Noreen Crone-Findlay's Puppetry page:
  with Instructions and directions for projects and crafts
 to help us learn to take good care of the Earth by teaching: Reclaim,Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!


3 'R' Puppet Shows
by Noreen Crone-Findlay:

        For more than a decade now, I have had the joyous honour of creating, building, writing and best of all, performing puppet shows for Grades 1, 2 & 3 children in the City of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
        The shows are part of the Education Program of the Waste Management Department  of one of the most forward thinking cities on the planet.

Here's the URL for the Waste Management Website:
www.gov.edmonton.ab.ca/waste

 The Puppet shows introduce children to the concept of how to REDUCE our garbage:
Rethink, Remember, Respect, Responsible,  Reuse, Reclaim, Refill, Repair, Return for the Refund, Recycle, Give Away, Toxic Roundup, Caring for Trees, and Composting.

        Of course, the best way for the kids to embrace these ideas is to present them in a way that is wild, fun and funny. There's nothing like seeing a child roaring with laughter to light up your life!

    It's important to get kids thinking about what they can do, right here, right now, to be good Earthkeepers.

There are things like:
 CARRYING A TRASHLESS LUNCH:
There is no garbage or recycling in a trashless lunch. No juice boxes, no disposables.
Everything is refillable and re-usable, and things that grew from the Earth get composted.
                   Hard to do? NO.               Make a difference? YES!
 

    The emphasis in the show is to always re-inforce the importance of

NOT THROWING SO MUCH STUFF AWAY!


Refilling, Reusing and Reclaiming are ALWAYS better than tossing!



    Reclaiming
is one of the most important concepts that the children learn:

    I believe in the importance of stimulating children's creativity, and design craft activities that re-inforce the concepts presented in the show. For the last few years,
I've written a little booklet to go with each of the shows, and the children receive it after the show.
    I've posted some of the finger puppets that represent some of the 'stars' of some of the previous shows further down the page.
    As well, I've posted some of the craft activities from the booklets. Click on the thumbnails to enlarge them.
    All designs are Noreen Crone-Findlay originals and are copyright protected.

2003-2004's show was called:
TALLEY AND RIBBIN TACKLE TRASH:
and here are some of the puppets and masks from last year's show:
all designs are Noreen Crone-Findlay originals and are copyright protected.

This is Talley, and Ribbin
and here is 'R-ie Reducer, Super Hero'

Talley and Ribbin are knitted, 'R-ie Reducer, Super Hero is soft sculpture,

Because the show emphasises  Reducing, which includes lots of Reclaiming,
there have to be reclaimed elements in the show.
Last year, it was a mask that Talley scared  the daylights out of Ribbin with:
 There has to be slapstick in the puppet show, after all! :-)
I made the mask from a grotty old salad bowl that my mother-in-law put in the  give-away box. I claimed it for the puppet show and painted the mask on it.

 

The puppets from 2002 - 2003:

                                                                                   Gret                 Rosie

This show was called, "Rosie and Gret's Great 'R,R,R' Adventure".
 I decided that I wanted Rosie and Gret to be knitted from ecospun, so, I found a source of ecospun (which is made from recycled pop bottles), and spun up the yarn which is what I knitted up to make Rosie and Gret. Rosie and Gret are my own design.
 
 

Here are finger puppets of Rosie and Gret:

and here are finger puppets of Tess and Murphy:

and Zing and Noisette:

Here's how to make another neat puppet: YahYah:

Or a simple cloth hand puppet:

Or, a Popsicle Stick Puppet:

AND HERE ARE SOME OF THE CRAFTS:

One of my great passions is weaving on small looms, so I had to think of a way to introduce weaving to children, while reinforcing the concept of Reuse & Reclaim:

I am also in love with Origami, so I often will work out Origami projects and then
use them in the show:

One of my favorite sculpting materials is the humble cornstarch clay:

And here's a great way to reclaim fabrics and create a memory piece:



    I don't tour with the show - it is only available in Edmonton. I perform it most afternoons, from Mondays through Thursdays. Because it takes a long time to develop a puppet show, I have to begin working on each show 6 or 7 months before I take it out into the schools, and I need July and August to rehearse it.
    It's hard work, and joy filled and I am blessed to be doing it!
    I hope that the work that you are doing is also a joy to you, and that together, we  will find ways of making the Earth a better place!


    Even though I don't tour with the puppet show, I believe that it's important to pass along the skills that I have acquired over the decades. So, I've written about how to become a really terrific storyteller.
The book is called, 'STORYTELLING WITH DOLLS' and is published by Krause. 

HOME

List of Self Published Books written by Noreen Crone-Findlay

Patterns for individual knitted and crocheted projects by Noreen Crone-Findlay 


To see the workshops that Noreen Crone-Findlay teaches, please click
workshops