All Hands on Deck:

A Puppeteer's Guide to Storytelling

On May 12, 2012 a host of puppeteer wannabe's gathered, watched, created, played and had fun learning the basics of puppet manipulation. This workshop, geared for adults (but just as much fun for kids), is the first in a summer long series that will culminate in a grand Puppet Festival this September. Also, watch for the upcoming release of The World's Best Guide to Puppet Making and Puppetry, a Familius publication by Mark Pulham, Joe Flores and Amy White.

We watched

Paige: What do you mean I'm a puppet! 

What monster?

Uhmm . . . . Ahhahhhahahahhhhhhh!

We made

We played

And fun was had by all

_______________________________

Interested in more? 

The OPL will be doing monthly Puppeteering Workshops

June 22, 2012  Friday 10:00 a.m.

July 20, 2012 Friday 10:00 a.m.

August 17, 2012 Friday 10:00 a.m.

Call 801-229-7161 for more information

or

Check the Calendar at

http://lib.orem.org/

One last thing - remember the FAB (Fabric Art's Boutique) coming up June 11-16 at the Orem Library? Rumor has it that there will be some hand created puppets up for silent auction at the FAB.
click here to see 2 puppets made from the same pattern
(Pictures will be posted as soon as puppets are ready - they will all look VERY different)

Perfect Party Pig Day

Guess what day it is today?

It's Pigalific Pigarific Porcine Pig day!

Happy Pig Day! by Mo Willems
OPL Link

Okay everybody, let's get those piggies out . . .

Piggies by Audrey and Don Wood
OPL Link (told as a fingerplay, have book on display for taking home)

A long long time ago, pigs looked just like they do now, except for one thing . . .

Long-Nosed Pig by Keith Faulkner

(told with puppets - make sure you get some fun voice in there!)

And that is why you never hear a pig say anything but. . . 

OINK!

Two Mother Pigs

Two mother pigs

      Both thumbs up

Each had four babies, and that made ten

      Show 4 fingers on each hand

These four babies were black and white

      One hand

These four babies were black as night     

      Other hand

All eight babies loved to play

      Wiggle fingers

So they rolled and they rolled in the mud all day

      Roll hands

But at night, with their mother,

they curled up in a heap

       First, palms up

And they squealed and they squealed ,

until they went to sleep.

      Tuck thumbs under fingers

Now those were some pigs. One of my favorite pigs is, 

Piggie Pie Po by Audrey and Don Wood

OPL Link (read one chapter for a Laptime, all for a Storytime- also consider doing some bubbles here, a bubble dance or other action activity)

My oh my, that little piggie is one swell pig!

Those bubbles from Piggie Pie Po's bath remind me of another pig song. . . 

Higglety Pigglety Pop!

Higglety, pigglety pop!

The dog has eaten the mop

The pig’s in a hurry

The cat’s in a flurry

Higglety, pigglety, pop!

There's just something about that POP :)

Now, for a song that never fails to make me giggle,

This Little Piggy

This little piggy went to market

This little piggy stayed home

This little piggy ate roast beef

This little piggy had none

And this little piggy went

Wee wee wee all the way home

      Tickle tickle tickle

You really have to watch those piggies, they are awfully close to the parts that get tickled.

To Market

To market to market to buy a fat pig

Home again, home again, jiggity jig

To market to market to buy a fat hog

Home again, home again, jiggity jog

To market to market to buy a plum bun

Home again, home again, market is done

Home again, home again, we are done. 

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Additional Material

Fingerplays and Songs

I Had a Little Piggy

I had a little piggy and I fed him from trough,

And he grew so big and fat that his tail popped off

So I took me a hammer

And I took me a nail

And I gave that piggy a wooden tail.

Pettitoes

The pettitoes are little feet

And the little feet are not big

  Hands close together

Great feet belong to the grunting hog

  Hands apart= large

And the pettities to the little pig

 Wee Wee Wee

Piggie Wig and Piggie Wee

  Long fingerplay, consider only for storytime-aged kids

Five Pigs So Squeaky Clean
Sing it to “Five Green and Speckled Frogs”
(From Mels Desk found here)

Five pigs so squeaky clean
Cleanest you’ve ever seen
Wanted to go outside and play
Oink! Oink!
One jumped into the mud
Land-ed with a thud
Then there were four clean squeaky pigs

Books

Laptime

Olivia by Ian Falconer

OPL Link (if done right is okay for Laptime, might be best for Storytime)

There is a Bird on Your Head by Mo Willems

OPL Link

or We Are In aBook by Mo Willems

OPL Link

Three Little Pigs 

(any short version you like)

Storytime

To Market, To Market by Anne Miranda

OPL Link

Three Pigs by David Wiesner

OPL Link

Wait! No Paint! by Bruce Whatley

OPL Link 

Pig, Pigger, Piggest by Rick Walton

OPL Link

True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka

OPL Link

Wannabe a Puppet Workshop

Just popping in real quick to announce the dates for our upcoming workshop . . .

