Teaching parts of the face with a monster puppet

When talking about the parts of the face in Spanish, I know that many teachers use Mr. Potato Head in class. Well, about a year ago, I saw the Melissa & Doug Make Your Own Monster Puppet online and a lightbulb went off. Wouldn't this be great to use instead of or in addition to Mr. Potato Head?

I finally got around to buying one last week through Amazon. I laid out all the parts for you to see. (To enlarge, click on photo.) For $15 and some change, I really think you get a good deal.

Imagine using this in class. The children helping him find his eyes... "No puedo ver. ¿Dónde están mis ojos?" The child or teacher can place them in the right place. The puppet then could say Puedo ver. ¡Gracias! You could do the same with the nose, ears and arms even. You could also put them in the wrong place - such as placing the eyes under the mouth and then the students could tell you the correct place.

I have to say that I can't wait to use this little guy in class. I think the kids will love him!
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Make some puppets and put on a show in Spanish

Instead of reinventing the wheel, I'll just point you to the site I used to make my puppets. You'll find detailed instructions at Danielle's Place. You could also buy them if you're not in the mood to make one. I really like the Melissa & Doug puppets, because they're well made and are reasonably priced.

Get the whole family involved and put on a show (el espectáculo de títeres) in Spanish. The kids will certainly get excited and you'll be amazed by what they do know.

For starters, have the puppets greet each other:

Puppet 1: Hola.

Puppet 2: Hola

Puppet 1: ¿Cómo estás?

Puppet 2: ¡Estupendo! ¿Y tú?

Puppet 1: Muy bien, gracias.

Puppet 2: Adiós.

Puppet 1: Adiós.

In between "acts" you can have them sing a song such as Buenos días (tune: Frère Jacques):

Buenos días, buenos días,
¿cómo estás? ¿cómo estás?
Muy bien, gracias,
Muy bien, gracias,
¿y tú? ¿y tú?

Then do the same with buenas tardes and buenas noches. Also, ahead of time, the children could make a program (el programa) and tickets (la entrada, las entradas).

Puppets and foreign languages

Using puppets and teaching foreign languages go hand in hand in my opinion. I've seen the positive effects firsthand with my children and students.

In the past, I've used a puppet named Marisol, who only understood Spanish, to draw out the children. Even the most timid child would talk to her. Basically I would have her greet the children and ask them their names. Sometimes I would also have her play games such as Simón Dice and even sing some of the songs.

Another idea is to have the children make their own puppets - they could be as simple as ones made out of paperbags. They could either talk to their puppet in Spanish or have the puppets talk to each other.

I'll be posting more about puppets soon. It's one of my favorite subjects. *grin*