Frances Brings Stories to Life with Stick Puppets

Frances has always loved storytelling. As a former Early Childhood Teacher, she knows how powerful stories can be for helping young children learn, connect, and grow. 

With support from Manawanui’s Fund for Good, Frances created a collection of stick puppets to bring familiar stories to life for children at a local kindergarten. 

The project began with printing story characters, laminating them, and attaching them to sticks so children could hold and use them as part of group storytelling. Frances also wrote scripts and organised them into folders so each story could be easily shared and repeated with the children.  

Today, Frances has created seven puppet stories including The Gingerbread Man, Cinderella, The Three Billy Goats Gruff, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Three Little Pigs, Te Māori Bread Man, and There’s a Pūkeko in the Kitchen. 

The kindergarten community is diverse, with children ranging from toddlers to five years old. Many have English as a second language, and some children are neurodiverse. The stick puppets give children a simple and welcoming way to participate in storytelling at their own pace. 

During small group sessions, children choose a character and join in as the story unfolds. Some speak their lines, while others contribute with sounds or gestures. The repetition and familiarity of the stories helps children build confidence, develop language, and strengthen early literacy and numeracy skills. 

For Frances, the project has been just as meaningful. It has allowed her to reconnect with her passion for teaching, contribute to her community, and create positive social connections. 

What started as a simple idea has grown into something much bigger. Through storytelling, imagination, and shared moments of learning, Frances is helping young children find their voice while rediscovering joy and purpose in her own journey.