Yet another puppet!

I was just walking past The Toy Store. I had no intention of going in. Really. But there I was, in between performances at the Lawrence Arts Center Preschool. My car was around the corner getting the tires rotated and aligned. What harm could there be in just stopping in to see if there were any new puppets?

Sigh. This one reached out and put itself on my hand. Since I walked out of the store with him in my puppet bag, he has joined me at twelve more shows in this preschool residency week, part of the Lied Center of Kansas' Performing Arts Three to Five program.

At first, I gave him a generic bird squawk. No, he's just a baby. He spoke up: "Peep? Peep?" That fit better. On the first day, I was calling him Peep, but I made a slip and called him Peepy by mistake. Most of the kids didn't hear that, but I knew it was dangerous--if I have a puppet named peepee, I'll never get the children's attention back. His name is now Peeps. He likes worms, but he's like my turtle puppet Billy, susceptible to hiccups.

At home, this new guy ran into unexpected danger.

At first, there was no problem. He was napping in his shell.

He began to wake up. He's got bedhead, hasn't he?

He's just a baby, unaware of the perils in this life.

Still oblivious to the danger, he was cheerful, hoping for a worm or three.

Hey!

Thank goodness for that shell. Those evil claws can't get through.

Back on his perch, Peeps let go of the trauma. After this, I put him back in the puppet bag, where Trixie and Baby will always protect him. Mr. Bacon turned his attention to the scratching post and is now in his favorite chair.

Stories and Preschoolers

This week I'm telling stories in area child care centers as part of a pilot pre-kindergarten program. Today I told stories to a group of kids from Head Start who regularly walk to the Lawrence Arts Center. LAC has its own arts-based preschool, and these Head Start kids benefit from the expertise of the teachers and the art supplies.

It's interesting to watch children as they listen to stories. Sometimes I can practically see the neurons firing away. Today I played with parallels. In all, I told three stories and we sang one song. Two stories had a surprise monster-y jump. One song and one story had sleep as a theme. Two stories ended with "And it never, ever came back." After the second of these, one boy called out, "That's just like that other story." They were all noticing, even if they didn't realize it.

Story listening builds pre-reading skills. Kids learn sequencing and prediction when they listen to stories. They learn story structure. They notice meaningful details. They internalize the music and rhythm of language.They have a shared experience, something they can go back to when they're out on the playground together. They learn about appropriate responses. They learn about human behavior and emotions.

Best of all, though, they relax and have fun.

Last day of NaBloPoMO!

Whew! I did it! This is the last day of National Blog Posting Month, so here's my last post.

I've got a plan to post at least twice a week from now on. On Tuesdays, my post will be a practical storytelling tip. Otherwise I'll continue with random blather about my storytelling life.

Speaking of this storytelling life, I'm going back to the Lawrence Arts Center Preschool today for a couple of short gigs. I haven't decided if the new duck puppet will come. He'll definitely join me next Tuesday at Wonderscope.

Tomorrow I'll be part of a benefit for the Lawrence Community Nursery School, otherwise known as "The Little Red Schoolhouse." I'm part of the early family show at the Granada, performing just before The Terrible Twos. This band is the alter ego of The New Amsterdams, who will play in the later part of the benefit (the grown-up part). I've been listening to them on their MySpace page this morning. Whooeee! This is going to be FUN!!!

There's a piece in Lawrence.com about the benefit. Ignore the fact that I'm listed as Patricia, please. In case you wondered, my name is not Patricia, Phyllis, Penelope or Persephone. It's Priscilla.

Never mind that bit of crankiness. If you're in the area, come on out to the benefit. We'll have a good time.