An Educational Puppet Troupe
Our volunteers and their life-size puppets visit elementary school classrooms throughout the county to talk with students about cultural differences, bullying, and learning differences. The targeted scripts help children accept individual differences and learn valuable social skills. This year, we will be distributing a video of the KOTB performance so that even more students can be reached.
Our puppet troupe visits about 13 school each year, from October through April. Members donate over 800 volunteer hours per year in this program.
Meet our puppets: Eddie is being bullied by a nasty boy in school, but learns to deal with the boy in a positive way, thanks to his friend Claire. Claire is smart, kind, and wise beyond her years. She counsels Eddie to do positive things when being bullied: tell a teacher, stand by a friend who is being bullied, and work together to raise awareness of the problem. Jennifer is a rough and ready little girl with a learning difference. She can sing, dance, and play soccer. She gets straight A’s in math, but has an issue with reading and writing. Brenda is a little overweight but very sensitive to being bullied about how she looks. Jennifer helps her learn to ignore the bad remarks and like how she is. Melody is a smart and sassy girl who does well in school and offers to help Jennifer with her school work.
Kids On The Block puppets teach children:
- What constitutes bullying
- Problem-solving techniques
- How to get help from adults
- How to accept differences and similarities among their peers
- How to reject unacceptable bullying behavior
The children in the audience come to identify with the puppets and open up to them as if they were trusted friends. Students are encouraged to accept physical, social, medical, and cultural differences, and are empowered to tell an adult about any perceived bullying.
“Dear Puppeteers,
Thank you for the puppet show. It made me feel that being different is good. Now I am so so grateful by how I look. And what my language is.” — Student at Piney Orchard
