Do you speak puppetry

Puppetry Can Provide a Safe Venue for Expression

Puppets may be able to express ideas and feelings that the puppeteer may not be able to express himself. I worked in a kindergarten class with Ricky, a five-year-old child who had suddenly stopped speaking. After two weeks of silence, I invited him to play with me with my puppet theatre. Ricky selected a puppet and went behind the puppet stage. Lo and behold, the puppet could speak! I asked the puppet if it knew Ricky, and the puppet said, �yes�. I then asked the puppet if it knew why Ricky had stopped speaking. The puppet explained that Ricky�s mother had just given birth to a baby, who slept in Ricky's room and cried all of the time. His mother was constantly telling Ricky that he must more quiet, and she was grumpy all of the time. Ricky wanted his mother to be like she was before the baby came. He had decided not to talk to anyone so that maybe his mother would take that baby back to where ever it had come from! Ricky finished with the puppet, came out from behind the stage, and was silent. It was the puppet, not he, who had just spoken. He was not able to say those words himself. If he had been able, he certainly would not have liked the sound. What kind of boy wants to send a baby away? This feeling was a burden on Ricky. The puppet helped to bring it out so it did not need to weigh so heavy within.

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