Intown Jewish Preschool: Purim Puppets: A Multi-Sensory Experience

The Jewish holidays provide the teachers an opportunity to create unique learning experiences for the children. Children tend to learn the best with opportunities that are multi-sensory. Indeed, the Jewish holidays themselves are multi-sensory! On Purim we hear the megillah (sound), eat a seudah (taste), and give gifts of food and tzedakah (touch). The Kitah Gimmel morahs worked to provide immersive experiences that involved multiple senses for the children so they could internalize the joy and story of Purim at their level.

Puppetry is a multi-sensory way to tell the story of Purim. The KG students made their own puppets to help tell the story of Purim, feeling ownership and pride in their puppets. They used a found object (wooden spoon) for the body and head of the puppet. They used googly eyes, pieces of material, pom poms, ribbon, and fake hair to make whichever Purim character they wanted. The children were excited to make their puppets and were awed at their results. More than one child sat back from his or her work and said, with wonder, "Wow. It's so beautiful!" The act of making the puppet required fine motor skills to arrange the decorations and eyes. Executive functioning skills were also engaged for planning where the decorations would go on the spoon. The children engaged in dramatic play to tell the story of Purim once their puppets were complete.

The children are initially puzzled. They see the spoons like the ones they use to stir the batter for baking. Why are the spoons on the art table?

Each child concentrates, still a bit apprehensive of how the spoon can be turned into a puppet.

Each child decides how to approach the puppet in different ways. They started with eyes, sparkles, hair, or a crown. The children build from the head down: after establishing the face and head, the children create clothes for the body of the puppet.