The Gift of Storytelling and Puppetry

Puppets allow children to tell and retell a story and while doing it allowing them to essentially 'play' with pieces of the story. Here are pictures of the kids in 3rd grade telling the myth of Persephone. The main story remained unchanged, yet I taught the kids ways to get creative in their retelling by adding humor, and changing some basic aspects of the way the story was originally presented.

Storytelling, drama and acting allow children to experience the emotions. In retelling the story in their own way, their own words children learn about composition and how each aspect of a story is a 'moving' part that could be manipulated at the creator's will. Doing more storytelling, drama and acting allow kids to improve their own storytelling abilities for they see the huge part emotions and gestures play in the telling of the story.
Children who are normally shy amongst their peers suddenly come alive. In their mind, the puppet is speaking; not themselves. Acting and playing another person's role unleashes us from the bounds we normally place on ourselves when shy.
In order to create a play, one must first envision it in the mind. Here Zeus and Hermes float in a 'cloud' above 'frozen' Earth.
Here the characters are in the 'Underworld'
One of the 3rd grade classes is on their way to writing a modernized version of this story to tell their younger peers. We will begin this week. Keep checking for updates.

I must thank fellow blogger and now far away friend, Sally Haughey from Fairy Dust Teaching for making me believe in the power of stories and narrative for teaching. Every parent of a young child should check out this blog......Amazing work!

Sample Finished Puppets (3rd Grade)

Finished mixed media puppets created with cardboard, clay, cloth, yarn. Please ask your children to tell you the myth of Persephone. They loved watching me retell the story using their own puppets and retelling it with a modern twist.....These are just great puppets.

Below is a child trimming his puppet's hair very carefully.

Hair, Hair Everywhere

3rd Grade puppets waiting for their hair to set. Next week we will dress and add eyes, nose, mouths to these puppets. These "Persephone" puppets already have their unique personality and they are not yet done. Check back later to see them become real.

These are made from plastic cups, rolled up magazine paper rolled into balls, acrylic silver paint, yarn.

Kids began by adding rows of hair at the bottom of the back of the head and adding new rows above each row.

Check out these locks! Parents have donated all this yarn and we need more for after vacation when the rest of the 3rd graders add hair to their puppets. I could go and buy yarn. But the donated yarn is always much more varied and interesting. Thanks Murch parents!

A peak in the everchanging art studio at Murch

I LOVE my huge shelf. Everything has its place.

My latest amazing new tools is my new ELMO. I can project images in books, as well as detailed enlarged views of my explorations in paints, clay and other media.

I love boxes. This box hold 24 almost-done Persephone puppets. They are waiting to have their eyes glued on, and their noses, mouths and shoes colored in with markers. During our last class we added hair, so during the next class the puppets will either get their hair trimmed or braided.
In this box you find half-way done puppets created by 3rd graders. These need to be dressed and detailed. For this play children are going to writing their own words based on a Greek Myth they heard in class.