February 6, 2002

Puppets take on topics of school bullies and safety

Kids of the Block presents program to Sabin students

By LISA PERKINS
Herald staff writer
       Positive messages can come in many forms. Third and fourth-grade students at Sabin Elementary learned about "Bullies and School Safety" from Eddy, Clare and Melody - puppets from the Kids on the Block program -when they visited their school last week.
      The nearly life-size puppets perform programs, with the help of some trained puppeteers, on a variety of issues including disability awareness, dealing with divorce, drug, alcohol and tobacco abuse, fire safety and dealing with bullies.
      Kids on the Block is the brainchild of Barbara Aiello who started the program in Maryland in 1977 as a way to help non-disabled children accept disabled students into mainstreamed classrooms. Today more than 1,000 troupes of puppeteers perform the timely subject matter throughout the world.
      Locally, Kids on the Block performances are sponsored by Traverse City Area Public Schools along with VSA Arts of Michigan, who coordinates the program in northwest Michigan.
      Local puppeteers, Rhonda Estes of Traverse City and Jami Bigham of Kalkaska have presented a variety of programs to six local schools this year and are booked through May.
      Estes, who has worked with the program both locally and downstate since 1980, first got involved with Kids on the Block because of her disabled son.
      "It is just such a wonderful program, I had to continue with it even after we moved here to Traverse City," she said.
      Bigham is newer to the program having only been a puppeteer for two years.
      "I answered an ad in the paper because just as my name says, I'm a big ham. I really enjoy being able to talk to the kids and get their ideas on how to handle problems," she said.
      When Eddy, Clare and Melody take center stage, Estes and Bigham dressed all in black, fade into the background and the puppets come to life. They share stories about problems in their lives and get advice from each other and students in the audience.
      When Eddy confided to Melody that he had been bullied by a kid on the playground, she gave him some ideas about how to deal with the problem. When they asked for advice from the audience, the kids had some helpful hints of their own - like just walking away or reporting to someone you trust.
      For the students, the message came across loud and clear - we can all solve problems when we work together.