¡Viva el español!, System B Octopus Puppet

The hand puppet is used throughout the Systems as an aid for modeling communication. It should be seen by the children as a friend with whom they can communicate in Spanish in a casual manner. This will especially benefit the shy child who may hesitate to talk to you or to the other children. You should consider the puppet as your partner. The first activity each day is a warm-up, which can be presented with the puppet to ease the children into the lesson and to give and example of the vocabulary and structures in informal, conversational situations. Children enjoy using a puppet and often respond more spontaneously to communication with a puppet than they do with another person. The puppet in each System has a name and a personality. Special features and conversations have been included on the Audio CDs that use the puppet as a central character. In short, the puppet can be a source of fun, practice, and even a little mischief when used in lessons. You should relax and have as much fun as the children do when you use the puppet.