We have had a very busy day of puppet construction! The students have worked so hard in their teams to create puppets that are true to their original designs. At the beginning of class, we had a show and tell of materials and decorations that I brought in as well as the ones that the students were able to get from recycling. The students were generous in letting their classmates use any materials that might fit their puppet designs.

The bulk of our class time was spent on the puppet construction. The students were in teams to create our three characters, our puppy character, and the villain. They used an assortment of materials to create a skeleton for the puppet and then started on decorations. The students were independent in their thoughts and worked well with their team mates. They brainstormed ideas and then tested their ideas to make sure that it would work. They were flexible using the materials that we had available in order to create their vision. Miss Ashanti and I went around and helped the groups with gluing and taping and thinking up different ideas to try and make our puppets 3D. We also focused on how we want our puppets to move – with armatures or with a hand. With the students’ hard work and collaboration, they competed a large portion of their puppets in our class time. Parents, I encourage you to ask your students about how their construction went. What went well? What was difficult to figure out? What will they do the same/differently during tomorrow’s class time.

We also discussed the story that we want to act out with our puppets. We brainstormed some ideas with our class and asked questions about a possible story, illustrations, recording, etc. The children are also excited to possibly share a puppet show with the parents on Friday. To give the children an idea of the structure of a story, we read a choose your own adventure chapter book where the students got to shape what the story was. They voted on the options. This got their brains thinking about what our own story could be and how different choices will shape how the story turns out.

We are looking forward to working more on our puppets tomorrow and starting the draft for our story that we want to write and act out. We are excited to see their bright smiles tomorrow!

Thank you,

Mrs. Kraft and Miss Ashanti