Using Puppets in the Preschool Classroom

Sometimes children may be used to hear you speaking in their maternal language, so it could be a bit confusing for them to hear you suddenly speaking in English. For this reason, some teachers introduce an intermediary object between them and their students in the English classroom. It can be any kind of object like a magic hat, which will make that, every time that you wear it, you automatically speak in English. However, I prefer to use puppets to direct the English classroom. They are magical for preschool students, being a really good way to get the kids attention. I think that puppets encourage students to communicate more and are great teaching tools in the preschool classroom.

The first day of class it's important to introduce him as a new friend who is coming from far away to visit us. His name has to be in English and it would be great that he has the same age as children. We can show them where are he from and talk a little bit about his country. We must tell them that he speaks another language and we can only talk to him in English. 

Some teachers use the puppet only as a reference (the puppet whispers them things that he wants to say and the teacher repeat it to the classroom). But the most effective puppets talk directly to the children and even introduce lessons. In this case, teachers use a different tone of voice to speak through the puppet.

Create rituals with the puppets. Children respond well to repetition, so use it to your advantage. Every time your bring out the puppet you can say the same thing and you can do the same thing. First day of class the puppet can introduce himself to the students, using the main phrases to introduce ourselves ("hello", "how are you?", "my name is..."). And we can also teach the song that will become a part of the daily routine. This is an interesting video that can give you some ideas about teaching English with puppets:

When not in use, give the puppet a special seat and we can use it the days that children are not in work as a way to get their attention again. Kids will love him so we can use it as a reference ("Mr. Bear is very proud of you", "Mr. Bear don't like kids who hit their peers"...).

I have seen it and the result is amazing ! I really recommend you try it in your classroom :)