The Power of the Puppet

I am grateful for every invitation to influence and inspire.

But this invitation was extra special because it came from one of the teachers who hired me to come to Westwood Elementary 25 years ago and I got to go back to where my character-building adventure began.

This time, I wasn't on an author visit. And I wasn't leading a PD.

This time, I was there as a guest puppeteer.

You see, my friend and former colleague Jennifer Quigley is co-leading an elective in her school's Colt Academy called Lights, Camera, Action!, to help a group of first and second graders unleash the power of the puppet.

With 45 minutes for all things puppets, I started at the beginning,

when I found a little white harp seal in my new office back in 2001.

Having come from a secondary background and training, I'd never really

used puppets before, so I was thankful that Seymour's mouth didn't move.

So basically, my first puppet spoke in body language: Clapping when excited, rubbing flippers together when nervous, covering eyes when scared, hiding when shy.

That seal was so well-loved, that other seals started showing up

to befriend, connect, and love on it. 

It was adorable how real that fur ball was to them; imagine their horror when I didn't bring Seymour outside with us during that first fire drill. 

But I digress.

When I wanted to teach about respecting differences,

we got Seymour a pair of glasses, to see more.

The kids really giggled at that one.

Then we added a grey seal to the mix;

we called her Lucille. More giggles.

Laughter truly is an engaging puppet hook.

I passed around this shot to show how my puppet arsenal grew over two decades; I told them about Pillar, the caterpillar, and how she went to live at FHS with our Peer Assistance Leaders, and about the other favorites, like Winthrop, our toucan, Henrietta, our hen, and Hammy, our pig.

Then I used a few puppets to give them examples of puppet magic.

Simon, whose speech is so slow that he requires more time,

helped them to learn that patience is an important virtue.

I put on the grumpy hair to illustrate how props can enhance their show.

Pack, our Pack-Rat puppet who had a pack filled with things that he's collected that don't belong to him, taught them that it's not okay to take things from other people just because you want them.

Junior, who would prefer to be called JuJu,

teaches his audiences about nicknames.

He's also working really hard on not interrupting! 

For fun, I told the students I didn't know this bird's story,

so that they'd have to figure out a storyline for her.

One astute young puppeteer decided that she might be nervous,

because the classroom is decorated like a beach, and

she's not a beach bird. Brilliant, right?

So I had her start pecking on my arm as a segue into

healthy strategies for when we're not feeling safe.

SO much power in the puppet, right?

In fact, I even had students who preferred

talking to the puppets than to me. 😉

I created this and ChatGPT designed it for us.

Do you use puppets to engage and empower?

If so, please drop your expertise in the comments;

I'd love to hear how puppets enrich your heart work.