My Little Penguin

Fun With Puppets

Benefits of Puppet Play

Puppets really engage and delight children. Watching them is in itself a form of art therapy for the audience. In some parts of the world, performances contain a moral message and are watched with deep reverence. Puppet play helps one to achieve greater harmony between the mind, body, and spirit. Of course, the activity has an educational aspect too. Children are often fascinated by puppets and interact strongly with them, which can lead to an overcoming of shyness and fear and greater use of speech. The interaction also encourages concentration and use of the imagination. Psychologists use puppets to help traumatised and abused children to express their feelings. This activity is able to reach deeper, unspoken levels in relationships with others. Sessions can become a form of deeply loving and healing communication. The making and operating of puppets can be a form of serious, carefully thought-out or joyfully spontaneous activity. This also greatly encourages creativity in children.

Yusof's Birthday

It was a day of fun and surprise for the children when Yusof's parents showed up with party hats and chocolates on Yusof's birthday. Yusof turned five in June 2010, and our birthday boy beamed with joy as he marvelled at his birthday present - Woody from Toy Story 3. Thank you daddy and mummy for your generosity and love for the children!

Be Kind To Yourself

This week, the children learn to be kind to themselves. We use an activity to impart this leadership skill of "Kindness" to the children. Assortments of objects like baby cream, a nail cutter, a bottle of powder, sun block, sunglasses, cotton bud, a bar of soap, handgloves, socks, and etc. were placed in a pouch. Children took turns to take an object from the pouch and they were to share with others how they could use it to be kind to their bodies. For example, if a child took the bottle of baby cream, the teacher asked, "How can we be kind to our body? How can we use the baby cream to care for our body?" The child replied, "When our hands are dry, we can use the baby cream to keep our hands moist." Children came up with various responses and it had been a fun learning experience for everyone.