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Day 5 on the 20/5/09 | Puppet Portal Project Hospital B
2011-10-10
Day 5 on the 20/5/09
On Sunday last I went to Africa day in Limerick it was full of culture, colour and music. I decided to do an Africa day in the hospital on Wednesday and I found it a great success. I had visited Irish aid on the Tuesday they organised the Sunday festival. They gave me books for the children, posters and balloons so the room had a festively feel. They where very helpful.
The first group of children talked about what they knew of Africa while drawing and collaging a cranky back drop. Inspired by the drawings in the book the made traditional African masks out of card and puppets out of spoons, card, garden pots, wire and markers.
The time went very quickly and so we linked up briefly on Aiteila where they showed there puppets but then are page froze so went back to playing with the puppets. The puppets where string puppets operated by two loops around two fingers and the children chased there puppets around created shadows with them while three parents and one toddler who came to watch where given shakers, bells and drums to play along with us. Even though it was a big group of 7 children aging from 4 to 12 this week I felt the children where helping each other. As well as having great help from the teacher.
I then went to work one on one with a girl I work with ever three weeks. She is a lovely girl who is really up for making and performing. she drew a lovely elephant back ground and made a very colourful feathered person she then had to go home but we are going to perform with what she made in three weeks.
I then worked one on one with a boy in the ward who was uncomfortable working with the big group earlier. He was a very chatty lovely boy who was very interested in the children’s stories in the book, one of the teachers had made a back drop with him earlier and he had made a collage of masks. When I went down he made a masked character (See picture).
I then went in to the playroom where a worked with a 3 year girl she made a very colourful elephant, and I worked again with one of the boys from the first group who wanted to make a friend for his puppet, but he wanted to make a better one he said. He was great and by the end was telling me how to make the puppet better. I think he will be able to teach his siblings how to make one now.
This was a great day, which showed me that I can put a theme down with out limiting the freedom of the children to explore.
"..... has loved the craftwork this morning and it has been a great relief to her from the tedium of bed and TV" parent quote
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