Puppetools Review

As part the The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew, I was given the opportunity to review a unique website: Puppetools.  What is Puppetools?  If you guessed that it has something to do with puppets you were right!  But Puppetools is not just about puppets.  It’s about revolutionizing the education system in America.  On the one hand it doesn’t sound so relevant to homeschoolers since we are educating our children outside of the public school system.  But on the other hand it is very relevant.  For one thing, we as homeschoolers should not be unconcerned about our public schools.  We will not be unaffected by the products of the public school system.  Secondly,  Jeffrey Peyton, the founder of Puppetools, has some very relevant ideas of how to help students to learn.

The following is a quote from the Puppetools website:

OUR MISSION is to open the door to sweeping change in education by advancing the principle of play in teaching and learning. The world still looks to America for inventive social, economic, and technological solutions. Once, America’s gift to itself –and to the world–was a bold new experiment in political freedom. America’s next gift–again for itself and for the world– can and must be a bold new leap in education.

Many homeschoolers would agree with the philosophy of using the principle of play in teaching and learning.  I’ve read many testimonies of homeschool moms who joyfully described their children playing like they were Egyptian mummies, ancient Greeks, or American pioneers after they had been taught about them in history.  The focus of Puppetools is obviously, adding puppets into the teaching of students.

On the website there are many videos showing examples of both teachers using puppets in their classrooms, and students constructing their own puppets. There are articles explaining the principle of play in teaching and learning.  There are also patterns for puppets.

All of the puppets used are made of paper, so they are both child friendly and economical. The base of the puppet is a paper mouth hinge.  The rest of the puppet is attached to the hinge.  Though there are several patterns on the site, most of the students and teachers customized their puppets to use for specific stories or lessons.

There are currently 2 types of subscriptions to the Puppetools website.  A trial subscription is available for $20 for 60 days.  The regular subscription allows 30 users access to the site at a cost of $99.  This subscription might be useful for homeschool groups, co-ops, 4H clubs, etc.

You can read more reviews on Puppetools at The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew Blog.

By Kristen H.