Over the last couple of days we have been lucky enough to have Gill, an itinerant teacher spending time with us at Mairtown Kindergarten. On Friday we read the book 'Who sank the boat' by Pamela Allen, at group time. Following on from this, Gill introduced us to her wonderful collection of shadow puppets.
Planning, questioning, experimenting - how will we get this to work? Where will the shadows be?
Discovering light and shadow.
It took a while to get everything set up, and we had to experiment with the lighting but when then we were ready to have a go. There was lot of excitement and a huge demand amongst the children to be the first one to use the puppets, but they were fantastic, patiently waiting their turn and enthusiastically supporting their friends who were the puppet handlers.
Developing an interest and participation in the performing arts.
The children had the puppets of the cow, the donkey, the sheep, the pig, and the tiny little mouse, just as in the book. At first Gill read the book while the children listened carefully to the story until it was their turn to introduce their puppet into the show. They were all so careful to move their puppets around and hold them close to the sheet we had hanging up. From the other side of the sheet - where the audience eagerly watched - the shadows and silhouettes looked amazing, almost magical, creating a great performance.
Encouraging imagination and creativity.
The jointed shadow puppets encouraged care, whilst also developing fine motor skills in their handling.
The children were able to draw on their memories to recall and tell the story of 'Who sank the boat'.
Learning to work cooperatively in a team.
Christine