Paper bag puppets: Paper bag puppets are, without a doubt, the easiest type of puppet for a child to make. You simply decorate a paper lunch bag with crayons or markers, glue on a few construction paper accessories and you've got a puppet to play with. The only drawback to paper bag puppets is that they can't withstand a lot of abuse, like being dipped in your child's milk or smashed into a plate of spaghetti, and, what's more, they can rip easily if your child is putting a lot of gusto into a puppet performance.

Paper plate puppets: Paper plate puppets are almost as easy to make as paper bag puppets and tend to be a bit more durable. Simply fold a paper plate in half and decorate it. Unfortunately, your child may have trouble getting your puppet's mouth to open and shut, so you may have to play puppeteer with this type of puppet.

Sock puppets: An old sock can be transformed into a puppet by gluing or sewing on pieces of fabric, felt, wool, vinyl or paper. (Of course, you'll want to avoid buttons, googly-eyes and other hard objects if you have a young child so he can't pull them off and swallow them.) You can either leave the sock loose and floppy so that your child can insert his hand all the way to the end of the sock, or you can stuff part of the sock with paper or fabric to give the puppet a more stuffed animal-like appearance. Note: If you stuff part of the sock, you'll probably want to mount the puppet on a wooden dowel to make it easier for your child to manipulate.

Finger puppets: Cut the fingers off of an old pair of gloves and you'll be able to whip up a whole family of finger puppets for your child. You can glue on small pieces of fabric, embroider on some eyes using a bit of wool or draw a face on the puppet using a permanent marker. (If you have a young child, you'll want to maintain total control over the permanent marker.)

When you've finished making puppets, you may want to make some sort of puppet theater. The easiest thing to do is to hang a baby gate across the bottom half of a doorframe and cover the gate with a towel. Your child can crouch behind the gate and give a puppet show. If you would like to come up with something more elaborate, you can make a puppet theater by carving a hole in a large cardboard box or by constructing a puppet theater out of plywood or particle board.