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Overview
Project title:
Puppets
Project Location:
Sandwell
Date of Project:
February 2007 - March 2009 (years 1 and 2)
Project Participants:
Children aged 3-5 from Early Years Settings across Sandwell including schools, private nurseries, play groups and children’s centres.
Project Funders:
SMBC
Neighbourhood Renewal Fund
Working Neighbourhoods Fund
Project Overview:
Initially delivered by Jennifer Smith of The Spit Spot Theatre Company, the activity was expanded in phase two to include workshops delivered by resident artists from the Multistory team. The planned outcomes for the puppet activity were:
- Children and parents develop skills in story telling through puppets.
- Children and parents develop increased confidence in telling their own imaginative stories through puppets.
- Increase confidence in children to tell stories.
The Puppets activity centred around the use of specially designed puppets developed by Multistory and made by local puppet maker, Glenn Holden. They were developed to allow the children to have a large amount of control over what the puppet looks like. The hand-made puppets come in a range of different colours and textures and were designed specifically for the 3 years plus age group; at the beginning of the first session, the children were presented with a ‘blank’ puppet so that they can create an identify.
Further info.
The puppet’s features are detachable and the children are encouraged to work in pairs to select eyes, noses and hair for their creation from a large selection. The children then dress and accessorise their puppets and are encouraged to come up with a name for their new friend.
During the sessions, the groups experiment with making their puppets move and ‘talk’. Jennifer often introduced other puppets from her own collection to complement the Multistory resources. In the final session, the children made a small hand-puppet version of their creation that they kept in school or at nursery.
This activity focused on the idea of adventures. In sessions two and three the children are told that their puppets have been on a journey. With the aid of clues in the form of pictures, sound effects and free-standing backdrops, the children try to work out where the puppets have been and they are encouraged to make the puppets ‘talk’ and discuss their adventures.
During the course of the sessions, the children develop characters and storytelling techniques. The workshops provide the opportunity for increased social interaction within the group as well as exploring emotional learning and development. The activity enabled the children to work in teams, negotiating, sharing ideas and compromising with each other.
For more information about the rest of the Time to Talk creative activities click onto the project links below.
Gallery
Below are a selection of images from the Puppets sessions.
Feedback
Leave a comment about Puppets project below.
The children seemed more confident from the start than had been expected, and this followed through each of the sessions.
April 22, 2009 at 12:14 pm
The three sessions were all very enjoyable; loved the puppets - excellent feedback from parents.
April 22, 2009 at 12:14 pm