[doorbell ringing] (children) ♪Hello!

Hello!♪ ♪Won't you be my friend?♪ ♪Hello!

Hello!♪ ♪Let's say it again.♪ ♪Hello!

Hello!♪ ♪Won't you be my friend?♪ ♪Hello!

Hello!♪ ♪Now you are my friend♪ ♪♪♪ ♪H-E-L-L-O♪ ♪That's a word we all should know.♪ ♪H-E-L-L-O♪ ♪You can say it.♪ ♪Just say hello♪ ♪♪♪ Hey!

There's Mr. Chuck!

Well, hello, friend!

Hello, Mr. Chuck!

♪♪♪ Hello, Mr. Chuck!

Hello, Mr. Rogers!

Hope you have a good one.

You, too.

Thanks.

Well, hello there.

I'm Mr. Chuck.

Well, not really Mr. Chuck.

But I do look like Mr. Chuck don't you think?

I've got a red shirt...blue pants... and I sound like Mr. Chuck.

But I'm really just a puppet.

But I can pretend that this is me.

You could make a pretend puppet, too.

You could make a puppet that looks just like you.

And you could be the puppet's voice.

Just like this.

Hello.

Hello.

Won't you be my friend?

Hello.

Hello.

Let's say it again.

Hello.

Hello.

Won't you be my friend?

Hello.

Hello.

Now you are my friend.

Hello.

I'm Mr. Chuck.

I have on a red shirt.

And I'm Susan.

I have on a green shirt.

Oh.

Maybe you could make a third puppet and have three puppet friends with three puppet voices.

Like this.

Hello.

I'm Susan.

I have on a green shirt.

Hello.

I'm Mr. Chuck.

I have on a red shirt.

Hello.

I'm Timothy.

I have on purple with yellow striped shirt.

I made these puppets out of wooden clothes pins and colored them with magic markers.

I wonder what other things we could make into puppets.

I bet there are lots of things we could use.

I'll go find some other things we could make into puppets and have more fun.

I'll be right back.

What do you think, Susan?

(boy #1) Hmmm.

(boy #2) Yeah.

(boy #1) What?

(boy #2) Oh!

I know.

(boy #1) That's what I was thinking at first.

(boy #2) That's what Pinnochio is.

(boy #1 and boy #2) Puppet!

(boy #2) P-U-P-P-E-T. Puppet!

[laughing] ♪♪♪ (boy #3) Puppet.

Puppet.

Hello, Mr. Chuck!

Look what I made.

Puppets.

And you know they're all made with things I found around the house.

First, I made a sock puppet.

I found one of my old socks.

Sewed two buttons ... one...two... right there for the eyes.

And I found some felt and sewed it in right there for the tongue.

And now it looks like, well what do you think it looks like?

Yeah.

What do you think I look like?

Then, I made a spoon puppet.

Oh, yes.

You can do that with a large spoon, a piece of cloth, or even a paper towel.

Tie it around the spoon and then tie it right here maybe with a string.

And then you can take your marker and draw in your face.

Put your mouth right here.

Your eyes and your eyebrows of course.

And your nose.

And you've got a face.

But then you might want to put on a hat, too.

Like I did here.

Take a piece of construction paper and draw the shape of your hat, cut it out, and paste it right here on top of the head of course.

And when you're finished, you've got a puppet spoon.

And it sings!

♪By the light of the silvery spoon♪ And then, my friends, I made a paper bag puppet.

To do that all you need is a small lunch bag like this, some construction paper, and some glue.

Make sure you use the folded side of the bag, because you're going to need to use this for the mouth.

But you cut out your nose from the construction paper.

Cut out the eyes and the tongue.

And I glued it just inside the mouth, of course.

Then I cut out my ears.

I placed two ears there.

And what do you think it looks like?

Yes, a paper bag puppy puppet.

Now this little doggy can bark.

Ruff!

Ruff!

Ruff!

Arf!

Arf!

Oh, you know, I just remembered, I have a friend named Willie Thomas.

He has his own puppet, and he's going to put on a little puppet show about feeling special.

Watch this.

♪♪♪ [crying] You're too skinny to play basketball.

You're too old to play with blocks.

I can't do anything.

Susie, are you okay?

No.

I'm having a very, very, very bad day.

Well, why don't you come over here and let's talk about it?

Okay?

Okay.

What seems to be the problem?

Everyone says that I'm too skinny to play basketball, I'm too young for this, I'm too big for that.

I can't do anything!

Don't worry about that.

Even though you're not able to do those things, I'm sure you can find many other things that you're really great at.

I don't know.

