

The puppet area becomes a hot-spot for misbehavior. In “Teaching Children to Use Puppets” (Wonder Teacher), author Susan acknowledges that children “ end up demonstrating unwanted behaviors: fighting with the puppets, getting loud and silly, spending time off task, etc.
#PUPPETRY IN THE CLASSROOM HOW TO#
This is typically because the children haven’t been taught how to properly use puppets. This simple task, which only took a few minutes each day, motivated the young writers to add to their stories.Īs a teacher, you may be hesitant to allow the children to use puppets because they often become rowdy in the puppet center or do not stay engaged. The next time journal writing took place, the students would be excited to see if they received a note from their puppet friend. The notes praised the student’s writing, often citing something specific in the child’s journal entry.

When the children left for the day, I would write a short message on a sticky note, acting as the puppet character, and leave it tucked inside a few of the journals. She would observe each table as the children worked, offering words of encouragement or a sounding board for the child who had difficulty expanding on her topic. In my kindergarten class I had a puppet that only visited during journal writing. Select, discover a voice and create a personality for a particular puppet ” (Bright Hub Education ).

In my past experiences with puppets, using them for even a few minutes a day can have a big impact.Īccording to Willa, author of “Teaching with Puppets in the Early Childhood Classroom, ” b efore using a puppet with the class, “ M ake a plan. They may need to step out of their comfort zone. Some teachers are hesitant to use puppets themselves because they may feel self-conscious. Opportunities to use puppetry exist across subject areas like science and art, as well as a motivator for children to develop listening habits and work to their ability. But imagine a classroom where the puppets are taken off the stand and onto the hands of students and teachers. Puppets can meet expectations for soft toys, multicultural representations, and open-ended play materials. Having puppets in the classroom benefits your program in many ways. While they may be arranged neatly on a puppet stand or propped on a shelf, that is where they usually stay. However, when completing my observations of classrooms over the last few years, I rarely see puppets being used by the children or teachers. Whether I created my own or used store-bought ones, the puppets were captivating to the children in my class and gave the easily distracted kindergartners something worth focusing on. I also often see puppets! I have loved puppets since I was a teacher.
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As an assessor, I often observe classrooms with many well-stocked activity centers : a kitchen center for dramatic play, a bookshelf with cozy areas, a science center full of magnifying glasses, scales and scoops, along with plenty of puzzles, blocks and vehicles.
