Pupperoos would like to wish you a happy (belated) Easter! Chee-Chee the Monkey and Kay Yasugi had a great time visiting Christ Church St Ives (Sydney) on Easter Sunday. We hope you all had a safe and enjoyable Easter break (Chee-Chee spent most of hers eating chocolate bananas)!
If you would like Chee-Chee to visit your School, Pre-school or Church, contact Kay at info@pupperoos.com
Pupperoos recently ran a series of exciting shark puppet workshops at Fowler Road School. The students have been learning about dangerous animals and by the end of the day, they had created a whole school of sharks, piranhas, dragons (and one pug dog)! Here is what one of the students wrote about his experience:
Yesterday we made hand puppets with Miss Kay from Pupperoos. We used foam balls for the eyes. We used short string for the mouth to make it open and shut. We used paper plates to make the fins. I coloured my shark red and purple. Making the eyes was my favourite part. I had fun making the puppet.
Here is what one of the teachers said about the workshop:
Thank you again for [the workshop]. It was great. All the teachers were very impressed and the kids absolutely loved it. My kids are still talking about how much fun it was.
- Bianca Mangano, Classroom Teacher
Fowler Road School is a special school for students with mental health and behavioural disorders. Fowler Road is intended as a short term intervention (approx. 12-18 months) that supports students from regular schools from across Metropolitan Sydney. For more information please visit www.fowlerroad-s.schools.nsw.edu.au
On Sunday 24th March, Pupperoos had the joy of running an all day puppet-making workshop at the All the Colours of Ryde Festival. The festival celebrated Harmony Day, which is an opportunity to promote peace, community spirit and the celebration of cultural diversity. Children (and the young at heart) were invited to make ‘Peek-a-boo’ rod puppets, where the puppets could hide inside paper cups then jump out to say ‘peek-a-boo’! All the puppets were very colourful, unique and full of character,which included a flying dragon rabbit, a roaring lion (complete with spiky mane) and butterfly fairies!
For more information about the City of Ryde, please visit www.ryde.nsw.gov.au
Happy World Puppetry Day everybody! (and how wonderful that it’s also Harmony Day in Australia!)
Kay Yasugi from Pupperoos recently visited Concord West Public School for their Harmony Day celebrations, which included a visit from Chee-Chee the Cheeky Monkey and the creation of just over 450 paper doves (More photos coming soon! Until then, we hope your days are filled with peace, harmony and lots of puppetry!)
Pupperoos is very excited to release the first of 3 free online videos for teachers on using puppetry in the classroom. Kay Yasugi from Pupperoos teamed up with primary school teacher Kate Roberts, who also teaches English as a Second Language (ESL).
This introductory video explores:
1. What kinds of puppets can be used for the classroom (focusing on K-2), including puppets for:
- Behaviour management
- Writing lessons
- Comprehension
- Engaging quiet/shy students
- Revision
2. Tips on operating puppets
3. Tips on storing puppets
4. Discussing what puppets suit different age ranges
Kay would like to thank Kate Roberts for generously giving her time for this project, as well as Robert Bremner (The Amazing House) and students from Homebush West Public School.
The puppets used in this video have included those from Folkmanis (http://www.folkmanis.com) and The Puppet Company (http://www.thepuppetcompany.com).
Come back soon to see Parts 2 and 3 of this video series!
Snapshots from Bali (clockwise): Kay making a Wayang Kulit shadow puppet; Kay with her teacher Jamayanti at the Puri Lukisan Cultural Museum in Ubud; a Wayang Kulit shadow puppet; traditional Balinese dancer with a Barong mask/puppet; Wayang Kulit performance; Javanese rod puppets; Sketch by Kay Yasugi from the Ubud Royal Palace.
Kay Yasugi from Pupperoos recently took a research trip to Bali in Indonesia to explore its culture and puppetry. She spent most of her time in Ubud, the cultural heart of Bali. One of the highlights was doing a Wayang Kulit (shadow puppet) making course at the Puri Lukisan Cultural Museum, as well as seeing a traditional Wayang Kulit performance. She also visited Master shadow puppeteer I Made Sidia, who spoke to her about the philosophy behind Wayang Kulit and the importance of this art form for the Balinese people. Kay also had the pleasure of seeing ‘Bali Agung’, a fantastic theatre production that I Made Sidia co-directed, which is showing at the Bali Safari and Marine Park in Gianyar.
Master Balinese Wayang Kulit Shadow Puppeteer, I Made Sidia
After a week of exploring shadow puppetry, venturing on cultural tours, meandering through picturesque rice terraces, sketching ancient ruins, visiting Balinese homes, navigating through bustling markets, sampling the local cuisine and even going on a twilight elephant safari, Kay is back in Sydney and fully inspired to run some new workshops!
Chee-Chee the Cheeky Monkey looking forward to an Aussie Christmas
Pupperoos (and Chee-Chee) wishes everyone a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!
