Story and Yoga for Kids in the Library – Henny Penny, Puppets and More!

Kids make stick puppets to use with story and yoga with Master Certified Storytime Yoga® Teacher and Libarian Kathe Hudson.

Aloha and welcome to Story and Yoga in the Library! Fall is dropping down upon south Louisiana. Brief spells of cooler weather visit us, a relief from the summer heat, ahhhh, we can actually enjoy the outdoors. Crunchy pecans crash to the ground as yellow leaves spin and twirl and our lethargy lifts, and that is where we found this month’s story inspiration. We adapted “Henny Penny” giving it our Moving-Tale yoga twist and presented it as a puppet show. The clever fox doesn’t want to eat Henny, Ducky and Piggy, he just wants to play, encouraging them to enjoy the moment.

Puppet shows and Storytime Yoga go hand in hand. There is something enchanting about a puppet show. Children eagerly enter into this imaginary land. All eyes are on the puppets and children quickly fall under the spell. Puppet shows can be a mirror for children to see themselves. The puppets reflect common situations and as the characters overcome the problems children are inspired to do the same.

Using puppets to teaching yoga helps the imagination come alive, in a fun way children develop communication, listening and literary skills. Puppetry like storytelling is an entertaining way to introduce children to literature. Children learn the elements of a story, the beginning, middle and the end. Their involvement as puppeteers provides them with a stage for expressing dramatic and artistic creativity. Simple construction paper cutouts attached to a craft stick, a wiggle eye and feathers and we have Henny Penny! With a puppet in hand they become the character, loosing all sense of shyness, confidence flourishes. We share joy and wonder with children when we share story and yoga. Choosing yoga poses are easy; bird poses for Henny and Ducky, cat/cow works for Piggy then rollover for a twist because pigs love to roll in the mud, a kneeling pose for Foxy, triangle and side angle for running here and there, and of course tree pose.

While working on Henny Penny, something unexpected fell upon Mel and me. We both received promotional positions within the library and we should have been jumping for joy but… Mel’s promotion included a move to a new location and the imminent move loomed on the horizon like a dark cloud. As a tandem team how could we be separated? What would happen to Moving-Tale? The sky is falling, the sky is falling! kept running through our minds.

Yet things are not always as they first appear, if we keep looking we will often see a different side, which is just what we did. We needed to look at our situation in a new way, because what we perceive we’ll most likely receive. We began to imagine collaboration instead of separation! Management agrees and we are allowed to continue to offer story and yoga in the library, not only at one location but at two. Woohoo! The sky that was gloomy and grey clears and becomes a bright sunny day.

Namaste and may you enjoy the moments you spend with the children in your life!

Mahalo, we serve.
Kathe Hudson