting.

A translucent white plane is used as a screen. The size is not limited - it all depends on the light power. For the screen, materials that are at hand are suitable: tracing paper, a thin white sheet or a simple Whatman paper. And if this is not the case, you can fasten sheets of snow-white paper together.

To make the scene look more impressive, you will need a frame for the screen. It is made from an artistic stretcher or cardboard. For example, a do-it-yourself shadow theater for children is done this way: choose a suitable box and cut out the bottom.

Then take parchment paper, cut it into a rectangle and stick it to the bottom of the box. All that remains is to decorate the layout as you wish. You can also stretch fabric over a small frame.

Master Class. DIY shadow theater

DIY shadow theater in kindergarten

DIY shadow theater. Master class with step-by-step photos

Master Class.
Making a teaching manual with your own hands Topic of the lesson : Master class. Shadow Theater Author : Sukhovetskaya Oksana Aleksandrovna, teacher of the speech therapy group of the Child Development Center - kindergarten No. 300 “Ryabinushka”, Novosibirsk. Description of material : In this master class you will learn how to make a shadow theater. Shadow theater will help children get acquainted with the theater in a fun way, show their imagination, and develop speech activity. This methodological guide will be useful for children of primary and senior preschool age, as well as for school-age children, teachers and parents. The manual can be used both in individual work and in group work. A master class will help prepare this manual. Material : to create a theater we will need: - a ready-made screen (or you can make it yourself, I will not dwell on this in detail); - fabric: white (tracing paper can be used), colored for the scenes; - threads to match the fabric; - Vilcro ribbon (linden) - cocktail straws; - barbecue sticks (large); — holniten (rivets); — fastenings for electrical wires; - sewing hooks. Tools for work : - hammer; - nails; - stationery knife (cutter); — hole punch for belt; - scissors; — press for eyelets; - awl; - glue gun; - ruler; - pencil pen; — super glue “Moment”; - sewing machine. The result of the master class helps : Stimulate children and their initiative in theatrical activities.
Develop imagination, creative abilities, develop the articulatory apparatus. To form in children a persistent interest in theatrical activities, a desire to participate in a common action, to encourage children to actively interact and communicate, teaches them to be able to communicate with peers and adults in various situations, to develop speech and the ability to actively build dialogue. Develop play behavior, aesthetic feelings, and the ability to be creative in any task. “The theater is a magical world. He gives lessons in beauty, morality and ethics. And the richer they are, the more successful the development of the spiritual world of children is...” (B.M. Teplov)

"Magic land!"
- this is what the great Russian poet A.S. Pushkin once called the theater. The feelings of the great poet are shared by both adults and children who have come into contact with this amazing form of art. A special role belongs to the theater in solving problems related to the upbringing and development of a preschool child. Through theatrical and playful creativity, we can develop children’s emotional responsiveness, intellectuality, and develop children’s communication skills, artistry, and speech activity. In the daily life of a kindergarten, teachers use various types of theaters: bibabo, finger, tabletop, planar (flannelograph or magnetic board), puppet theater, book theater, mask theater, etc. I want to tell and show how to make a complex and at that At the same time, a very interesting shadow theater. Shadow theater is an ancient theater. Since time immemorial, shadow paintings have been shown in India, China, Java and Turkey on the street at night under the light of an oil lamp. Props required for this theater: a light source (for example, a headlamp, table lamp, filmoscope), a screen with a white screen, silhouette puppets on sticks. At the first stage of work, to make silhouettes, we need the following: a stationery knife (cutter), scissors, a hole punch for a belt, a press for eyelets, rivets (rivets)

Silhouettes can be prepared on the computer or drawn yourself. I found ideas for silhouettes on the Internet, printed them on regular A4 sheets