(Willie) Okay.

If you really want I'll help you out.

List five things that you're really great at.

Five things?

(Willie) Five.

Okay.

Let's see.

I can color in the lines.

That's one.

(Susie) I can pick up my toys.

That's two.

I can run really fast.

(Willie) That's three.

And I can jump really high.

That's four.

You have one more.

I can't think of anything else.

Sure you can.

Boys and girls, will you help Susie think of another thing that she's really great at?

I got it!

I can tie my shoes!

(Willie) Great!

You're right!

I am special.

Even though I'm different, I'm special, too!

See!

I knew you could do it.

You've named five things that you're really great at!

Now remember boys and girls, we are all different, but we're special also.

And if we really put our minds to it, I'm sure we can think of some things we're really great at.

Until next time... Bye!

Bye-bye!

♪You're special You're special♪ You know, I once met a puppet who lives in a hospital.

His name is Bernard and he likes to talk to boys and girls who have to visit the hospital.

He talked to me, too.

And we had lot's of fun singing and talking about our feelings.

Watch this.

Hello, Mr. Chuck!

Well, hello, Bernard!

Well, today friends, we're here at LeBonheur Children's Medical Center and we have a guest with us.

We have Diana Childs and her very special friend, Bernard.

How are you Diana?

Hi, Mr. Chuck.

It's good to be here.

It's good to have you.

You're a child life specialist here at LeBonheur.

What is a child life specialist?

Would you tell our friends?

A child life specialist is someone who uses play to help children cope emotionally with their hospitalization.

Which makes it a lot easier while you're in the hospital.

Yes, and it's very important to the healing process of a child that they be allowed to play, and encouraged to play while they're in the hospital.

Sure.

They say a child's work is play... and child's play is work.

That's how they learn.

That's how they express their feelings, too.

Yes, and they don't stop learning because they're in the hospital.

They learn how to cope for one thing.

What do you do to help, Bernard?

Well, Mr. Chuck, I'm a patient here.

You name it, I've got it.

I've got everything.

I have a brain tumor, I've got a heart transplant, I have asthma, I have epilepsy, I have sickle cell, I have cystic fibrosis, I have pneumonia.

In fact I had pneumonia so long they call it oldmonia.

I even have a himia.

You don't mean a himia, you mean a hernia?

Oh, no, Mr. Chuck.

I'm a little boy so I got a himia.

Well, sounds like you've got just about everything.

But tell me, what are some of the things you do to help the boys and girls?

Well, there's a lot of things we do to help the kids because sometimes it's scary coming to the hospital and it's important that us kids get to play cause that's how we express our feelings and can talk about our fears and the things that are scary for us kids.

And sometimes we have medical play where we get to play out things that are happening to me, like having surgery or getting an IV or getting a blood test.

And guess what?

What?

Um, one day, on Wednesdays we have fun with music.

Music?

Yes.

(Bernard) And we play and we sing and that sometimes when we're in pain and misery it's just good to be among other friends going through the same stuff.

Yes, I've been to one of your Wednesdays and believe me, oh what fun it was!

♪There's three little monkeys jumping on the bed!♪ ♪One fell off and bumped his head♪ ♪Momma called the doctor and the doctor said♪ ♪No more monkeys jumping on the bed♪ ♪There's two little monkeys jumping on the bed♪ Play it, Shelley!

♪One fell off and bumped his head♪ ♪Well, momma called the doctor and the doctor said♪ ♪No more monkeys jumping on the bed♪ ♪Hey now there's only one monkey left!♪ ♪One little monkey♪ Hi, Mr. Chuck!

♪jumping on the bed♪ ♪Fell off and he bumped his head♪ ♪Well, momma called the doctor and the doctor said♪ ♪No more monkeys jumping on the bed!♪ ♪♪♪ ♪Well, it's one for the money♪ ♪Two for the show♪ ♪Three to get ready now go cat go♪ ♪And don't you step on my Barney shoes♪ ♪You can do anything but stay off of my Barney shoes♪ ♪Well, knock me down and step on my face.♪ ♪Slander my name all over the place♪ ♪Do anything you want to do but lay off of my shoes.♪ ♪Don't you♪ (Bernard) Play it, Sarah!

♪step on my Barney shoes♪ ♪You can do anything but lay off of them Barney shoes!♪ (male #1) Tambourine solo.

♪♪♪ (Bernard) The ticket with the tambourine is you have to hit your booty.

♪♪♪ ♪Well, one for the money, two for the show♪ ♪Three to get ready now go cat go♪ ♪Don't you step on my Barney shoes.♪ ♪No lie♪ ♪You can do anything but lay off of them Barney shoes♪ Wee!

