Puppets and Puppetry

Puppets!
Who doesn't have a memory of them in one way or another...
I recall the puppets at my nursery school; the teachers creeping to a space in the supply room enclosed with a half door...the puppet would make his appearance and bonk his head on the door frame. It was nothing elaborate, but I remember so vividly this time during our day...
I was lucky enough to witness an incredible puppeteer at Sunbridge; one of our teachers, Connie Manson.

She performed several puppet shows for us using standing puppets, simple marionettes, elaborately needlefelted marionettes,

 and...handkerchiefs. 

Yes, handkerchiefs!
She taught us how to create a simple bunny puppet out of any ordinary handkerchief. (I'll create a photo tutorial soon!)
She expressed that all children deserve to have puppets in their life in some way or another....

...."So as educators we try to create special times for inner quieting, for a deeper breath and concentraion. An example of one such opportunity, is the play with table puppets or marionettes which children experience first as observers. Out of this observation, rich impulses can grow for their own play. We build up a scene with pieces of colored cloth, materials taken from nature such as stones, wood, pine cones, unspun wool and such like, and simple home made standing dolls or animals of wood or soft material. We move the figures in an appropriate way while we tell the story. Or we can create a scene fitting to the content of the story with colored silks or veils. Amidst great expectation, what is mysteriously covered at first is gradually unveiled, and the eye meets a meaningful wholeness. Simple marionettes made of silk wander through the colorful world. They walk from house to forest, over the sea and sometimes to the sun, moon, stars, and even sometimes up to the mountain of clear crystal glass. As they move over the surface of the scene using its length, breadth, and depth, the observing child can inwardly unite immediately with the experience of space, while on the television only deception  of of the eye is at work. Here, inner activity is created that works in a refreshing and enlivening way into the very breath and blood circulation. Color, movement, gesture, and language shape a unity, and fitting music can envelop the soul in warmth and safety...."

-Bronja Zahlingen, Vienna, Austria

On our last day together, we formed groups and created our own simple puppet show set to a classic story. My group chose Mother Earth and her root children.
We worked on standing puppets and needlefelted figures all week long...
We decided to use two hollow cubes to create an above and underground "scene"...

Being the excited extrovert that I am, I happily volunteered to do all of the singing and narrating.

It was great fun!!!

Man, it was a hot day!! I don't think I've ever sweated more in my entire life!

And I'm, um, starting to think that natural deodorant is a fallacy...

(help!)

Well, that wraps up my Sunbridge reflections. I am now left with some of  the most beautiful memories and experiences to keep mulling over again and again. I am in the process of organizing all of my notes, handouts, and drawings into a large binder with page protectors.

Here's a few scattered photos to close...

..The following photo is one of the most beautiful images which I think sums up the mood of the week perfectly...I also had the pleasure of staring at it all week long:)

The shepard is one of my most favorite archetypal images. I think it encompasses the role of a Waldorf early childhood educator so beautifully.

The beauty of lazure really lends itself to the softness of the image!

........

Stay tuned....we are about to enter into W's birthday week, and it will sure be a celebration!!