Chee-Chee the Cheeky Monkey will be doing a special Christmas Eve show at Christ Church St Ives for the Kids’ service. If you are in Sydney, please do come along!
Monday 24th December 2012 at 5pm.
Christ Church StIves (1 Cowan Road, St Ives, Sydney NSW)
Chee-Chee also recently visited Newington Public School and Homebush West Public School in South Western Sydney for their Christmas Scripture Assemblies. Chee-Chee laughed, cried and sang about Christmas – and there was even some poetry and shadow puppetry too!
For more information about shows with Chee-Chee the Cheeky Monkey, contact Kay at info@pupperoos.com (bananas for Chee-Chee optional).
Butterly puppet fun: Workshop participants from Kirribilli Neighbourhood Centre, Ivanhoe Park Pre-School, Homebush West Public School and John the Baptist Catholic Primary School Bonnyrigg Heights, Sydney
It has been a busy few months for Pupperoos workshops. Kay Yasugi from Pupperoos has visited multiple schools and pre-schools around Sydney running her popular “Butterfly puppet playtime” workshop, which includes a sweet little glove puppet show about the butterfly life cycle. This is followed by a hands-on making session, where children make their own simple butterfly puppets. The highlight for many of the children is transforming their rod puppets into shadow puppets through torches and shadow tents.
Here is what some of the teachers had to say:
“It was such a great incursion. The children were so engaged and found the experience ‘very funny’ and ‘cool’.” - Carolina Gomez (Kindergarten Coordinator at John the Baptist Catholic Primary School Bonnyrigg Heights, Sydney)
“The children were very engaged all the way through the workshop. It was an excellent learning experience.” – Emma Boundy (Kindergarten teacher at John the Baptist Catholic Primary School Bonnyrigg Heights, Sydney)
“I loved it. It was so inspirational – I’ll make puppets with the children. I especially loved the shadow puppets in the tents. Thank you!” – Lenka Kambersky (Childcare worker at Ivanhoe Park Preschool, Manly, Sydney)
For more information about this educational workshop (suitable for Preschool to Grade 2), contact Kay at info@pupperoos.com
Students studying Primary Education at Sydney University
Pupperoos has been busy running training workshops for teachers and childcare workers in Sydney. One highlight has been running a session for ESL teachers at the ‘ESL:The Way Forward!’ Conference in South Western Sydney. It has been great to see there is a growing interest in educators using puppets in their classrooms.
Puppets are an engaging resource, which when used effectively, can improve students’ learning outcomes. During this workshop participants were introduced to a range of puppets and how to effectively use them in their classroom teaching practice.
The workshops also catered to different interests, such as developing language learning in the early years, assisting ESL (English as a Second Language) learners, creating a dynamic literacy classroom and tips for behaviour management.
Kay Yasugi from Pupperoos during her "Puppetry for the ESL Classroom" workshop at the 'ESL:The Way Forward!' Conference in South Western Sydney
Here is what some of the participants had to say:
“Fantastic workshop- felt that I learnt so many activities and great ideas that I can now take into the classroom” - Olivia Gordon, Sydney University
“I can’t wait to implement what I’ve learned back at my [childcare] centre and share information with our other staff!” – Tracey Bartley (participated in a workshop at Blacktown Road Childcare Centre)
For more information about teacher training workshops, contact Kay at info@pupperoos.com
War Horse Puppetry Workshops in Sydney
War Horse-inspired cane puppets of a horse head and duck on wheels (puppets made by Kay Yasugi)
Kay Yasugi from Pupperoos recently ran a workshop on ‘Creating Puppets For Plays‘ as part of the War Horse Australia Learning Programme at the Sydney Lyric Theatre. The participants were mainly young adults from the National Youth Theatre Company. The workshop was a practical and hands-on session of designing and making a puppet for use in the theatre. It was based on techniques employed by Handspring Puppet Company (the genius behind the puppetry in War Horse) including working with cane and paper. Over 2 hours, the group produced a variety of wonderfully inventive puppets including a snake, emu, walking boots and even the Grim Reaper! Kay is very much looking forward to running more workshops and seeing what other puppet characters emerge!
The workshop was part of a two day professional development masterclass, which also included a ‘Writing for the Stage‘ workshop (learning specific techniques required when creating an imaginative piece of writing for theatre) and ‘National Theatre Puppetry‘ workshop (exploring puppetry performance techniques used in the show and devising their own improvised scenes). The sessions were inspired by a specially commissioned monologue written by celebrated children’s author Morris Gleitzman called ‘Loyal Creatures’, which gives unique insight into how Australian soldiers and horses were involved in World War One.
War Horse is currently showing in Sydney until 30th June 2013. For more information about the show, ticket bookings and to download educational resources, please visit http://warhorseonstage.com/
If your school is interested in booking an education workshop for the War Horse Australia Learning Programme, please contact Holly Limpkin at Global Creatures at holly.limpkin@global-creatures.com