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

(boy #4) We're making paper plate puppets.

♪♪♪ She needs another one.

♪♪♪ (boy #4) We're making paper plate puppets.

♪♪♪ This is me.

And this one's my cat.

His name is Jack, and he likes to play with me all the time.

Meow.

I'm Samantha and this is the sun and its wearing sunglasses.

And this is my rabbit, Shadow, and he has blue eyes.

Meow.

This is my cat and her name is Twiggy.

[sighs] There.

♪♪♪ Oh, look what I made.

They're paper plate puppets.

And I drew faces right on the plates.

Then I glued on a stick for a handle so I could hold it like this.

Then on the other side I pasted another plate and drew in another different face.

Oh, I made four different faces.

I wonder if you could tell me what these different faces mean.

This one... Oh that looks so happy.

And this one is surprised.

And what does this one look like?

This one looks angry.

And this one... Looks sad.

Now, I can tell a story using my puppet faces.

This is a story about a boy named Reggie.

Reggie was very sad.

He wanted to play ball, but he couldn't find anyone to play with him.

Then his older brother came along.

Reggie said, "Would you go out and play ball with me?"

"No," said his brother, "You're too small.

I don't want to play ball with you."

That made Reggie angry.

"I'm not too small," he said.

"I'll just play by myself."

Then Reggie's dad came in and said, "Come on, Reggie, I'll play ball with you."

"You will," Reggie was surprised!

"You don't think I'm too small?"

"Of course not," his dad said.

"That doesn't matter with me."

"Okay," said Reggie.

"Let's go!"

He was very happy to have someone to play with.

Did you recognize all the different faces in that story?

Hey, there was sad Angry Surprised And happy.

I like the happy face best of all.

What about you?

(male #2) ♪Sometimes I laugh - ha!♪ ♪Sometimes I cry♪ ♪Sometimes I smile and I don't know why.♪ ♪Sometimes I'm happy.♪ ♪And sometimes I'm sad.♪ ♪And sometimes I just get so mad.♪ ♪But usually I just make a funny face.♪ ♪♪♪ ♪Sometimes I'm happy.♪ ♪Sometimes I'm sad.♪ ♪And sometimes I'm sleepy and I wish I had a pillow.♪ ♪Sometimes I laugh♪ ♪And sometimes I cry♪ ♪Sometimes I smile just because it feels nice.♪ ♪Sometimes I smile and I don't know why.♪ ♪♪♪ Playing with puppets may seem just like another distraction for our children, but think of this: making puppets involves our hands and our minds.

It means knowing the parts of the face and creating a positive self image.

And playing with puppets may have more significance than just passing the time.

Today on Parent's Corner we have Diana Childs, a child life specialist and a puppeteer to talk about how important a puppet can be.

Puppets are a wonderful tool for parents to use to play with their children.

The very first reason is they're fun.

They're just fun for you as well as your child.

You can put a puppet on your hand and amazingly you'll find that your child will say and express feelings that you wouldn't even know that they're thinking.

And also it's a safe way for you as a parent to get information to your child that you may be wanting to share and may be a little bit uncomfortable in saying this information.

So, if you put a puppet on your hand maybe you'll feel a little bit more at ease to express your feelings to your child.

A child who is shy can put a puppet on their hand and just talk and talk and talk.

And a child that is a little bit hyper and kind of hard to control, if you put a puppet on your hand amazingly so they seem to calm down and they'll listen and then they'll be able to express themselves in a way that you may not have known before.

But first and foremost it's just fun.

And it's a great tool for children to use their imagination.

And that's a gift for you to give to your child.

To encourage them to use their imagination.

Puppets are a universal breaker of barriers because it doesn't matter what color you are, it doesn't matter if you're rich or poor, it doesn't matter from what culture you come from, puppets are enjoyed by all children.

And you can go out and buy an expensive puppet if you want to.

You can spend a lot of money and buy some beautiful puppets out there.

But you'll be amazed.

Your child will pick up that paper plate puppet or that paper sack puppet and play with it and love it just as much.

The greatest gift a puppet can give you is just quality time with your child.

A time that will be full of fun, full of joy, full of laughter, and full of love.

Friends, I hope you've had as much fun as I've had today.

And I really hate to leave, but my time is up and I've got to go.

Remember, when you're playing make believe with puppets or dolls the important thing is that we listen to each other.

Cause you never know.

Sometimes our puppets can say the most surprising things.

Good bye now.

♪♪♪ Good-bye, Mr. Chuck.

See you later!

♪♪♪