Then we paste the printed silhouettes onto black paper. I immediately prepared silhouettes of the characters and scenery. Now these silhouettes need to be cut out. We cut out small internal details using a stationery knife, and cut out the silhouettes themselves with scissors. To prevent the silhouettes from bending, I laminated them. If this is not possible, you can use thick cardboard to stiffen the figures. The next step is to cut out the already laminated double-sided silhouettes. Since I really wanted the characters (silhouettes) to have movable elements (for example, they could walk), I made separate elements for the silhouettes: arms, paws, legs. To set them in motion, the parts must be fastened in a certain way. Both wire and threads with knots at the ends are suitable for fastening. But I wanted some grace, or something. Therefore, I connected the parts using a belt hole punch and rivets. Using a hole punch for the belt, I punched even holes in the fastening points, choosing a diameter such that the rivets would not fly out and would move freely. Previously, in the places of fastening, I marked out points with an awl, aligning the paws so that in the future they would not warp. Then I used a grommet press to connect the rivets (this press was the right size for the rivets). Now you need to attach the sticks to the figures, by which the puppeteers will hold them. It is important to me that the theater is compact. Therefore, my sticks will be removable. The sticks that the silhouettes will use are barbecue sticks. Wooden, round in shape.. We match these sticks to the size of corrugated cocktail tubes. It is very important that the sticks in the tubes do not dangle, but sit very tightly. And we need a glue gun to secure it.

Using scissors, cut off the part with the corrugation (accordion) from the tube, leaving 1.5 cm uncorrugated ends

Using a glue gun I will attach the tubes to the silhouettes. There are two mounting options: horizontal (with corrugation) see on the wolf; vertical (just a piece of tube 2 cm) see on a pig.

To understand in the future which fastenings will be convenient for you, insert the sticks into the tubes.

Try to move the silhouettes, play with them. In principle, I liked both mounts. At the same time, I realized for which silhouettes I would use only vertical fastening, and for which I would use horizontal fastening.

The silhouette figures are ready. Now let's do the decorations. We had already prepared the base when we glued the silhouettes of the scenery onto black paper, cut it out, laminated it and cut it out again. Now we need to strengthen the silhouettes and at the same time make a system for attaching to the screen. We glue barbecue sticks to the silhouettes using a glue gun with the pointed end down.

In order to fully take advantage of our prepared silhouettes, let’s prepare the screen. Luckily for me, our group had such a screen.

We will make the main design changes inside the screen

We will need simple tools: On the bottom strip of the window we will mark the places for the plastic fasteners.

Let's fasten the plastic fasteners with nails (these fasteners are usually used by electricians to secure wires to the walls), and at the same time we'll try on how the decoration sticks will fit in. The fasteners must be firmly fixed and not loose, otherwise all our decorations will not be positioned correctly. We attach sewing hooks to the top strip of the window using Moment super glue. We need them to place on them such decorations as clouds, sun, moon, birds. We attach Vilcro tape (linden) under the hooks. It is better to attach it to a furniture stapler so that it does not come off.

On the bottom bar above the fastenings for decorations, we also fix the Vilcro tape. From the outside it all even looks interesting. The versatility of the manipulations is that all these fasteners can be used not only for shadow theater, but also for performing any other puppet show.

We will attach the white screen to the Vilcro tape. We will make the screen from a piece of white calico. Using a measuring tape, measure the width and height of the window. (instead of fabric, you can use tracing paper, unfortunately, it is less reliable) Cut out a rectangular piece and carefully trim the edges. We will sew vilcro tape on the top and bottom - its second half. Now the screen can be placed on the screen. It will be held taut by the Vilcro tape.

Outwardly, the screen now seemed boring to me. So I decided to transform it. Curtain curtains will decorate our theater.

Let's sew a lambrequin from a narrow rectangular strip of fabric. The lambrequin will cover the top crossbar of the window. From rectangles with processed edges you will get a curtain in two parts. Both sides can be assembled. You can make a removable fibula so that the curtain can completely cover the window or be open without obstruction. I covered the bottom of the screen with self-adhesive film to match our curtain.

For comparison: what was and what has become

Our theater is almost ready to show the performance. All that remains is to install the necessary light and invite actors and spectators. In order for the audience to see the performance, we will need two light sources. Regular headlamps will serve as a light source. They are safe and easy to use.

