The Creativity Institute's latest news release

The Creativity Institute Announces New Puppet & Script Sets

New Orleans, LA - Puppets are great educational toys for stimulating creativity in children. But too often, children are given puppets without the right guidance and, to the child, they become nothing more than dolls. To get the full creative benefit of puppets, simple puppet show scripts can make all the difference. That’s why The Creativity Institute, an educational toy store and information resource on child creativity, has developed a series of puppet-and-script packages that bundle puppets with corresponding scripts. The packages make it possible for children to start performing as soon as a set arrives.

The Creativity Institute’s first puppet-and-script set was an adaptation of four Aesop’s Fables. Because of positive feedback from customers about the Aesop’s Fables series, The Creativity Institute developed two new sets of scripts of original ideas written in a similar style. Entitled “Gwynn’s Fables,” for the author and Creativity Institute founder Gwynn Torres, the scripts in these series communicate values such as sharing, imagination, cooperation and honesty.

“All of our original scripts and adaptations are written with young performers in mind,” explains Torres. “These are child-friendly stories with comical interchanges and absolutely no violence.” “No one gets eaten,” she adds with a laugh..

The scripts have "acting" parts for two to four puppets, though some require the voice of an additional off-stage narrator. Depending on ability, some children may be able to perform more than one role in the same show. And the puppet-and-script packages use animal puppets in all of the roles, so they transcend cultural and gender lines.

In the script package called “Gwynn’s Fables Set 2,” there are four stories, including:
"First Things First (Don't Procrastinate)," which demonstrates the disadvantages of putting things off. Although the other animals keep encouraging their friend, the monkey, to join them in building sleds, the monkey chooses to put it off and isn't ready when the snow falls.

"Fair Offers (Cooperation)" illustrates the value of working together. The animals want to go to a fair in a neighboring town, but can't get there in time unless they all pitch in using their individual capabilities. (The set includes both a two and four-puppet version of this script.)

"Out of the Box (Imagination)" is all about thinking creatively. Four different animals come across an empty box, and each imagines a unique use for it.

"Trading Places (Look Before you Leap)" demonstrates the importance of thinking through a decision. The horse hears about the attractive features of the mouse's house and insists they trade, sight unseen, only to later discover how small it is.

“Gwynn’s Fables Set 3” has four different original scripts, which include:

"No Excuses (You can't succeed if you don't try)" demonstrates the value of not giving up and trying your best. Duck is full of excuses why he's not participating in the art contest until Elephant challenges his excuses and gets him to try.

"What a Pal! (Fair Weather Friends)" shows how the Lion discovers who his real friends are when he needs a favor.

"To Tell the Truth (Honesty)" shows why it's important to tell the truth when Froggie dishonestly takes all the credit for helping out, but has the tables turned on him when Teacher figures it out.

"The Fun of the Game (You Don't Have to Win Everything)" shows how the animals respect Lion much more when he learns he doesn't have to win every game.

The “Aesop's Fables” puppet script set includes Creativity Institute adaptations of four well-known fables: “The Mouse and the Lion,” “The Hare and the Tortoise,” “The Fox and the Grapes” and “The Fox Who Had Lost His Tail.”

A fourth original puppet-and-script set by The Creativity Institute is the puppet stage adaptation of the traditional folk-song "Old MacDonald." This is a puppet show that's great fun for any number of children to perform and perfect for audience participation. The script uses the supplied eight-puppet cast, but if you have additional puppets, you can use whatever mix of song verses and puppets you choose. Children can even double up on parts, which usually produces hysterical results.

