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Puppetry

Page history last edited by Jane McManus 2 years, 5 months ago

Some children LOVE puppets. Some don't! Know your audience.


IDEAS FOR USING PUPPETS

 

I use the same 2 puppets to introduce my storytimes each week. One puppet (Pete, a seal) is shy, and sometimes covers his eyes when he looks at the children, but slowly removes them as the children coax him and tell him they love him. The other (Sarah, a bunny) is happy-go-lucky and protective of Pete. I've found Pete to be a real ally to the shy children in the group who get vicarious courage as they encourage Pete not to be afraid and assure him of their love. Pete also helps calm the room when the children get overly excited. He puts his hands over his ears, which hurt when the noise is too loud. The children choose to settle down to help Pete feel more comfortable.. Most fun of all: Pete and Sarah in their Halloween costumes each year! And occasionally, I'll put other special clothes on them as a tie-in to a storyhour theme or holiday.

(Mary Gleason, Evans Branch, Irondequoit)

 

DEAR ZOO

For this show you essentially show these pets to the children as the zoo ’sends’ them to you. Flannel board pets or actual puppets work fine. You can change the number and type of animals they send as well. As you show the animals, ask kids what noise the animal makes, why they wouldn’t be a good pet etc. You can act like you’re petting the porcupine and jump up in surprise. This puppet show is based on the book Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell.

“I don’t have any pets at my house. I wrote a letter to the zoo, asking them if they could send me a pet. I waited and waited,

Finally, they sent me an…

ELEPHANT too big I sent him back

So they sent me a

GIRAFFE.. too tall ..

LION too fierce…

PORCUPINE too prickly

ALLIGATOR too scary

SKUNK too smelly

MONKEY perfect, I kept him.”

 

PUBYAC 6-28-2011

  • I have one puppet that always sneezes because of his allergies, and the kids can give him Kleenex from a box I have with me at story time. Also, there's another puppet who likes to be scratched behind the ears. A favorite at our story times is a mouse who plays peek-a-boo with the babies and toddlers.
  • Interact with the puppet or have the puppet lead an activity - such as the This is the way we brush our teeth early in the morning song. I use a toothbrush for this and an oversize comb. I also use a piece of white string and floss the puppets teeth, even though there aren't any actual teeth in his mouth. Sometimes before the song the puppet has a paintbrush in his pocket and I can ask the kids if it is the right kind of brush for him to brush his teeth.
  • I have kids feed the puppet berries (1" pompoms) at the end of storytime. My puppet is a swallowing puppet but you could do it with a regular puppet.
  • I sometimes have the puppet bring out an ice cream cone (plastic) that he is going to have for breakfast. Then I can ask the kids if that is good breakfast food. (Also, the puppet hands me a spoon so I can eat some but the spoon has a big hole in it - or the spoon bends - these are gag spoons from magic/joke shops). Other times I bring out a basket of plastic fruits (from Lakeshore or other toy supplier) that the puppet has brought along and ask the kids what each fruit is.
  • In either Storytelling With Puppets or Storytelling Made Easy With Puppets there is a fun routine where the puppet goes out of sight and puts a hat on in the wrong places several times (foot, hand) then I ask the kids where it goes and they shout out head. When it goes on the head it covers up the eyes and then I ask if that is why he didn't put it on his head. The puppet nods yes and I adjust the hat. 
  • Use a puppet at the beginning of storytime to "taste" all the childrens' fingers and guess what they had for breakfast/lunch. The kids love it when the puppet guessing correctly (banana is a great guess!) and also when they guess something silly like dinosaur eggs or ice cream for breakfast.

 

PUBYAC 7-14-11

  • To make Strega Nona's pot boil over with pasta: make a pot with a hole in the bottom. Stick a white cheerleading pom-pom through the hole and when the pot bubbles shake the pom-pom up and down. You can also use a sound effects CD with a boiling sound on it. (Tuck the CD player behind the puppet stage and play it while the pot is bubbling.) At the end of the show, when Big Anthony is not able to stop the pasta pot from making pasta, you can spray a can of yellow silly string over the top of the pot out at the audience. The kids will have no idea you are going to do this, and they'll squeal with surprise. 

 

Library Think Tank @ALATT 8-20-2021

Here are a few tricks that always worked great for me:

     * Position your hand so the fingertips are pointing downward at kind of a 45-degree angle. This will help the puppet look like it's looking forward at the audience instead of up at the ceiling.

     * When the puppet is speaking, push your hand slightly forward every time you open its mouth so it looks like it is projecting its words. It does A LOT to make the puppet look more lively and realistic. (Just watch the way the Muppets move when they are talking - they move around quite a bit and it makes them look so real.)

     * When entering or exiting the stage, move your arm up and down a little so it looks like the puppet is going up or down a flight of steps (especially if you have them turn around to walk down the steps - it mentally builds a little backstage world that is fun for kids to imagine). Really, when they move anywhere across the stage, moving your arm a little to make it look like they are taking steps will do a lot to increase the believability factor.

     * Practice in a mirror. Watch the puppet and make adjustments until you are happy.

And bonus, if you are in a space where you are able to do this and have an extra helper, have the kids "wake up" the puppets at the beginning of a show. 'Cause, you know, puppets are lazy and like to sleep in! And kids like to be noisy! Have your helper tell the kids to yell "Wake up, puppets!" at the beginning of a show, but don't have the puppets wake up right away. The kids will have to get a little bit louder each time (and reward their efforts with little glimpses of the puppets peeking over the edge of the stage, yawning and collapsing back behind the stage like they're falling back asleep, etc.) until the puppets are fully awake. It's a fun way to let the kids get out some energy and excitement, and it helps them feel personally engaged with the puppets some, too. Really, whatever you can do to increase that "puppet magic" will go a LONG way!

--Michelle Spencer, (Cuyahoga Falls Library)

 

Storage:

see also: https://www.pinterest.com/hands2grow/puppet-centers-for-classrooms/?lp=true

  • Puppet Tree
  • Storage Plastic Tub (have master list on outside)
  • Hanging Plastic/AV Bags
  • Hanging Shoe Rack

INTERNET RESOURCES

YouTube - Steven Engelfried -- Puppet Guru

YouTube - Susan Fulcher

YouTube-Allison Taylor McBryde

Puppets for Libraries

Legends and Lore Inc.

Artfelt: flannel board & puppets

 

Puppet Making

See also: "Kids Crafts" for puppet making directions

Making Friends

 

More offerings-PUPPETRY

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