I attached the lanterns to the screen doors.
My flashlights have a rotating mechanism that will help us choose the direction of the light. At the same time, performances can be watched both in daylight and in a dark room. The silhouettes will be equally visible in both cases. Let's call the actors and spectators. The actors will be behind the screen and “puppeteer”, showing and telling amazing stories and fairy tales. We invite you to our performance! Enjoy watching! And have fun working with this material! Silhouettes of characters and scenery can be downloaded

Here

We recommend watching:

Photo report from the fairy tale “The Scarlet Flower” Synopsis of a theatrical lesson in the second junior group Synopsis of a joint theatrical activity in the preparatory group on Russian folk tales Synopsis of a lesson on theatrical activity in the senior group

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Characters for the theater

Shadow theater varies depending on the characters. There is, for example, finger theater - shadows from hands are used. The fingers are folded to form the desired ones. This kind of theater is good for children - it develops hand motor skills. For such performances, a small “stage” is suitable.

The puppet theater looks bigger. This implies a performance with additional decorations and figures. Stencils can be used to create a shadow theater with your own hands for children. The size of the dolls is approximately 10 cm (height and size can be easily changed due to distance and approach).

The figures are created from cardboard, fixed on wooden skewers or also on cardboard. You can do it differently: cut out paper figures and stick them on cardboard. It is important to coat the material with glue, but not generously, so that the base does not deteriorate.

The dolls need to be dried under pressure, and then additionally coated with a layer of PVA glue on top. A semi-dry brush is required. It is advisable to paint cardboard dolls with black paint - they will be more noticeable.

Options for using shadow theater in kindergarten article on the topic

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OPTIONS FOR USING SHADOW THEATER IN KINDERGARTEN

author: teacher of MBDOU kindergarten No. 7 of the city of Kropotkin T.E. Kuzmenko

Dear colleagues, today I want to talk to you about a long-known, but undeservedly forgotten form of theater in preschool institutions - shadow theater. There are shadow theaters in many countries of the world, but the countries of the East are especially famous for them - Indonesia, Korea, China, Japan, India. For the presentation you will need good lighting and a flat screen. The shadow theater equipment is light, compact, and does not require any special expenses. The shadow theater technique is simple; it allows you to instantly change the scenery and produce various effects. So, as already stated, a presentation requires a light source and a screen. The light source can be a table lamp, an overhead projector, a window, or an illuminated doorway. The screen can be a screen, a wall, a sheet stretched over a frame or a doorway. I would say that shadow theater is a winter form of entertainment - short daylight hours allow you to get clear and bright shadows without using darkening. In addition, a shadow is always something a little otherworldly, magical, and, in my opinion, the mood of shadow performances echoes the mood of our favorite winter holidays - New Year and Christmas. But this does not mean at all that we cannot use shadow theater in summer, spring and autumn!

A screen for the presentation can be made from a cardboard box: one of the walls is removed, then a window is cut out, which is covered with an opaque dense material - for example, pattern paper. The performance is performed behind a screen. The puppeteer must be positioned between the screen and the light source so that the audience can see the dark silhouettes of the puppet characters. In the traditional version, shadow theater puppets are flat and depicted in profile, since the profile is more expressive. But we use not only profile, but also front-facing figures. To give greater expressiveness to the theater puppets, you can introduce some mechanization - according to the principle of twitch dolls or Borodino toys.

The shadow theater can also be made in color by using colored transparent films and plastics in the design of the dolls. Plastic transparent corner folders are well suited for these purposes. A blue folder will help depict the blue sea, a dark-colored folder will help depict the night. If you make punctures along the entire plane of the plastic, we get the effect of a starry sky. Lace, mesh, and openwork materials look very interesting. The doll itself is made of cardboard, leather, and synthetic materials.

Shadow theater puppets can be not only flat, but also three-dimensional. You can make a doll from a scarf: the middle of the scarf is tied with a knot into which the index finger is inserted, the tails of the scarf are distributed over the middle and thumb fingers, and the actor is ready for the performance. You can use glove puppets in the presentation.

In addition to puppets, a living hand can be used in the theater. Thus, shadow theater is one of the types of work that can be used to develop hand motor skills in children. Shadow theater allows you to develop precise, differentiated and coordinated movements of the fingers and hands, it arouses and maintains interest in the child’s exercises, allows him to concentrate for a longer time, be diligent and active, etc.

First, the child must get used to the shadow: firstly, see it, and secondly, monitor the change in the shadow in the process of performing any movements. To make it interesting to do the exercises, we will come up with some kind of game plot, for example, a butterfly flutters from flower to flower, etc. We accompany the display of figures with a vivid and emotional story, poetry or music. If a child finds it difficult to draw figures, we will help him: we will take his hands in ours and perform the necessary actions. In the theater of a living hand, you can use additional objects that add expressiveness to the image. The group has created a card index of “living hand” shadow theater figures, and each child can try to show something on their own using the cards, and perhaps come up with something of their own.

