Rewarding Experiences

Following a most enjoyable days work at Wooley Wood Special School in Sheffield I was contemplating the value of such a visit and as I thought about it I realised that probably everyone involved had benefited in one way or another.

I had performed a puppet show for the whole school at the beginning of the day and then ran puppet making workshops for each year group.

The show was very well received and the audience responded enthusiastically. I was in my element performing ( as usual ) and the adults were relaxing and getting involved as much as the children. We all had a great time!

The puppet making workshops were also lots of fun and because the method was uncomplicated it meant that children of varying levels of ability could still participate. The children and the adults worked together in small groups and between them they produced some excellent simple but effective puppets.

Looking back on the day I do feel it was successful and worthwhile.

The children had thoroughly enjoyed the show and had then been involved in a practical activity where they had an oportunity to exercise their creativity by helping to plan and make a puppet.
The adults were able to enjoy a shared experience organised by someone else which meant that they could concentrate even more on getting the best out of the children.
I had the satisfaction of meeting and working with a team of dedicated people in demanding jobs and to feel that I had made a positive contribution to their current project.

Here are some comments from the teachers and staff:

Very funny and entertaining, the children enjoyed it immensely
Brilliant, captivated the children and they all enjoyed it
Very good entertainment for the children, kept them enthralled
The puppet show was very good and the children really enjoyed it as well as the staff. The workshop was very good too as the children were able to take part and make a puppet that was simple and effective
The show was good fun and the children were all engaged. It was a very appropriate level for the children to understand, enjoy and be involved in
The children enjoyed very much. Very good experience

Here are a few pictures I took of some of the puppets.