Hi all,

My name is Nathan. And I am just beginning to explore the world of puppetry to use as part of my ministry in schools. I have zero experience right now, other and attending a series of creative ministry worskshops, of which one was on puppetry. Looking for ideas on how to begin.

Hi Nathan,

Welcome to P&S.

I would say get your hands on a puppet, make one or buy one.

I started with a sock back in the day, are good times.

Wish I had washed the sock first!  

Watch some puppet videos on you tube then when you find a style that you like see if you can imitate it.

Use a mirror to see how it looks from your audiences perspective and then when you feel confident put on a show.

 

Welcome to Puppets and Stuff............I agree with Henry the more you learn the better. I have a series of free patterns in my gallery that you can start with and remember we are here to help you so feel free to ask questions.


Billy D.

Hey there Nathan, welcome to puppets and stuff, I'm sure you will find what you are looking for here and there are plenty of christian puppeteers doing the exact same thing as you are doing, including myself, i have been using puppets to glorify God for many many years, so i hope i can be of help.

there are loads of threads on here that can answer all sorts of questions, but feel free to ask and you will be surprised at how helpful we can all be.

My suggestion is to make a puppet yourself, there are quite a few christian messages that can be taught through that (e.g. making something out of nothing, you made decisions for the puppet, but YOU make your own decisions, etc...) and i would suggest checking out the 'glorified sock puppet pattern' from projectpuppet.com, it is an easy pattern for making a puppet and the possibilities are nearly endless, plus you will learn alot about puppetry once you have decent puppet to use (i wouldn't buy anything cheap, it might sound good, but you wont get the most out of it that you possibly could with a decent puppet, either made or purchased)

anyway, don't overload yourself with too much, don't try doing to much at once, practice practice practice and the results will speak for themselves, kids love puppets and by creating a fantastic character, you can teach anything, kids will listen to what the puppet says more than what an adult says most of the time!!!

what workshop did you go to and where do you live??

good luck and have fun,

Ben.

Welcome to Puppets and Stuff!  This is the best place to learn about how you can incorporate puppetry into your ministry at the schools.  Experience is the best teacher!

kids will listen to what the puppet says more than what an adult says most of the time!!!

This is absolutely TRUE!! I have been able to do more with puppets than I ever could in the classroom before I started using puppets! AND it is loads of FUN!!!

Hey Nathan!

As one of the few Aussie members here, I'd like to say a big welcome! Also, if you need any help, let me know. There's a bunch of ministry groups in Australia, though they're not that easy to find. (I'm not involved in any, but I know of a few websites)

Whereabouts in Oz are you?

I also have some patterns, which has specific info tailored to finding materials in our country.

EDITED: Darn, my Aussie radar disappeared... I didn't see Henry had already posted too. :P

Hey Nathan!  Glad you joined us.  Jump right in.  We'd love to help in any way we can.

Julie

hi I am new too

Welcome Jamie!  You should start a new thread in this area and tell us some about yourself.  Are you just getting into puppetry or have you been doing it for some time?