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| Four of my favorite Beleduc puppets |
I believe that puppets should be present in every library and every classroom. But it may surprise you to know that many teachers and even librarians DO NOT USE puppets! And many teachers have told me that they are afraid to use puppets because they don't know how! They have never been taught.
OK, I am here to encourage every teacher, librarian, and parent to use puppets. Stay tuned for more videos.
But first, please read...
But first, please read...
Top 10 Myths About Puppets
1. Puppets are only for puppet shows.
NO! Puppets are for talking to. It never ceases to amaze me when I ask an administrator for money for puppets, they will immediately ask me what kind of puppet theater I want. If you want to be a puppeteer, go ahead. I think it is a really difficult and demanding job. I personally have NO INTEREST in being a puppeteer. Even children when they pick up puppets will hide behind a barrier and stick the puppet above their heads where the children can't even see them and then they will make the puppet "talk". How boring and uncomfortable! Totally unsustainable as an activity for children. Which leads us to our second myth...
2. Children know how to use puppets.
Children do not know how to use puppets. 99.99999% of the time I give puppets to children for the first time they end up making the puppets fight, running around with the puppets or hiding behind a barrier and trying to make a "puppet show". Children need to be taught to give their puppet a voice and a personality. They need to be taught that puppets have feelings - be gentle with them! The best way to teach children to use puppets for conversation is to take a book of dialog - for example, any Piggie and Gerald story book from author Mo Willems - and have one puppet play Piggie and the other puppet play Gerald. You don't need to have a pig and an elephant - any puppet that appeals to a child will work as the characters. Then let the children have the dialog with the puppets. Works every time!
3. Puppets need to be big and complicated.
NO! Puppets should be hand-sized. Specifically, small enough for a child to use comfortably. This is why I really love Beleduc puppets. (More on this later...) Puppets do not need crosses and strings and a dozen moving parts. They do not need mouths that open and close. Puppets just need to fit on a finger, an index finger/middle finger/thumb, or a whole hand. Once the puppet is on, it should feel natural and comfortable to move.
4. Children will know that you are talking for the puppet.
Yes, they do, but they still believe on some level that the puppet is "real". It is just too much fun to watch the puppet moving and talking. If you as a teacher are having a good conversation with your puppet, the children will be drawn into that conversation and they will "suspend disbelief". Every time.
5. Puppets only work with very young children.
Wrong. Puppets work with anyone who enjoys a good conversation or story.
6. Puppets have to be talking all the time.
NO. Relax and let the puppet act like a normal person. Watch this very short video of me teaching EFL students the meaning of two opposite words, Happy and Sad. The puppet never says a word, but is just there as a listener (and a really caring and sweet little listener he is!)
7. Puppets are expensive.
NO. Some puppets are very expensive, but many are not. My favorite puppets are Beleduc puppets because they are soft, a good fit for children and adults, really cute but not too cute, appealing to children AND they are very reasonably priced!
8. Puppets are toys.
NO. Puppets are one of the best learning tools for a classroom, library or home.
9. Puppets should be locked away for the teacher only to use.
No, no no! Puppets should be freely available in all school libraries for lessons and for break time. Children should be free to use them as long as they are not hitting each other or running with them. I don't even mind seeing kids hiding behind a sofa and doing a "puppet show". As long as they are having a conversation or telling a story. Ditto for classrooms. Every classroom should have a big box of puppets in a corner of the classroom where children can go during break-out activities or free choice activity times. Puppets should always be an option for learning through play.
10. Puppets should BE the thing you want them to be.
Oh brother! I have seen so many horrible ugly puppets that are designed to be just one thing. Typically professions (doctor, policeman, builder) or special characters like princesses or witches. This is very limiting. A child who wants to tell a story about a girl who goes to her grandmother's house does not need to have a girl puppet in a red cloak. Puppets should just be attractive and appealing and easy-to-use. Children can then imagine them as anything they want them to be. One child might pick up a pig puppet and tell the Three Little Pigs. But another child might just like the pig puppet and make that puppet anything - a builder, a grandmother, a girl, a boy, a shy guy, an outgoing kid, a footballer - whatever strikes them as suiting the character they want to engage with. Look at the four beautiful Beleduc puppets at the top of the page. Who appeals to you? What voice, what character will you give them?
NO. Some puppets are very expensive, but many are not. My favorite puppets are Beleduc puppets because they are soft, a good fit for children and adults, really cute but not too cute, appealing to children AND they are very reasonably priced!
8. Puppets are toys.
NO. Puppets are one of the best learning tools for a classroom, library or home.
9. Puppets should be locked away for the teacher only to use.
No, no no! Puppets should be freely available in all school libraries for lessons and for break time. Children should be free to use them as long as they are not hitting each other or running with them. I don't even mind seeing kids hiding behind a sofa and doing a "puppet show". As long as they are having a conversation or telling a story. Ditto for classrooms. Every classroom should have a big box of puppets in a corner of the classroom where children can go during break-out activities or free choice activity times. Puppets should always be an option for learning through play.
10. Puppets should BE the thing you want them to be.
Oh brother! I have seen so many horrible ugly puppets that are designed to be just one thing. Typically professions (doctor, policeman, builder) or special characters like princesses or witches. This is very limiting. A child who wants to tell a story about a girl who goes to her grandmother's house does not need to have a girl puppet in a red cloak. Puppets should just be attractive and appealing and easy-to-use. Children can then imagine them as anything they want them to be. One child might pick up a pig puppet and tell the Three Little Pigs. But another child might just like the pig puppet and make that puppet anything - a builder, a grandmother, a girl, a boy, a shy guy, an outgoing kid, a footballer - whatever strikes them as suiting the character they want to engage with. Look at the four beautiful Beleduc puppets at the top of the page. Who appeals to you? What voice, what character will you give them?
