“Excuse me, Mr. Adam? I have something to say:”
“I have a suggestion for all of the beginning puppeteers here in camp…”
“Why were Kermit and Fozzie acting like they didn’t know each other in The Muppet Movie when they grew up together as Muppet Babies?
“Why was Kermit even a Muppet Baby? Shouldn’t he have been a tadpole?”
“Why do you use so much foam with your puppets. Why don’t you use more stuffing? I don’t like the foam.”
“Well, I never saw THAT video.”
“Can you please make a video on how to make a leopard gecko puppet?”
“How many puppets do you have?”
“I can’t get that kind of felt in my fabric store.”
“This is my favorite chicken puppet. I didn’t make this one, but I still really like it.”
“I eat ramen for lunch.”
Last week, Declan participated in Camp Puppet – and had a BLAST.
Before we registered Declan for Camp Puppet, he, and I both signed up to participate with our church’s Vacation Bible School. When Camp Puppet became a thing, Declan backed out of VBS. Me? I was already assigned a volunteer position – leader of the games. I now have a slight idea of what it is like to be an elementary school gym teacher.
When I came home from church, Declan would be halfway through his Camp Puppet with his favorite puppeteer YouTuber, Adam Kreutinger. I would run into the kitchen, grab something to eat, and then run upstairs to lock myself in my room.
I found in those few moments that I hastily put food together in the kitchen, Declan would unmute himself repeatedly and say whatever was on his mind. And if he unmuted himself three times in those ten minutes, how many other times had he ALREADY unmuted himself?
As soon as I heard these words, I would cringe and worry.
“Excuse me, Mr. Adam? I have something to say:”
“Not AGAIN!” I would think. “There are fifteen other kids in the camp that actually want to learn about puppetry and not wonder why we never saw Kermit as a tadpole instead of as a Muppet Baby!”
I had asked Declan to try and limit his unmuting to three times a session. Even though Declan agreed to this IDEA, following through with it turned out to be a real challenge.
I realized Declan wanted to talk with Adam Kreutinger as much, or maybe even more than, he wanted to make a puppet.
At that point, I figured I would leave it up to Mr. Adam to set his own limits. I could clear my own cringey, worried feeling by putting laundry away or reading a book until Camp Puppet was over for the day and I could get my computer back.
The end result though? Declan had a blast! He is loving puppetry and can’t WAIT to do the camp again next year.
Does it matter that he will be making the same puppet and learning the same skills?
Nah.
I am sure in the next 365 days Declan will create a whole new list of things to say!
This post brought such a huge smile to my face. That photo of Declan smiling so widely at the end just says it all. I can feel his joy radiating from the photo. And his video skit is adorable. Nice to hear his voice!
I bet Adam enjoys all the questions and participation too. And that tadpole Kermit question made me laugh. It’s a very good and smart point, Declan!
Declan does have a valid point with that question! It made me laugh too! 🙂
Awww. I’m glad he enjoyed it so much! Love the end of his puppet show and his puppet art. And, why was Kermit a Muppet baby and not a tadpole? 😉
You know, when he asked that question I was like, “huh – good point.” Maybe everyone else on the zoom will be stuck wondering that point now too! 🙂
I would’ve had to hide away too😂😂 That saying “kids say the darndest things”… add autism focused interest and no filter😲 yeah, better not to know😂😂
I’m glad he had fun! Much better the VBS😉 I wound up with a bloody nose at VBS one year from catching a soccer ball with my face🤦🏼♀️ I’ve been accident prone forever😂
I’m going to tell you what Jeff told me. If you have a YouTube account you can upload your video there and it makes it easier to share.
Buuuut maybe we don’t want Declan to know about uploading videos just yet🤦🏼♀️😉😁💕
Oh my gosh, the first day of VBS I had to send 4 kids to the nurse for injury. I thought I was going to have an all time record by the time the week was done! But thankfully, no injuries were too serious and I think they had fun.
I was trying to figure that video out. Adam Kreutinger put the video together with all 16 kids doing their skits and I was having a hard time just pulling Declan’s out. I’ll see if I can upload just his to YouTube. Thanks for the idea! 🙂
So cute!
Thank you!
I’m so pleased he had so much fun. I bet it’s the best ever 2 minutes watching. I’m smiling, thanks ❤️
Yay! I’m glad you liked it!
It’s awesome when you hit that point when you can just let your kids be themselves. I remember it really well. It’s like a switch flipped.
One time, I did tell Declan to stop unmuting himself during the zoom and he got really upset and said I was embarassing him and he teared up a little. I definitely didn’t want that and felt bad. You’re right – I felt a lot better just letting him be himself.
There are no stupid questions… however, there is a limit on how many GOOD questions I will tolerate…
I think I have a contender that would like to test your limits! 🙂
This post is so lovely Robyn 🥰🙏❤️ I love Declan’s thought process, he gets deep. He has such gifts within him and he never fails to amaze me. I’m sure Me Adam enjoyed his interaction because he will have benefited himself from Declan. You rock Declan. 🏆 I loved the puppet show ❤️
Thank you, Elaine! 🙂
Thank you for the like :]
Love your blog site, it’s a world which i know well.
Please keep sharing the light into universe
Kind wayfarer
Thank you!