When:

Thursday November 10th, 7:00 p.m.
Saturday November 12th, 10:00 a.m.

Where:

Orem Public Library

What:

A hands on workshop where you get to explore your creative side and turn a stuffed animal into a puppet. Supplies are provided free for all of our storytelling volunteers. Other attendees are welcome, but you will need to call for details. (no worries, it is still free)

Best of all... you get to take home and keep your creation.

RSVP required.

So come on in and join the fun!

Amy

____________________________

Official Invitation

Dear Storyteller,

Want to add a little bit of the unexpected to your storytimes? Want to have something extra in your bag of tricks? Want to just have fun?
Join us for our Fall Storytelling Workshop as we explore with a little hands-on creativity.

There are as many ideas as there are blogs and hits from a Google search. This fall we will give you a list of some favorites, show you some ideas we have gathered from far and wide and then get down and dirty as you actually make your own Wannabe Puppet. Expert puppeteer Joe Flores will be here to assist us as we turn a few stuffed animals into puppets!

Supplies will be provided, but if you have some of the following you would like to bring for your personal use, please feel free:

• Glue gun, with glue sticks
• Felt pieces
• Long (new) dark colored socks or White (non-athletic) socks
• Needles and Thread
• Scissors
• Plastic Canvas / Large plastic ice cream tub lids or quart-size yogurt container lids
• Heavy duty scissors for cutting plastic
• Make-up sponge (for applying contact glue)

Amy has been collecting and washing a plethora of Wannabe’s (stuffed animals who really want to be puppets). There will be enough for everyone, but if find your perfect Wannabe, feel free to bring it instead.

We know an hour is not a lot of time for a project like this, but don’t despair; our goal is to give you all the instruction, ideas and supplies you need to get a good start. You are welcome to come both days if you would like. Workshops will be held on Thursday, November 10th at 7:00 pm, or on Saturday, November 12th at 10:00 am. Please RSVP by calling 801-229-7161.

We hope what we create at this workshop will be a fun addition to your future storytimes. As always, we feel that the best thing about Laptime and Storytime is YOU. You find the great books, you put the effort into knowing your material, you and your love of sharing and caring shines through each time you present a program. Kids can sense how you feel about books and reading. It’s that infectious adoration of good books that turns the littlest of our Littles into those avid readers and book hounds. Thank you!
Sincerely,
OPL Children’s Staff

Uhm, George? George!! Part 2

Let's finish George up, shall we?

When we left, George was an eating puppet, but not a talking puppet. Time to make George talk!

 Sew another bag, this one does not have to be wide like the stomach.

Long and skinny.

Sew all 4 sides - a tube with no opening

Uhm, George? George!!

Turning a Stuffed Animal into a Specialty Puppet

First, let me tell you that I have been carrying my copy of Bark George (OPL Link) by Jules Feiffer in the car for months.

The reason?
     I've known for a long time that I wanted to figure a way to 'do' Bark George in a story or laptime.

The problem:
     How do I work out the mechanics of it? Is it going to be an Old Lady Who Swallowed the Fly style of telling? You've seen the varieties, small animals and a swallowing old lady; big cardboard lady with a hole cut out for her stomach that you drop the animals into; a dress you wear and you get to act as the old lady and your 'belly' grows.

As good as these sound, they just weren't feeling right for George. George has to be 'hiding' the animals from the beginning and the vet takes them out.

Well - I'm telling you all - head on over to your local Goodwill or second-hand store. Find a LARGE stuffed dog with a likely mouth. You'll know it when you see it. It might take a few months, but when it happens, you'll know it!

 Say Hello George!

 

Click on pictures to open up a larger, close up view

 He has the perfect deep mouth I needed, it's almost already a puppet, and he's fairly large. The only drawback, he's not the same breed as found in Feiffer's book. Beggars can't be choosers.

To help this page load faster, I have inserted a page break. If you want to see how I made George the stuffed animal into George the specialty puppet . . . read on . . .