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The Organic Puppet Theatre:
...20 Years Later
Al and Veoli, the lively Lung puppets, have taught kids to enjoy
life-long exercise and not to smoke. The grinning Stomach puppet
has helped a hospitalized child to eat again after an organ transplant.
The thoughtful Brain puppet has urged kids make good choices at
inner city health fairs. What a joyful adventure it has been sharing
The Organic Puppet Theatre with the world over the past 20 years
-- whether with one child or a roomful!
When we first launched this fun, action-packed way to teach kids
to take great care of their bodies, we focused on Minnesota teachers.
Who would have imagined we would hear of the puppets teaching kids
around the U.S. and around the world -- from Reunion Island to Yemen?
In Ecuador, a Peace Corps worker once taped the puppets to the clothes
of enthusiastic children as there were no plastic baggies in their
mountain village!
I have heard great stories from people who have used these easy-to-make
puppets in a wide variety of settings. After making Stomach puppets
at Canada’s Ontario Science Center, a leader asked kids the
name of the tube connecting the mouth to the stomach. One child
piped up: “The asparagus tube!” Never a dull moment
with kids, right?
As time has passed, I see more and more kids in need of guidance
as alarming problems of obesity, sedentary lifestyles, smoking,
drugs, poor food choices, and the early onset of adult diseases
now hit them as hard as they hit adults. Today, kids require even
more loving assistance from family, friends, and teachers to make
healthier decisions!
One of my great thrills was providing that guidance by sharing hundreds
of interactive Organic Puppet Theatre shows with over 17,000 St.
Paul inner city third graders at ten years of Road To Wellness health
fairs! The exuberant, multicultural kids took an active part in
each show as they learned how to stay healthy so they could follow
their biggest, heart-felt dreams!
So, leaders, you have a challenging task to help raise up healthy,
active kids of all ages so they can follow their dreams too! Use
your imagination to build your own health lessons around the puppets
in this book. Tailor them to a homeschool, a classroom, a place
of worship, a camp, or a whole community center full of kids! The
more, the merrier!
I am continually creating and writing new, experiential Organic
Puppet Theatre activities incorporating games, art, writing, music,
discussions, service projects, skits, food, TV show formats and
much more. I look forward to sharing them with you very soon in
a new book!
Now, it’s your turn to creatively make a joyful, healthy difference
in the lives of our precious kids! Have fun right along with the
kids as you teach vital wellness tips using these simple puppets
that are more relevant and engaging than ever! Come join the great
Organic Puppet Theatre journey and help kids become their very best
-- today!
Radiant health to all!
Linda Sorenson
2004
The Organic Puppet Theatre Home Page.
For a sample of lively, new creative health activities, click
here.
Contact Linda for more
information about this book or her presentations.
Children’s Health Home Page.
To explore creative global awareness and peacemaking projects,
click here.
To explore environmental awareness activities, click
here.
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