The large screen of the shadow theater allows human actors to participate in the performance. It’s not difficult to make—you need two supports and a sheet with metal tubes inserted into the top and bottom. The light source for a large screen should be more powerful - for example, a spotlight. Both the structure is installed and removed quickly and easily. Everyone will agree that creating a costume for a fairy-tale character, for example, a seven-headed dragon, is quite difficult, but in shadow theater the image is created without any special expenses - three children, standing one after another, hold cardboard dragon heads in their hands, the seventh mask is put on the head of the first actor. The fairy-tale monster looks very impressive! Also, when creating images of other fairy-tale characters, you can limit yourself to only the elements of the costume - the kokoshnik of the young lady, the crown and mantle of the king, the helmet and sword of the hero. A shadow theater character may appear during the entertainment for a few minutes, and this always gives the performance a magical mood.

The large screen of the shadow theater can be used in an interesting game, for example, such as “Name the character. Get to know the actor." Two participants are invited, secretly from the audience, to become a character using attributes, costume elements and available materials. Having appeared in front of the audience, the participant performs movements, entering the character, and the audience must recognize the character and name the actor. The game is usually lively, fun, with great emotional excitement. Also interesting is the game called “Portrait of the Birthday Boy” - it is usually played on the birthday of one of the children. The teacher traces a profile image of the child’s head on a piece of Whatman paper and invites the children to color and draw the silhouette. Upon completion of the work, the portrait is presented to the birthday person with best wishes.

Dear colleagues, I hope that the article was of some interest to you, I wish you health and creative success!

Applications are now being accepted for participation in the festival of methodological ideas " <a href=»https://www.supporttalent.ru/events/5170/»><strong>Pelican"</strong></a> <a href=»https://www.supporttalent.ru/events/5170/»>a>" from <strong>ANO "CPI "Ariadna"</strong></a>

Position of screen, light source and characters

The screen is placed between the audience and the lighting fixture. The light source is placed slightly to the side, not too close to the screen itself. Then the shadows will be clearer. Distance – about 25 cm.

The shadow changes depending on the distance between the figure and the light source. To make the wolf, for example, appear larger, you need to move the character further away. For the first productions, it is advisable to use a few characters - two or three are enough. With practice, you can create more complex representations.

Complicated version

You can create a shadow theater for children using templates with your own hands in half an hour, but if you have more time, it’s worth thinking through additional details. For example, add decorations. They are created from cardboard and attached tightly to the screen using tape or paper clips. Then the decorations will not fall unexpectedly.

It’s easy to “revive” the figures - make them more mobile using soft wire. It is used to wrap arms, legs, wings and other parts.

It’s easy to “play up” an evening with a performance: decorate the curtain and draw bright tickets. And if several performances are planned, print out programs for spectators. And, of course, you need an intermission, during which you can treat the audience to delicious home-cooked food.

shadow theater “Peter and Toshka” lesson plan (senior group)

Lesson notes on theatrical activities

in the senior group

teacher Rybkova N.A.

Topic: shadow theater “Peter and Toshka” Program content: Educational objectives: consolidation of children’s knowledge about the type of shadow theater, the rules of behavior in a public place, theatrical concepts; Developmental tasks: to instill interest in theatrical activities; develop attention, memory, imagination and the ability to independently solve problem situations; to develop children’s ability to transform creatively. Educational objectives: instilling in children humane feelings (compassion, empathy)

Materials and equipment: screen, shadow theater, filmoscope, poster, tickets, “controller”.

Progress of the lesson.

1 Organizational moment.

Educator: Children, I’m in a great mood today, and you? Do you want to go to a place where there is always a good mood? And where you and I will go, guess for yourself... there is a poster... a curtain... a stage, actors. Did you guess it? Of course, I invite you to the theater.

