Shadow Play and Puppets

With Kathryn, the children had explored how technology like iPads, computers, and television affect their lives.  We continued this exploration by wondering what children did before there was television.  What would you do if there was no tv, no toys?  What do you when you play in the forest?   Here are some of their ideas:

Maybe they read a lot of books-Cameron

Maybe they sang songs a lot and had parties - Mila

Maybe they drew pictures and shared them back and forth -Paxton

You can play hide-and-seek or tag-Connor

Remember when we drew sand pictures?  Then maybe did that--Matthew

Even though there is little to no social interaction and creativity when it comes to watching television; I was glad to see that the children enjoy using their imagination is the way out of boredom.   

All of the children at Creative Minds watched the Cat in the Hat - a story about two very bored children the their pet fish, who run into a very silly cat, his two silly friends, Thing 1 and Thing 2,  who make "the mother of all messes" looking for a special machine.  At the end of the story, the machine and the Things 1 & 2 clean the whole house before the mother comes home.  We used these cutouts as shadow puppets to retell the story:

Characters of the "Cat in the Hat"

Ryleigh Cat Shadow

Connor playing the Cat

Paxton as Thing 2

Kesler as the Cat

Mila as Thing 1

Mila as the Cleaning Machine

Matthew as the Cat

 Quite naturally, the children then grew "bored" of the puppet play and decided to use their own bodies and imaginations for some shadow fun …

Mila and Paxton

Connor with claws

We have super powers !

Paxton is a frog

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Connor - I feel taller !