Puppeteer entertain young minds
Little ones at Honey Bee Pre-Primary School were in awe when a professional puppeteer visited them last week.
Kobus Myburgh staged a show for the kids that they will never forget. Myburgh said he does shows for children because he likes to hear them laugh.
He uses puppets for pre-school learning activities to help promote social and emotional development in toddlers. Spending time on puppet play also encourages children to express themselves in different ways while using their imagination and discovering important skills.
“I have four puppets; Spider, Bunny Bunny, Crocky, and Froggy. All my stories offer children an engaging way to interact and explore their knowledge and understanding of the world. For instance, when a child is able to talk through a puppet, suddenly sharing isn’t so scary. A very effective way to develop children’s language skills with puppets is to role-play to model oral language,” he elaborated.
By encouraging children to act out stories, whether it is from real life situations or make-believe worlds, a door is opened into the thoughts of a young learner.
This will also allow adults, both teachers and parents, to take a step into the minds and feelings of preschoolers, and help them grow as individuals.
“Sharing with peers, helping others, listening to teachers and cooperating with students are some of the positive behaviours with which preschoolers will become familiar through the use of puppets.”
Grade R teacher, Florence Chigohwi said the puppet show was educational.
“We had fun and learned a lot from the show. Puppets are a good way to engage the attention and imagination of children of all ages. Using puppets in the children’s care curriculum is an enjoyable way to promote their learning of new skills and concepts,” she said.
“This is why we give the kids the opportunity to make their own individual puppets out of socks or brown paper bags, sticks, spoons, balls, gloves, or mittens; to encourage them to be as creative as possible.”