2. Do you know that theaters are different? We will visit one of them today. We find out what kind of theater this is from the poster. A poster is an announcement about a performance. -Which of you can read? Let's try to read it together. (read) In order to get to the theater, we must purchase tickets. The ticket will be received by the one who remembers the rules of behavior in the theater, what cannot be done in the theater (you cannot: make noise, run, talk, eat, get up from your seat... - Why? (because it interferes with the artists, spectators) - Upon entering the auditorium hall, leave your tickets with the controller and take your seats.

3 Work on the topic. So, we got to the theater. - What kind of theater is this, do you remember? (shadow) -Remember what the play is called? — Guys, who is showing the play in the theater? - Who is watching the performance? (that means you are spectators) - How do spectators invite actors onto the stage? (applause) The performance begins, I wish you a pleasant viewing.

4 Performance performance. “In one small town there lived an ordinary family, the same as yours and mine. The boy Petya grew up in this family. He was cheerful and mischievous. Petya loved to play. He had many friends, but his best and most devoted friend was the dog Toshka: Toshka, Toshka, where are you? Go play ball quickly. Catch! Catch more! But then their mother called them. What a pity it's time to go home. Toshka, let's play quietly in the room while mom prepares dinner. And they began to play. Petya threw the ball high and it hit the vase. The vase fell and broke: what have I done? - said Petya. At the noise, my mother entered the room and asked: “Who broke my favorite vase? “And Petya replied: “It was Toshka who broke the vase.” Mom got angry and said: “Then we don’t need such a dog! ", and kicked him out. “And since you behaved well, Petya, I’ll treat you to some candy.” Petya took the candy, lowered his eyes and began to cry.

5 Discussion. Well, the show is over. Yes, a difficult story happened with Petya and Tosha. Guys, why do you think Petya cried? After all, his mother didn’t scold him, but even treated him to candy? - Do you also feel sorry for Tosha? And why? - Do you think he is guilty? “Do real friends do this?” — What would you do if you were Petya? - What would you do with Tosha? -Do you think it’s possible to ask a puppy for forgiveness? I would have really liked this ending to the story.

6 Dynamic sketch. Do you want to try yourself as an actor? I suggest you become actors and act out a scene like we went into the forest. Music is playing. I will speak, and you must show it with gestures, facial expressions, and movements. - Guys, there is a stream flowing on our way, how can we cross it? And I will walk on the pebbles. I think I'm stuck! Who will help me? (gives hand). Thank you Sasha, you are a true friend. When we reached the forest, mosquitoes appeared. Suddenly a cloud appeared in the sky. Children, did you take your umbrellas? Then open it quickly. I forgot it at home. What to do? (how attentive you are). The sun is out again, close your umbrellas. You guys not only turned out to be good actors, but also kind, attentive and sympathetic children.

7 Guys, do you want to become shadow theater actors? Then let's go behind the scenes. Introduction to shadow theater (equipment, puppeteering demonstration). The equipment of the shadow theater are silhouettes of puppets cut out of black cardboard...

Well, now you have become acquainted with shadow theater puppeteering. Do you want to show the performance? Let's return once again to the story of the boy Petya. We came up with a happy ending. Let's show it. – For the performance we need 3 artists. Who should I choose, you are all so great. What to do? (maybe someone will give up the role). And I suggest choosing actors using a counting rhyme. I know an interesting rhyme (it should be kind and short): An apple rolled through the garden and fell straight into the water. “1, 2, 3, 4, 5 – come out and play.” The artists have been chosen, now they need to assign roles. The rest of the guys will be spectators. After all, there is no theater without spectators.

8 Re-run of the performance by children.

Hearing the noise, my mother entered the room... Petya took the candy, lowered his eyes and began to cry. And my mother asked: “Why are you crying? “Petya felt ashamed and he admitted: “Sorry mom, I broke your favorite vase, and Toshka had nothing to do with it. Let's take it back." “Okay,” said mom. - Toshka, Toshka, come here quickly. Toshka ran up to the boy. Petya leaned towards him and said: “Forgive me, friend.” In response, Toshka just licked Petya with his warm tongue.

9 Well, that’s the end of our story about the boy Petya and his best friend the puppy Toshka.

The artists take a bow. Did you like the shadow theater? I'm giving it to you.

Scene selection

The best place to start is with folk tales. They have a simple plot and not many characters. By the way, in China, where shadow theater comes from, up to a thousand figures could be used during one performance.

