YOUNG PEOPLE'S PUPPET THEATRE
Find us on
  • Home
  • About
    • Newsletter
    • Meet the team
    • History of YPPT
    • Our marionettes
    • Our stages
  • Impact
    • Our impact
    • Student testimonials
    • Teacher/parent testimonials
  • Projects
    • Our marionette projects
    • Curriculum links
    • Project leaders
    • Current projects
    • Artsmark and Arts Award
    • Free resources for you
    • Join us!
    • Summer camp 2025
  • Support us
    • DONATE
    • Spread the word
    • Volunteer with us
    • Become a YPPT Trustee
    • Our supporters
  • Contact
  • Gallery
    • Rogues' Gallery
    • In the making
    • Projects in action
    • Performance photos
    • Performance videos

A MEssage from Central Primary School

30/5/2019

2 Comments

 
Picture
Last week, our two classes at Central Primary School in Watford performed their shows for the rest of the school, their teachers and their parents. The shows went wonderfully - the younger audiences were enthralled and many teachers and parents welled up with emotion and pride at the children's achievements. Photos and videos of their performances will be up soon; in the meantime, we'd like to share the words of the headteacher Dr John Mynott who wrote about the project on the school blog:

​"Sometimes as a head teacher you stumble across a project that is truly remarkable and that brings significant learning and value to the school’s community. I am pleased to say that the Young People’s Puppet Theatre (YPPT) is a wonderful example of such a project.

A year ago when we first spoke about the project I had no real idea what the project would entail, but I also thought it sounded like a good way to develop the collaboration and design and technology skills of our Year 6 pupils. The reality far exceeded my expectations.

So what have Year 6 accomplished?

It started with the puppets. Each and every child has created a character for the puppet show. They crafted their heads out of clay. They decorated them using paints and gave them hair. This was a really creative an exciting part of the process. The range of ideas and creative outcomes was phenomenal.

After the heads, the puppets needed to be assembled and clothes needed to be created. The pupils had to consider what their puppet would wear and how they could use a textile pattern to help them create clothing that would fit their puppet’s body. This really developed and refined their textile skills and got pupils to think more carefully about how clothes are made.

Once the puppets were assembled they needed to be strung. Again the pupils did this, making sure hands and feet were level and that their heads did not tilt too far forward.

If it had just been puppets the project would have already have been amazing, but it was more than puppets! After completing the assembly of the puppets, the pupils had to think about the design of their backgrounds and how the puppets would interact with the scene. These designs then needed to be scaled up and painted. What was incredible here is that some of our pupils really shone at this skill. They could visualise how to plan out sections of their grids to replicate their design.

Once backgrounds and puppets were complete the children needed to learn how to be puppeteers. Then they could put their skills together as a team to run their whole puppet show.

You might think that adults would be needed to do this, but the project is designed to ensure that the children work as a team to plan, and perform their shows. A stage manager (a pupil who is elected) takes overall control and everyone else has specific jobs to do. It is incredible how everyone realises that their job is essential to the whole show and in the rehearsal they really do pull together.

​
The final performance is theirs. And it was spectacular!
​
By chance, we sat next to someone at a meeting who told us about this project. And I am really grateful for our good luck, because it has brought a whole world of wonderful puppets to our current Year 6 and I am very excited about the work we will do with the YPPT next year. I would definitely recommend this project to anyone looking to bring something amazing to their design and technology and creative arts curriculum."

2 Comments
Blake Gantz link
30/11/2023 09:24:40 pm

Helllo nice post

Reply
Ron Paul homeschooling link
6/8/2024 09:03:16 am

One challenge of homeschooling is finding a balance between educational activities and leisure time.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    April 2022
    October 2021
    September 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    October 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed


​[email protected] Tel: 07914 830 730 
​Registered Charity 1165649
         
All text and images  ​© The Young People's Puppet Theatre 2022

Picture
Contact
Newsletter
​DONATE
Privacy Policy
Picture
Picture
Picture