Children ages 5 and 6 are invited to adventure on the imaginary Isle of Skoo, where they can sing, create, and meet a variety of puppet friends in need of help understanding the emotions they are feeling.

Similar to how the beloved television show Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood connected with generations before, Ben’s Lighthouse is offering children and teen mentors the opportunity to build social and emotional connections through music and puppetry.

The Isle of Skoo is currently a six-week pilot program that completed its first session earlier this month and is part of Ben’s Lighthouse’s “Service Through the Arts” initiatives.

Ben’s Lighthouse advisor Francine Wheeler was inspired to make The Isle of Skoo after attending a service trip to the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana with fellow Ben’s Lighthouse members three years ago. During one of their outings there, they visited a foster care facility to spend time with children in the community.

“While we were in this foster care facility, our job was to play with the kids, read them books, talk to them, play with their toys — which they really didn’t have many — and I was sitting there thinking ‘Gee, I really wish I had a guitar with me or music instruments with me, so I can sing with the little ones,’” Ms Wheeler said.

Ms Wheeler’s singing experience extends not only to the Mother Goose children’s program at the C.H. Booth Library, but also to her days singing in the children’s band The Dream Jam Band.

The trip to Montana had such a profound effect on her and the high school students who went that she knew she wanted to design a program where they could help young children locally.

Then, just last year, Ms Wheeler came across a picture of her son Ben, whom Ben’s Lighthouse was created in honor of after his passing at Sandy Hook Elementary School on 12/14.

Ben and his older brother were part of Sandy Hook Elementary School’s Project Eagle service program, overseen by the PTA and the late principal Dawn Hochsprung, Ms Wheeler explained, and the photo shows five-year-old Ben playing piano for a room full of children.

For Project Eagle, she said, “They drew pictures and made quilts for the sick kids in Danbury, and they sang and performed at Masonicare… I thought ‘What if Ben’s Lighthouse became an organization that was serviced through the arts? What if the things we did were creative in thought and action and that we could be an inspiration for others by singing and playing with others?’”

In addition to the nonprofit’s trip to Montana and rediscovering the photograph of Ben, Ms Wheeler wanted the new Ben’s Lighthouse program to especially take into account children like her 4-year-old-son, who are growing up in Newtown post-12/14.

“My 4-year-old is growing up in Newtown with people having trauma for the rest of their lives. One of the terms we call that is ‘intergenerational trauma’ and it means that people now have a different view of the world…” she said. “I decided to put all of that together, along with Ben’s love of lighthouses, and I came up with an idea of all of the youth being lighthouse keepers.

“All the work that we have done with Ben’s Lighthouse in the last six years is like being a lighthouse keeper,” she said. “What do lighthouse keepers do? They help others. How do they help others? They help lead the way.”

Meet The Cast

Each puppet that is featured in The Isle of Skoo has a specific feeling that is overwhelming them, and they need help working through that feeling.

There is Don the Clownfish, who deflects what he feels by constantly joking; there is Shelly the Clamshell, who is terribly shy; Freddie the Foghorn, who is extremely anxious; Ralphy Rough Wave — built by Ms Wheeler’s husband, David — who feels very angry; and the lighthouse keeper Skoo, who was named after Ms Wheeler’s nickname for Ben.

“All of these different puppets need help figuring out ‘What do I do with that feeling?’” Ms Wheeler explained. “We deal with it through crafts, through song, through dance, and we make believe together for an hour.”

Two puppeteers facilitate the conversations the puppets have, while Ms Wheeler leads the discussions with the teen mentors and the children mentees.

“Puppets are an incredible way to reach the very young,” Ms Wheeler said.

She finds when a puppet is talking, children do not look to the person speaking for the puppet, but they look to the puppet itself as a real friend in need of their help.

“What this is doing is it’s building compassion and empathy in our 5- and 6-year-olds,” she said. “It’s also helping the high school students that are mentors to learn how to see the world through a 5- or 6-year-old and how beneficial that is for them at their age, being almost adults.”

Ms Wheeler also leads the children and teens in songs specially designed for the program that she wrote and recorded with members of The Dream Jam Band.

“I wanted to bring it all together,” Ms Wheeler said, pausing with emotion in her voice, “with the idea that we could build a community through music and puppets and love.”

She hopes The Isle of Skoo will help Ben’s Lighthouse continue to build compassion and empathy for years to come.

“I think we should remember those who are here and those who need to continue to shine and help others to build their own hearts,” Ms Wheeler said. “We need to do that. That’s our job and one of our responsibilities as humans, to help through community. That’s how we grow and thrive.”

The first six-week session of Isle of Skoo may have wrapped up earlier this month, but Ben’s Lighthouse will have a winter session beginning January 5 and a spring session beginning March 3 at the C.H. Booth Library. Children and teens must be available to attend all six sessions.

Ben’s Lighthouse will also have a [naviga:u]house concert with Willie Nile[/naviga:u][naviga:u] [/naviga:u]on Saturday, December 1, at 7 pm, where Ms Wheeler will be showing a video from one of The Isle of Skoo classes and play some of the music from the program. The address for the concert site is available with ticket purchase at the Ben’s Lighthouse website.

To learn more about Ben’s Lighthouse and to register for an upcoming Isle of Skoo session, visit [naviga:u]benslighthouse.org[/naviga:u] or e-mail Elaine Lundquist at [naviga:u]elundquist@benslighthouse.org[/naviga:u].