HRS students carry on puppet show tradition
By Jodelle GreinerArticle Photos
MARSHALL - Third graders at Holy Redeemer School not only got to put on a puppet show Monday, they got to make the puppets they operated and write the script.
The third-graders have been unleasing their creativity in this manner for about 10 years, said Sheryl Kaiser, one of their teachers. She said fellow teacher Mary Surprenant started the project when her daughter, Jenna, now a high school senior, was in third grade.
"They really get into this," Kaiser said
"We started with the basic script in March and worked on it for quite some time," she said.
That was Andrew Doyle and Rebecca Baker's favorite part.
"You got to write all about it yourself and let your imagination explode," Doyle said.
"We didn't have to read someone else's script," Baker said, adding she also liked "working with friends."
At the end of March, the students made the puppet heads out of sawdust, wallpaper paste and water. The only instructions they have for the puppets is the recipe for the head, Kaiser said. They've made the rest up as they went.
"Mix it all up and mold it," she said. The students know what character they will be playing, so "they shape this glob into that type of a puppet head."
Making the puppet head was Seth Cattoor and Jack Brown's favorite part of the project.
"Because we got to work with sawdust and stuff," Cattoor said.
"Because it was all gooey," Brown added.
"It takes about three weeks for it to dry," Kaiser said. The students then paint and make clothes for their puppet.
"The project spanned about two months," Kaiser said, "but this last week is when they put the play and the puppet together."
Because the students make new puppets each year, they get to take home the ones they made as keepsakes.
"My daughter, Katie, still has her's and she's in eighth grade," said Kaiser.
Besides having fun, the kids are actually learning some things.
"It's a great writing activity," Kaiser said. "We want the kids to become proficient writers. This is a fun way to do that.
"We also want them to improve their reading expression and fluency," she added. "It's lots of repetition. Lots of reading the script over and over to improve fluency. And they get to use what they created."
