Leave No Child Inside

"One learns that the world, though made, is yet being made. That this is still the morning of creation. Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to body and soul alike." -John Muir
John is one of the early champions of preserving the majestic spaces of America for all of us...our National Parks!
As I watched the latest PBS offering from film-maker Ken Burns: The National Parks: American's Best Ideas, John Muir had to return to nature, the forests, the mountains, the rivers to regain his strength and balance. We all need this and our children today are being cheated out of the great outdoors and nature. Much has been written about "Nature Deprivation" of our children and the obesity and the structured sporting programs that are rampant for today's children. Please read Richard Louv's book, Last Child in the Woods, for some true insight into just how awful things have become.
I am attempting to coax children and families outside with my programs. I try to weave nature into the use of puppets and to have live creatures whenever I can. My caterpillars have all made cocoons or emerged from its chrysalis, but I do have some wooly bear caterpillars feeding on parsley, carrot tops and/or queen anne's lace. These marvelous creatures I call my "Thanksgiving caterpillars" and then "Christmas caterpillars", "Valentine caterpillars" and finally around St. Patrick's Day they will finally go into a cocoon to emerge as an Isabella Moth in the spring.
Please note: It is a caterpillar that is found in sweet corn and an apple. It has 16 legs and green blood, same as all caterpillars. They make cocoons and become moths in the spring.
If you have any questions on projects, etc., for these creatures, email me.....

Keynote Highlights

I have been getting the raspberries for neglecting this site for months. I apologize and hope to make it up to those of you who read it hoping for info.
I am coming off a high after being a keynote speaker in Canton for the AEYC Conference October 3rd. Not only did they "treat" me to a great B&B, but the committee members were helpful and welcoming. They had some key members that completely took over setting up my "vendor's" area and manning it when I was doing the keynote and the workshop that followed. I truly appreciated all their many kindnesses to me.
Joe French communicated with me through the years that this was scheduled and in introducing me, he related a story about a woman in Canton who purchased a puppet from me years ago. She took "Violet" (Amelia) with her wherever she went and kept an active photo album. She died a day after Christmas and her family allowed Violet to go with her through her next journey!!

I remembered her and have seen her album. I knew that I was going to be going to Anaheim for NAEYC the next month and for the first time I had Amelia's picture taken at the cockpit on the plane, with Mickey Mouse in Disney and on the roller coaster there, too. I have thought of her often and am in awe of what so many who have taken my workshops have accomplished and done with puppets!
Another story: Years ago when I was a keynote speaker in Canton a teacher came up to me afterward and related how she got her character puppet, Patches. She had taken one of my workshops a year before and when I demonstrated the ease of making puppets out of stuffed animals simply by removing the stuffing, she thought of a stuffed cat, missing an eye, that she had. She made a patch, bought a cat "taxi" for .80 @ Goodwill and made that puppet her character puppet. "Now," she proudly said, "I am ready for more puppets!"
I told that story on Saturday and later she came up and reintroduced herself to me. Another friend had been in my workshop and realized who it was and told her. Another happy reunion !


I am going to work on daily updates and ways to work with puppets simply and creatively, I promise.