Fall is a wonderful time to introduce children to creative activities that encourage exploration, imagination, and hands-on learning. Paper Bag Scarecrow Puppets are a simple and engaging sensory craft that children can make using everyday materials such as brown paper lunch bags, raffia, yarn, felt, and googly eyes.
This activity combines crafting and pretend play while providing a variety of textures for children to touch, manipulate, and explore. For children with autism, sensory crafts like this can also provide opportunities to practice fine motor skills, communication, and following directions in a fun and low-pressure environment.
What You’ll Need
To make your Paper Bag Scarecrow Puppets, gather:
- Brown paper lunch bags
- Raffia or yarn for hair
- Felt scraps for hats and clothing
- Googly eyes
- Glue or child-safe adhesive
- Markers or crayons
- Construction paper
- Scissors, with adult assistance as needed
- Optional: stickers, fabric scraps, pom-poms, or other fall-themed decorations
How to Make Paper Bag Scarecrow Puppets
1. Prepare the Paper Bag
Place a brown paper lunch bag with the bottom flap facing upward. This flap will become the scarecrow’s face.
Before decorating, encourage the child to gently crinkle the paper bag. Listening to and feeling the paper change can add another sensory component to the activity.
2. Add the Scarecrow’s Hair
Cut or tear pieces of raffia or yarn and attach them around the sides of the scarecrow’s head.
Raffia can be especially interesting for children who enjoy tactile exploration. Its rough, lightweight texture and crinkling sound offer a different sensory experience than soft yarn.
3. Create a Hat
Use felt scraps or construction paper to create a simple scarecrow hat. Children can choose the shape, color, and decorations.
Allowing children to make choices throughout the activity can encourage communication and independence.
4. Add the Face
Glue on googly eyes and use markers or paper pieces to create a nose and mouth. Children can give their scarecrow a silly, happy, surprised, or even sleepy expression.
5. Decorate and Personalize
Add felt patches, buttons, stickers, paper shapes, or other craft materials. There is no single “right” way to make a scarecrow, so encourage creativity and personal expression.
6. Turn the Scarecrow Into a Puppet
Once the puppet is finished, place a hand inside the paper bag and use the flap to make the scarecrow talk and move.
Children can use their puppets to participate in simple fall-themed conversations, songs, or pretend-play stories.
Sensory Benefits of the Craft
One of the biggest benefits of Paper Bag Scarecrow Puppets is the variety of sensory experiences built into the activity.
Tactile exploration: Raffia, yarn, felt, paper, and googly eyes all have different textures. Children can touch and compare the materials as they create.
Auditory stimulation: Crinkling the paper bag and raffia provides interesting sounds that can encourage children to explore cause and effect.
Fine motor development: Picking up small craft materials, squeezing glue, attaching decorations, and manipulating yarn or raffia can help strengthen hand and finger coordination.
Visual engagement: Choosing colors, arranging facial features, and decorating the scarecrow provides opportunities for visual attention and creativity.
Imaginative play: Once completed, the puppet becomes more than a craft. Children can use it to tell stories, practice conversations, and participate in pretend play.
How ABA Therapy Can Support the Activity
Sensory crafts can also be incorporated into activities supported by ABA therapy. Applied behavior strategies can help children practice skills such as following directions, making choices, requesting materials, waiting for a turn, and completing a sequence of steps.
For example, an adult might break the craft into simple steps:
- Pick a bag.
- Choose hair.
- Add the eyes.
- Make a hat.
- Decorate the scarecrow.
- Play with the puppet.
Breaking an activity into manageable steps can make the process easier to understand and provide opportunities for children to experience success.
Encouraging Communication and Social Skills
Paper Bag Scarecrow Puppets can also become a fun opportunity for communication and autism behavior support. Adults can encourage children to request materials, identify colors and textures, answer simple questions, or describe what their scarecrow is doing.
For example, try asking:
- “What color hat would you like?”
- “Do you want yarn or raffia?”
- “What does your scarecrow’s hair feel like?”
- “What should we name your scarecrow?”
- “What is your scarecrow saying?”
Children can respond verbally, with gestures, pictures, communication devices, or other forms of communication that work best for them.
Building Independence Through Crafting
Another benefit of this activity is the opportunity to practice independence. Rather than completing the entire puppet for the child, caregivers, teachers, and ABA services providers can offer choices and allow the child to participate as much as possible.
A child might choose between two materials, place their own googly eyes, apply decorations, or decide what their scarecrow should look like. These small opportunities can support decision-making and confidence.
Making the Craft Comfortable for Different Sensory Needs
Every child experiences sensory input differently. While some children may love the crinkling texture of raffia and paper, others may find certain textures uncomfortable.
Consider offering alternatives such as:
- Soft yarn instead of raffia
- Fabric instead of felt
- Larger craft pieces that are easier to handle
- Glue sticks instead of liquid glue
- Tools such as tongs for children who prefer limited direct contact with materials
The goal is not to make every child interact with every texture. Instead, the activity can provide flexible opportunities for sensory exploration based on each child’s preferences and needs.
A Fun Fall Activity for Home or School
Paper Bag Scarecrow Puppets are an inexpensive, creative way to combine sensory play, fine motor practice, communication, and imaginative play. The different textures of raffia, yarn, felt, and paper make the activity especially engaging, while the finished puppets give children an opportunity to continue learning through pretend play.
For children with autism, sensory crafts can be adapted to individual preferences and abilities. When incorporated thoughtfully alongside ABA therapy and other ABA services, activities like this can provide natural opportunities to practice communication, following directions, social interaction, and independence.
Most importantly, let children have fun and make their scarecrows their own. A crooked hat, mismatched eyes, or wild raffia hair can make each puppet unique—and that’s part of the creativity!
Check out our Blog page for more Autumn themed sensory craft ideas like Mess-Free Autumn Leaf Sensory Paintings, Edible No-Cook Pumpkin Play Dough, and Decorating Pumpkins.
