Playing Is Educational

Over Thanksgiving I took my family to see the new Muppet movie. The kids (and adults) absolutely loved it! My kids began clamoring to see other Muppet movies and even the television series.

As much as I love the Muppets, I didn’t want my kids having too much screen time. Instead, I suggested that my kids come up with their own Muppet movie idea. This got them very excited. They rushed about gathering supplies and after a few days they put on a puppet show theater production of their Muppet movie adventure.

When people think of puppet show theater, they probably are thinking of television programs, like the Muppets and Sesame Street. It’s true that the characters in these programs are puppets, but they are far different than the puppets that came about hundreds of years ago in China.A puppet is a figure whose movements are controlled by someone through, strings, rods, or hand movements. Early puppets were thought to be used as tribal ritual masks, and had hinged jaws and jointed skulls. Somewhere along the line these puppet masks evolved into doll-like figures with moving appendages. Hand puppets were common during early times, because they were easy to transport and manipulate.

Many cultures used puppets for ritual and entertainment. Egyptians crafted jointed, terra cotta puppets while Native Americans used puppets during ceremonial dances and harvest festivals

When I was growing up I remember puppets being the focal point in much of the programming that I watched. Many shows featured a main human character with a cast of various puppets. Some of these classic shows include Lamb Chop, Eureka’s Castle, and of course Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood.

Although I am familiar with all of these shows, my favorite was always Pee-wee Herman. When I little I had a Pee-wee puppet, as well as other characters from the show. I would spend hours creating my own puppet theater.

It is amazing how much playing puppet show theater can increase your child’s ability to express himself.

If your child has difficultly expressing himself, you should try puppet theater.  With the use of finger puppets, hand puppets, and hand-operated rod puppets, your child can learn to express himself through role-play.  Through puppet play, your child can express his feelings through different puppet characters, from animal hand puppets to community helper puppets.  He can be a surgeon, a fire fighter, a police officer, or even a construction worker.

Try puppet theater to help your child express his emotions; you’ll be impressed on how he will open up and share his feelings.

Kids can get so bored staying inside on rainy days. In the autumn and winter bad weather comes way too often for active kids. But with a little thought and planning there are several activities parents can arrange for their children on rainy days.

A day of puppet show theater can be fun for the whole family. Let your kids make adorable little sock puppets out of old socks and build a stage out of cardboard boxes. Plan an evening performance and invite the neighbors over for popcorn and soda. Your kids may even begin to look forward to the next rainy day!

By definition: An educational toy is a toy designed to teach people, typically children, about a certain subject or help them learn a skill as they play.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Educational toy

Puzzles:

Puzzles can teach a child topics like ABC’s, colors, shapes, animals, and geography.  Puzzles can also help with hand-eye coordination, teach sizes & shapes, and problem solving. 

Board Games and Card Games:

Board games and card games can be used to teach things like counting, colors, and reading, to more complex things like communication skills,  logical thinking, and organizational skills.

Games & Toys:

Games and Toys can be very educational to children.  By playing with educational games and toys, children can learn physical skills, such ashand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, gross motor skills, and even texture.  They can also learn about things like animals, colors, and the human body.

Dramatic Play / Creative Play:

Let them dress-up or play puppet show theater with puppets and dolls.  This will stimulate them to role play and express themselves through character play.  They can learn about different foods and even money by playing with Pretend Playsets.

Wooden Play Structures:

Children love to play outdoors on wooden play structures.  Wooden play structures encourage children to be physically active and mentally active as they determine if and how they can perform specific skills.  Children are increasing their imagination as they soar through the sky on a swing and play around it.

It is important to keep our young children involved and playing – get them to play with educational toys.

Puppet show theater is very educational.  When playing with puppets, children will learn the art of story-telling.  They will also increase their imagination, build their language skills, and learn how to express themselves.

Puppets vary from finger puppets to hand puppets to hand-operated rod puppets.

Sing simple songs and nursery rhymes when you play or play out a simple skit. 

Puppets can be the perfect pretend pal!