Play Therapy Bullying Prevention Puppets and Puppet Theater

by Susan
(Play Therapy Student for Play Therapy Class)

I found the play therapy puppets and play therapy theater a fun project to do. I was trying to decide what puppets to make and my son wanted to give me suggestions. He thought I should have a puppet that looked like his toy turtle. So I made Terry the Turtle as my first puppet. I then decided to make my script around bullying prevention. With that thought I made a shark as the bully, Sampson the Shark.
Since the script was focused on bullying prevention I made the puppet theater as a playground. I then made a fish as the teacher, Ms. Bubbles and then needed one more character to finish out the puppets. My son, who was very interested in the project, suggested making Robbie the Robot.

To make the puppets I drew pictures and then cut them out. I was having trouble making the drawings as I wanted so I projected the drawings I found and traced them. I then colored and glittered the drawings. I affixed them to Popsicle sticks and then onto covered toilet paper rolls so they would stand up.

I then wrote the script around the turtle being bullied by the shark. I wanted to use the idea that it is alright for children to ask an adult for help when someone is being bullied. I believe children should stand up for themselves, but there are times when an adult needs to be involved. This is a message that many children do not receive. They usually hear to walk away or to stand up to the bully. My script had the robot as the witness of the bullying and he first made sure his friend, the turtle was not hurt. He then stood up to the bully and then got help from the teacher.

Performing the puppet show was a little awkward at first. I am just now getting comfortable with doing presentations in front of an audience. But, then I felt comfortable with the puppets and enjoyed doing the show.

I can see how this type of presentation can be beneficial for children. It is so easy to see the puppets and listen to the story as opposed to listening to an adult. This would be even more beneficial when teaching guidance to small children. However, I think it will be a challenge to make sure I have story lines that are interesting and fun.