Before giving a performance, you need to understand the mystery of shadow theater. For example, in order for a doll to disappear unnoticed (or suddenly appear), you need to turn it with its edge towards the screen and remove it.

Before giving a performance, you need to learn the secrets of shadow theater. For example, in order for a doll or decoration to disappear unnoticed (or suddenly appear), you need to turn it edge-on towards the screen and move it.

So that the audience does not languish while waiting for the “actors,” the dolls must be arranged in order in advance. When creating a theater on sticks with your own hands using a template, it is worth adding additional effects - sound. You just need to choose the right music. And if you move the light source, you can depict bad weather, a storm or snowfall.

Shadow theater has not changed much since ancient times. The lighting setup and use of silhouettes are exactly the same. But now for home performances it is much easier to find and print the necessary stencils. And in the past, dolls were created by masters who worked on the figures down to the nuances.

Shadow theater as a means of developing children's creative abilities

Bibliographic description:

Rashchupkina, O. N. Shadow theater as a means of developing children’s creative abilities / O. N. Rashchupkina. — Text: immediate // Pedagogy today: problems and solutions: materials of the III International. scientific conf. (Kazan, March 2022). — Kazan: Young scientist, 2018. — pp. 119-122. — URL: https://moluch.ru/conf/ped/archive/276/13933/ (access date: 01/18/2022).


Theatrical activities in kindergarten are a magical world of fairy tales. By playing in the theater, a child reveals his creative potential. It is theatrical activity that makes it possible to develop a child’s creative abilities to a greater extent. Different types of theater are used in kindergartens:

tabletop theater;

bench;

riding;

wrist;

floor;

living puppet theater

But shadow theater is very rarely used, moreover, there is very little literature in this direction.

Starting work on this topic, I studied the literature, tasks, means and methods of work, as well as the history of the shadow theater.

This type of theatrical activity is very relevant. Taking part in performances and their preparation, the child’s creative abilities develop, and also helps those children who have difficulties in communication, develops fine motor skills of the fingers. Children love to write; here they are puppeteers, which gives them an excellent opportunity to prove themselves as storytellers. Moreover, shadow theater is a good prevention of fear of the dark in children.

A little history...

The history of the emergence of this type of art in different countries is different, here are the most interesting:

In China, for example, it is more than 2000 years old; moreover, this type of theater is the ancestor of drama in China. The first records of such theatrical performances date back to 1000 AD. e., although researchers are sure that they existed much earlier. Most scholars claim that the art of shadow theater has its roots in China. According to ancient legend, Emperor Wudi loved one concubine very much, and took her death too hard. Nothing made the Emperor happy, he was so devastated that he even abandoned all important matters. The courtiers tried their best to bring him back to life, but nothing helped, and then one of the court artists created a paper doll that looked like a concubine. When night fell, the Emperor was invited to watch. Having illuminated the silk screen, the courtier depicted her movements and imitated her voice. The emperor was so inspired that he returned to life and his duties.

By the second millennium, shadow theater was very common in China and India. With the troops of Genghis Khan it also spread to other regions of Asia. It reached its highest form in Turkey in the 16th century and was popular in the Ottoman Empire. In 1767, the shadow theater technique was brought home from China by the French missionary Jules Alod. In 1776 she became famous in Great Britain. The German poet Goethe showed interest in this art, and in 1774 he himself staged a performance of it. The Tangshan shadow theater remains one of the most famous and influential in China in the 21st century. In Chengdu there is a shadow theater museum (Chinese: 成都中国皮影博物馆).

Today, delicately crafted leather puppets are prized among collectors, and the shadow theater itself, in its classical form, is in danger of disappearing.

In the mid-2000s, a new movement of shadow theater emerged, in which, instead of puppets, dancers, using their flexibility and plasticity, create performances using, first of all, their bodies. By the end of the decade, the movement gained great popularity and in many countries around the world their own shadow theaters began to emerge. The most popular of these new shadow theaters can be considered the Pilobolus shadow theater. And among the famous ones you can also name Attraction, El Gamma Penumbra, Delight, Fireflies, Verba, Three Wings, Shadow Theater Show from Moscow, SHADOW LAB, from the SHIK-BALET project.

