Professional Development Workshops
Based on A Show of Hands

A Show of Hands: Using Puppets with Young Children

Abstract: Debunking the notion that puppets are strictly for play, A Show of Hands presents innovative ways for you to use puppets as valuable and developmentally appropriate teaching tools.

Workshop Description: Do you ever wish you had an extra pair of hands in the classroom? Hands that could tell a gripping story, get children excited about cleanup, excite the imagination, or explain a complicated lesson on why eating apples is good? What if these extra hands were willing to work for free, never ate anything, never spoke out of turn and were willing to sleep in a shoebox? If that all sounds too good to be true then you haven’t thought enough about bringing puppets in to your classroom. This workshop is intended to inspire you as you explore the tantalizing world of puppets.

Why do teachers use puppets in the classroom? First and foremost, they are exiting. Children like puppets because they add that extra touch of fun and fantasy that can make the classroom a magical place. But the ability of puppets to fascinate children goes deeper than their simple charm. Puppets can become a powerful ally for teachers because they help the students enjoy learning. With puppets, the emphasis is off the teachers’ burden to impart information and is on the children wanting to learn.

This workshop will explore:

• Tips and ideas to make your use of puppets successful in the classroom
• Simple techniques to make your puppet come alive
• How to hold a puppet, give it character and a voice
• Using puppets as classroom management tools
• Using puppets to prepare children for new situations.
• Exposing children to a wider range of emergent literacy experiences through the use of puppets
• Puppet techniques for children with special needs

Teachers will leave the workshop with:

• Techniques and ideas that can be applied immediately in the classroom
• A simple hand puppet
• Ideas for puppets that require little or no effort to create
• A handout with notes on key points in the workshop
• Enthusiasm for incorporating puppets into the classroom experience

Format:

• Workshops are between 2.5 and 3 hours long
• An additional puppet-making component can be requested
• Workshops are offered for no more than 75 participants
• Keynotes for more than 75 participants and 1 hour (or as needed) are available for $900.

Cost:

• Workshops cost between $300 and $500 (plus transportation and housing where applicable) depending on the location, length of the workshop, and puppet-making component
• Workshops can optionally provide the text A Show of Hands: Using Puppets with Young Children to each participant at a discounted rate of $20.00.

Booking:

• To book professional development workshops call 301-588-9300, or e-mail dinorock@earthlink.net.

Other Workshops:

• Workshops offered by Michele Valeri, the artist featured in A Show of Hands and an artist with the Kennedy Center Partners in Education include:
  • Story Songs for Young Children
  • Dinosaur Detectives

  For more information or to book a workshop with Michele, call 301-588-9300 or e-mail hands@ashowofhands.org.

Do you have comments or questions about A Show of Hands?
Drop us an email at Hands@ashowofhands.org.

www.ashowofhands.org