The Creativity Institute also offers most of the script sets separately for customers who already have puppets. All of the scripts can be easily adapted to any assortment of puppet characters. Plus, customers don’t have to wait to receive their scripts. When an order for scripts is placed on The Creativity Institute website, the customer receives PDF versions of the scripts within a couple of hours, often immediately. The Creativity Institute even offers a free downloadable, ready-to-print sample of one of their scripts on their website’s page of puppet show ideas at http://www.creativityinstitute.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=34

All sets of Creativity Institute puppet show scripts come with their own stage directions guide for producing more professional and enjoyable puppet shows. These include tips on how to simulate walking and how to coordinate the movement of puppet mouths (almost everybody does it backwards, closing the puppet's mouth with each syllable rather than opening it.)

The Creativity Institute encourages visitors to the site to explore the practically limitless puppet shows that can be performed with just a few puppets and a little imagination. Ideas can come from favorite stories, real experiences, dramatization of lessons, and even movies and TV shows. The Creativity Institute website provides links to sources for hundreds of these scripts, along with lots of ideas and resources for finding material to develop new shows.

The hand puppets offered by The Creativity Institute in their packages are manufactured by PlushPups, maker of quality hand puppets for children. All are machine washable and made of durable fabrics. And for the ideal "venue" for presenting memorable performances, they also have a selection of tabletop and floor model puppet theaters manufactured by Guidecraft and Beka.

Puppet shows provide endless opportunities for children to find expression through acting out stories, and the only limits are their imaginations. For more information, visit The Creativity Institute website at http://www.creativityinstitute.com, or give them a call toll-free at 888-814-TOYS (8697).

Keeping creative on the road

Our friend Gavin had an idea that was truly inspired for the family beach vacation. He brought canvases, paintbrushes and paint for every member of the family. He asked everyone to paint anything they wanted by the end of the vacation. Even the smallest member of the family got to participate. Mom created a special beach scene just right for the baby's tiny footprints. Everyone painted, and everyone had a great time. Best of all, when they got home, Gaving hung all the canvases together on one wall, creating a work of art to inspire and preserve great memories.

- Gwynn, The Creativity Institute

Getting children ready for their first day of school.

Leaving their comfortable routine of home and taking that first big step away from the nest can be a big, and often traumatic, event for a new kindergartner. While some children begin showing signs of an interest in school in advance of the big day, it's not necessarily always the case with all preschoolers. There are, however, ways you can prepare your children to help them transition into the exciting and wonderful experience that awaits them. As many of their difficulties will often to relate to socializing with other children, you can help ready your child through such activities as playing board games. One of the standard dynamics of most board games is having to take turns. Getting a child used to this concept can make their integration into groups a lot easier.

Another suggestion we've found for parents is to involve children in activities that encourage the use of their imaginations, such as playing with building blocks, modeling dough or art supplies. This helps children not only become more creative but also helps them to understand the consequences of their actions.

- The Creativity Institute

Is it right, wrong or creative?

I read a story about a first grader whose teacher gave her a rectangular sheet of paper and told her to "cut it the long way." The child cut it diagonally, which is the longest cut you can make on a sheet of paper. Unfortunately, it wasn't what the teacher had in mind and her teacher told her she was wrong.

This is not an uncommon occurrence in childrearing, both in school and other childcare situations. Teachers who prize creative responses and original thinking by children can make a world of difference in their lives. Valuing creativity and nurturing it from infancy can have tremendous benefits.

- Sid, The Creativity Institute

Bookmarks that make memories

When my children were little, I was always trying to find stolen moments to read. My girls knew reading was (and still is) one of my most favorite and cherished activities. They also knew I was always misplacing bookmarks. One day they presented me with a handful of delightfully colorful bookmarks they had painstakingly created themselves with old paper samples and crayons. Needless to say, I've never lost any of these bookmarks. I consider them treasured heirlooms.
The point of this bit of sentimentality is that bookmarks make thoughtful gifts your children can make for family members, Godparents, teachers or anyone. Put clear packing tape or clear contact paper on both sides of the art, and the bookmarks are instantly laminated. Punch a hole in the lamination and add ribbons or tassels for a fancier look. You can even make them into ornaments or key rings.

