arts & Crafts
CHILDREN AND PUPPETS
Encourage creativity in your child
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Contribution thanks to
Philip Bowen The Puppet Workshop www.thepuppetworkshop.co.uk FB @ThePuppetWorkshopLtd
ave you ever wondered if puppets have uses outside the world of theatre and children’s entertainment? Several studies have been carried out using puppets to assess their value in child development and it has been found that they are useful in several different areas.
Social Skills
It’s well known that for children, role play is a vital way to develop empathy and an understanding of social situations. It also encourages communication skills. Puppets provide an ideal situation for children to engage in role-play because it allows them to communicate via the puppet, rather than directly. This makes it easier for the child to express themselves. A more structured play can create a situation where a child is motivated to communicate so they can tell the story and bring characters and creatures to life. Again, children perceive the puppet as performing rather than themselves and feel less pressure whilst speaking.
Motor Skills
Children are still developing their ability to move and interact with the world. Puppets require both fine motors skills (small, precise movements) and gross motor skills (larger movements and motions). Bringing a puppet to life requires patience and practice and a series of movements in sequence – children naturally become better at controlling their bodies, especially when using larger Bunraku puppets.
Creativity
If you want to encourage creativity in your child, have a few puppets to hand. Children will use them to create their own games and stories. A single puppet will become a different character one day to the next in the mind of a child with a good imagination. They can even be used to bring to life stories you read with your child! Some children like to do this but change the stories and endings to suit their own view on how it should have ended! Why not have puppets to hand next time you read with your child?
For more details on creative puppet workshops for children please see the website.
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