Puppets may seem "old-school" or for those teachers who are naturally theatrical. I challenge you to reconsider their place in your program. You just may embark on a surprising journey.
Each morning, children quietly wake up Ollie Otter, who lives on the nearby Leland River, and share some of the things they are learning. On this day, our Experience Preschool curriculum suggested we read Head to Toe, by Eric Carle. Ollie asked each child, which animal movement was their favorite. They not only shared, but some were also eager to
demonstrate the movement. Now, I am not one of those naturally theatrical teachers like my friend Caroline. She had a voice and personality for every character in a book and certainly for our puppets. The children were drawn in from the get-go. To my surprise, the children are still curious about each puppet I introduce, and most want to talk to him or her. This is especially true if they can be "the expert" and teach our puppet friend a skill such as how to be a good friend or stay safe during a storm drill.
The Experience Preschool Curriculum has a Character Education series embedded in it. Each month we receive a storybook that illustrates the trait, the children engage in a retelling with their teacher, draw something from the story, and make a stick puppet also. A new character trait is featured each month. I decided to use a book from last year, as it features a River Otter. The focus trait in River Clean-Up is "responsibility" and I used highlighter tape on the word "responsibility" every time it was mentioned in the book. After a few readings, I only had to point to the highlighted word and the children "read" it.
I remembered a popular activity from last year also, and acted that out with the children. On this particular day, when Ollie woke up, he found that his beautiful Leland River was polluted! The children vowed to help him clean it up and that is just what they did!
I hope you feel inspired to use a puppet in your classroom. Enjoy the journey!
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AuthorSheila Anderson has over 25 years experience in the Early Childhood Field and still loves going to "school" everyday. Archives
January 2022
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