Hey Folks, I have a wee lil' question to throw out there. Actually, this might be a really good one for Mr. Tony Borders!

So here's my dilemma: I HAVE a Halloween script/show that I have been doing with Chester the Sugar High Diabetic Schizophrenic Crow....It is a show that has worked well for me this month (And worked well for me last year when I did it with a different puppet) It's a fun lil diddy about Halloween Safety, The Dangers of Too Much Sugar, and just a lot of improv with the Kiddies...However my church would like for me to come into the daycare they have a do a little something for their little thing they have during the day on Halloween. Since it's a Christian Church they're calling it a Fall Festival and not really talking much about Halloween. They're fine with my Trick Or Treat Safety and Candy Catastrophe show, but they have asked that I add in some type of Christian theme. So I was curious if there were any suggestions you may have? Anyway to kind of add in the Christian Theme to this "Fall Festival Trick Or Treating Candy" funness?

Thanks Ever So Much!

For preschoolers you want to stay concrete. They won't get any abstract lessons from Halloween. I would suggest bringing out a second cute puppet (puppy, kitten, etc.) that is scared. Who can we go to when we are scared? God. How do we talk to him? Pray.

You could use the magic drawing board to draw a face with a frown with the eyebrows up wide and big circles for the eyes to show "scared". Then replace the frown with a smile and the high eyebrows will look like a giant smile. Then have the board pray.

Sadly I do not have the MDB (yet) nor any other animal puppets. However, I do have a puppet that I have used as The Sandman, Merlin, and even Moses and Noah at times. I could deffinatly use the idea of having him talk about who to go to and prayer and everything like you suggested. Thank you!

You could also use him as Moses to tell about the treat that God gave in the desert. Manna! He didn't just go once a year, he got to go six times a week! (He rested on the Sabbath.) I believe the Bible says that it tasted like honey, so you could also show some honey and some wafers, then let everyone taste a wafer dipped (once) in honey. Better yet, just use a Honey Graham Cracker and give each child a section.

Hmmm, I am a little concerned about your character called, "the Schizophrenic Crow". As you know, I am well into writing a number of comedy sketches about people with mental illnesses. In fact, more North Americans have mental illnesses than cancer, heart, liver etc. combined. To research I have been attending weekly meetings with local people who live with someone who has mental illness. At first, they must have thought I was super freak telling them I was going to write comedy sketches about the thing which has caused so much pain and shame for their families.
And yet after three weeks, the sessions are(of course, with me involved) way off course, but people are talking and laughing. And even at a volunteer dinner in town last night a woman thanked me for allowing her to laugh in public about her 32 year old live-at home son's foibles.
Now Trick, I don't know you and maybe you also are trying to educate children about mental illness but be careful you don't reinforce long held stereotypes. One disturbing thing I noticed in two visits to the Excited States this year was that poor people were diagnosed with schizophrenia while richer folk were labelled as having the new flavor of the month, Bi Polar Disorder( in which one cycles between high manias and low depressions).Best of wishes.Ron

'Preciate your concern, Ron! Now with the children around he's not going to be labeled, persay, as the Schizo Crow. That's just our pet name for him lately since he's been so many different Characters, and even in one show he ran the Gammot from a Peurto Rican husky male crow to a silly little French Maid. For this show, however, he will just be his usual slightly excited, overly sugared 4-year old.

I have worked a great deal, myself, with people with all different types of mental disorders, from volunteer work in different clinics, to living with and caring for the mentally disabled, and I would never do anything to reinforce stere.otypes of any kind, but I do understand and appreciate your concern. Lookin' out for all involved like any good person would!

Best Wishes!


And Tony:

Hmm y'know I never even thought about Mana when using my Moses character. Aren't there little honey candies or something out there that might work too? (Anything dipped even once in honey would be a lil too messy and too complicated to pass out to each kid, and most of them don't like Graham crackers for some reason) I thou8ght there was like some candy or something that semi resembled a honeycomb? Maybe I'm just thinking of Molasses Chips...Eh I don't know.

Best Wishes!

Trick