Theater activity is one of the forms of working with children in kindergarten that reveals and develops the child’s creative abilities. Such activities contribute to a more productive assimilation of the targets defined by the program.

According to the principles of the federal state standard, the implementation of the Program must be carried out in forms specific to children, primarily “... in the form of play, cognitive and research activities, in the form of creative activity that ensures the artistic and aesthetic development of the child...”

Preschoolers love to watch plays. It is understandable and accessible to them, and shadow theater also contains elements of animation. Children see familiar and favorite characters on the screen: a bear, a cat, a bunny, a horse, modern cartoon characters: Smeshariki, Luntik, Barboskins, Ninjago, and many others. Children are delighted that these characters move, talk, and address the audience. It is important to consider theater not only as an entertainment event, but also to show through performances examples of friendship, honesty, hard work and kindness. It is at this age that children develop their character, interests, and attitude towards the world around them.

How to organize a shadow theater in a kindergarten group? The main thing is to have a desire! Undoubtedly, and the role of parents here is very important.

One of the main objectives of the Federal State Educational Standard for Preschool Education is to provide psychological and pedagogical support for the family and increase the competence of parents (legal representatives) in matters of development and education, protection and promotion of children's health. The main idea of ​​interaction between parents and a preschool institution is that parents are responsible for raising children, and all other social institutions are called upon to help, support, guide, and complement their educational activities. That is why it is necessary to involve parents in joint ideas and projects. From my work experience, parents are very happy to meet with the teacher. Parents took a direct part in the creation of our shadow theater.

It’s easy to prepare everything you need for the display. The screen can be made from a large cardboard box, cut out the screen, glue tracing paper or a white sheet of the desired size. I bought the lamp on a clothespin, it is very practical. The main thing is that the light is located between the actor and the screen; for this, the lamp is attached to the top and directed towards the screen.

You can draw characters and scenery yourself. Although there are other options, for example, ready-made templates can be purchased online.

The selection of pictures is very important; it is desirable that all the characters of one fairy tale be made in the same style. When sets of pictures are compiled for each literary work, this helps to maintain the scale of the pictures and their stylistic decisions. It would not be logical if, for example, in the fairy tale Masha and the Bear, Masha suddenly turns out to be taller than the bear, or in the fairy tale “Bubble, Straw and Lapot” suddenly Straw turns out to be wider than Laptya.

The conventions of the theater are close to preschoolers; they are accustomed to it in their games. This is why children are so positively involved in the magic of what is happening on the screen: they answer the characters’ questions and help them, warning them of danger. The unusualness of the spectacle captivates them and transports them to the world of a fairy tale. Theatrical activities bring children joy and indescribable delight.

We live in the Arkhangelsk region, here the winter days are very short, it is mostly dark during the daytime, and this is the most favorable environment for shadow theater. At the same time, this is a wonderful prevention of fear of the dark in children. Why be afraid of the dark when you can play so interesting and fun. We started simple dialogues with the children in a finger shadow theater. This form of work allows, among other things, to develop fine motor skills of the fingers; here, poems, fables and short fairy tales known to the child were taken as a script.

The role of the teacher in organizing and conducting the performance is great. It is important to organize joint activities and take an individual approach to each child. Set clear goals for children and give them the initiative. Pay attention to the difficulties of each child, if any.

In her work she used not only folk tales, but also original ones. So, for example, in the book “Puppet Theater” by T. N. Karamanenko and Yu. G. Karamanenko, scenarios of fairy tales by various authors are presented. Fairy tales are not complicated, interesting, funny and instructive. They showed fairy tales to the children, not only in the group, but also invited parents and children from neighboring groups. We took part in a city competition, where we took first place. Feedback from those present speaks for itself about the importance of this type of activity. For example, a review from the parent of one of the students, Marina Ruzavina:

On January 18, 2022, I was in the theater, which was created thanks to the efforts of the teacher of our group No. 7, Oksana Nikolaevna Rashchupkina. The performance was based on the Ukrainian folk tale “Spikelet”. The actors are the guys from the group, they all took the task assigned to them responsibly, rehearsed a lot and learned the words.

The shadow theater performance went well; some of the actors forgot the words of their role due to their emotions, but were still able to cope with the excitement.

The audience watched the performance with interest, laughed and clapped. All the children not participating in the play had to promise that in the next production they would also become actors.