- Gwynn, The Creativity Institute

Playing with blocks can be good for children with ADHD

Toys for children with ADHD should be simple and encourage the use of their imaginations, and one of the most basic toys is blocks. Block play can be great for many ages. From simple stack-up and knock-over fun to imaginative building. Blocks teach problem-solving skills, because a child discovers how stacking and matching can produce different results. They can also become components of pretend play, because a child can fantasize what the structures are. There are also big foam blocks that are almost "life size" and let children create their own fantasy playhouses. These lightweight blocks are so versatile, they can be climbed on or tunneled under. Magnetic block and construction sets have pieces that connect in more ways than can conventional plastic snap-together blocks and allow even more imaginative opportunities. And don't forget the versatility of the classic wooden building blocks.
Blocks, like many traditional toys, have other educational advantages for a child with ADHD. The number of positive outcomes is limitless, so children can continue playing until they've reached a level of personal satisfaction.

- The Creativity Institute

The toy piano goes to college

In 1948, experimental American composer John Cage, featured the toy piano as the central musical instrument in his Suite for Toy Piano. Last November, David Claman, an assistant professor at Massachusetts' College of Holy Cross, began a project called the "Extensible Toy Piano Festival." Part of the project was to digitally sample the sounds of the toy piano and post them on the college website to make them available to musicians and composers for experimentation and entry into the festival's composition competition. While the mechanism of a toy piano has a simple mechanism of hammers hitting steel rods instead of strings, some toy pianos, such as the Schoenhut toy piano, are tuned very well across their three-octave range. Toy pianos may be a child's toy, but many a serious musician started on one.

- The Creativity Institute

Big names started with little blocks

Children's building blocks provide an opportunity to experiment with form and flow and many aspects of architecture and structural engineering - at very early ages. A child can test his imagination to the limits of the stacking and arranging that the blocks will allow. Frank Lloyd Wright was one famous architect who commented that he satisfied his early interest in building structures by playing with Frobel blocks. Frobel blocks are the wooden building blocks of uniform scale relationships developed by Friedrich Frobel in the 1830s for children to learn the elements of geometric form, mathematics and creative design. "The maple-wood blocks... are in my fingers to this day," said Frank Lloyd Wright, attesting to the influence of the Froebel blocks on his work.

Frank Gehry is another world-renowned architect talks about playing with wooden building blocks that his grandmother salvaged from a lumberyard. Gehry created such architectural masterpieces as the Guggenheim Bilbao, Vitra Museum in Germany, The Walt Disney Concert Hall, and others.
Different types of blocks, whether wooden, interlocking, large or small, all have different properties and give a child a different set of variables with which to create and solve challenges. Give them a set and watch how long blocks can keep them occupied.
- The Creativity Institute

Finding scripts to stage your own puppet shows - Part 1

Too often after you've assembled your puppets, a puppet stage and a troupe of little actors, the missing ingredient is the script. While there are a few sources of scripts written specifically for the puppet theater, there's a wealth of other resource materials to create your own puppet show scripts - some ready to perform, some easy to adapt.
Since comedy is a great form of entertainment for children, one place to find source material for puppet shows is in existing comedy routines. Classic comedy routine scripts and pre-recorded comedy soundtracks are available in libraries, bookstores and throughout the Internet. The Web is full of comedy routines already in script form. The Creativity Institute website offers links to several of these classic collections, as part of our mission to help bring out the creative potential in children. Plus, we are constantly researching and updating these resources. Simply find something that suits your puppet theater cast in level of sophistication and in the number of parts, and you're ready to go.

- The Creativity Institute

Playthings are all around the house

Stuck at home with bored kids? Sit them down at the drawing table for a round of Kitchen Kreatives! Give them plastic measuring cups, spoons and other unbreakable items with interesting shapes. Make sure they have lots of paper, colors and pencils. Show them some paintings by Picasso, Miro and other masters of the abstract, and ask them to create something wild using the kitchen utensil shapes.

- The Creativity Institute