I have been working on a new collection of songs for my next recording to be called The Magic Parade.

With the help of Molly MacMillan, the piano whiz and co-producer of Waltzing with Fireflies, we have been shaping the songs and talking about the style and musical accompaniments- very exciting!

I have chosen several of my favorite folk tales to sing about, "The Country Mouse and The City Mouse", "Stone Soup", and "Too Much Noise" which I have re-named "Dear Old Wise Woman". We start rehearsing with the bands in January. Stay tuned for more information and release date.

This happy group of teachers from the Dudley School in Rochester are dressed in the costumes for the Mitten, one of the story songs I perform during the winter months.

Rochester is a wonderful city that supports the arts and working with Young Audiences for the past four years has been a great experience.

If you would like me to visit your school, call Young Audiences for the Rochester area at (585) 530-2060. For other areas you can contact me at (607) 844- 8734 or by email at mrsmcp@aol.com

My puppet kits and music are available at the Memorial Art Gallery on University Avenue in Rochester or online by clicking on the link to Mrs. McPuppet's Store below.

Residencies are special events and I look forward to spending a week or so getting to know everyone. Last May, Bob Korba, and Alice Tucker, won a Creative Partnership Grant and invited me to South Kortright in the Catskills for five days.

First and third graders read and studied folk tales, and made a variety of puppets. We topped it off with a performance for the school and the parents. The project addressed the learning standards in a fun and creative way.

This winter I will be doing residencies at Parley Coburn and Riverside Elementary Schools in Elmira, and Northeast Elementary and Cayuga Heights Schools in Ithaca.

A family wrote recently from Chicago after purchasing "Waltzing with Fireflies" while on vacation in Tennessee. They thanked me and wrote:

"Your songs have a magical heart to them. One can't help but tap your toes, or sing along to your music. We enjoy playing the entire disk on Sunday during breakfast. We sing, stand up to dance, or whatever feels good!

My husband and daughter have made the "Firefly" song their own magical dance together. My daughter knows just about every song.

Thank you for making such wonderful music for children and parents alike. Your CD is a great gift I'm sharing with friends and family."

You can share the wonder of "Waltzing with Fireflies" and the other CDs and puppet kits by ordering online via the link below. Orders are shipped within 24 hours so there's still time for the special stocking stuffer for someone you love.

Three hundred people at a statewide conference on innovative teaching techniques in migrant education got to see the culmination of a summer long program conducted by Mrs. McPuppet and funded by a grant from Coca Cola. Forty five students participated, and five presented stories and a puppet show at the conference.

During the summer, a grant from Coca Cola for "Reading is Fundamental" allowed Mrs. McPuppet to train migrant students in the art of puppetry and dramatic storytelling.

The use of stories and puppets, the drama of performing and the camraderie of working in a group setting, cut through language, cultural, and academic barriers to creative learning.

Outcomes of this project include the strengthening of self-confidence,an upward spiral of successful learning and performing, and a new joy in reading and writing as tools to the development of academic success.