Organizing a shadow theater performance was an excellent idea of ​​the teachers, thanks to which the children got acquainted with this type of theater and saw its “behind the scenes” side. The participation of children in such productions forces them to show their imagination and develop speech, creativity, and artistry. Children prepare for a common action together, rehearse, and strive to perform well in front of their friends.

The children were able to show the different characters of the fairy tale heroes - the positive hero of the cockerel, hardworking and responsible, and the desire of the mice to imitate him and fight their shortcomings. I liked the performance, I will gladly come to watch the next production, and I wish the teacher good luck in this rather difficult matter.

Feedback from parents is always positive, because it’s nice to look at your child, so the opinion of teachers is also important: teacher of additional education of the first qualification category MBOUDO Youth Center P. S. Ilyushenkova:

Theatrical entertainment “Bad Ponytail” is intended for preschoolers aged 6–7 years. The main goal of this entertainment is to create conditions for the emotional development of children in the process of theatrical activities. The goal was achieved through the implementation of the following tasks:

Educational: Promote the use of both verbal (tempo, voice strength, intonation expressiveness) and non-verbal (gestures, facial expressions, posture) means of expression. Induce in children a state of creative search and inspiration. Stimulate the development of attention, memory, thinking, imagination.

Developmental: To develop children’s ideas about the moral qualities of a person, confidence in the victory of a good beginning. Develop plasticity, motor skills, sense of rhythm, musical abilities.

Speech: Introduce children to new words: curtain, scenery, poster, applause, indignation.

Educational: Cultivate a friendly, emotionally positive attitude towards each other.

When visiting the entertainment, I made the following conclusions: the techniques and methods used during the entertainment were fully consistent with the age-related psychological and physiological characteristics of children 6–7 years of age. During the lesson there was a change in types of activities sufficient for the teacher and children to successfully complete tasks without visible fatigue or boredom.

The teacher and the children carried out a lot of preparatory work, which undoubtedly had a huge impact on the development of the emotional intelligence of the students. This entertainment develops children's creative abilities, promotes activation of imagination, development of logical thinking, offering children a situational and active approach to solving various types of problems.

I would especially like to note the activity and interest of all the guys during the entertainment.

In my opinion, carrying out such work increases the self-esteem of preschool children, teaches them the ability to listen and hear, helps the students’ self-presentation, unites the children’s team, and teaches them to treat each other with respect and tolerance. The proposed material complies with the Federal State Educational Standards for the organization and content of the educational process in preschool institutions. The proposed games and creative tasks allow children to demonstrate acting skills, overcome the difficulties of interpersonal interaction, contribute to the development of speech skills, and increase the level of general culture. This form of leisure time is most justified for children of senior preschool age, since it is one of the forms of preparation for school and can significantly increase the interest of preschoolers in learning. I believe that it is useful to develop this form of work further, perhaps by involving the pupils’ parents in various preparatory work.

Of course, in a group setting, you shouldn’t demand to do a big, complex performance that only professionals can do - this is both impossible and makes no sense. Let it be better to have a small fairy tale, a short dialogue between the characters acted out by children, what is important here is the interest of children, their imagination and creative solutions. It is necessary to conduct shadow theater games systematically.

Of all the types of puppet theater in kindergartens, shadow theater is the least popular. And it seems to me that he is undeservedly deprived of the attention of teachers. The magic of shadow theater creates a warm, homely atmosphere where even the most shy and timid child will show a desire to be an actor, because he is not visible behind the screen, and he slowly begins to liberate himself.

Literature:

1. https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_Theater
2. https://kladraz.ru/blogs/elena-sergevna-gribova/-sovremenyi-tenevoi-teatr-v-dou.html
3. https://www.maam.ru/detskijsad/vzaimodeistvie-dou-i-semi-v-ramkah-vedenija-fgos-do.html
4. https://diplomba.ru/work/103949
5. https://infourok.ru/teatr-teney-kak-sredstvo-razvitie-tvorcheskih-sposobnostey-detey-1763062.html

Key terms
(automatically generated)
: child, shadow theater, shadow theater, China, theatrical activity, type of theater, kindergarten, child’s creativity, form of work, theatrical activity.

DIY shadow theater photo