Kid's On the Block and More!

This past Tuesday we had a professor (Dr. Navar) come in and taught us how to use the Kid's on the Block puppets.  I remember having Kid's on the Block come to my school when I was younger and so this was really neat to see what it all entails in order to have a presentation.  It surely takes a lot of work to facilitate just one puppet itself!

More Information on Kid's On The Block - Click Here!

The other topic we discussed that followed Dr. Navar's presentation was other uses of puppets and how we could incorporate them into a multigenerational setting.  Our group talked about using hand painted puppets.  We thought this would be really fun for all populations and ages.  We came to the conclusion that it would increase their self-esteem, social skills, and of course, their expression.  We thought that you could maybe base the program off of their favorite memory in their life and have them paint a puppet on their hand that represents that memory.  After they were all done they would be able to go around the room and talk about their memory and why they painted their hand the way the did. 

Some supplies you would need that we discussed were: non-toxic paint, paint brushes, cardboard (settings for the puppet if you wanted to make a scene), colored paper (for scenes, and magazines (also for scenes).

The role of the Recreational Therapist would just be supportive and maybe give a few creative ideas in the beginning to give them ideas.  Otherwise I think the Recreational Therapist should just watch the interactions between the individuals and the other participants and record all of the positive aspects.

Here is a link that I found about hand painted puppets that you might enjoy taking a look at:
http://www.facepaint.ws/paintedhands.htm