About Us
About Us
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Mission
We provide engaging puppetry enrichment instruction in inclusive settings, along with professional development for educators, empowering children to develop imagination, social-emotional skills, communication, and academic engagement through the arts. Our unique approach places exploration, problem-solving, and creativity at the heart of learning, preparing children to play an active and positive role in our world.
Our Story
With 15 years of experience working with young children, Daniel saw the incredible impact that puppetry could have on social-emotional development, problem-solving, communication, and learning. Daniel created The Puppet Circle with the commitment to create inclusive learning environments where children play an active role in their learning, as they solve problems, innovate, express their feelings and ideas, and create caring learning communities.
Daniel has worked with several organizations, including:
The Marsh Youth Theater
San Francisco Children's Art Center
StageWrite's ADAPTS Program
Pacific Primary School
Daniel Gill (Founder & Teaching Artist) was born in Johannesburg, South Africa and is an educational puppeteer, early childhood educator, and teaching artist living in San Francisco. He is passionate about art and theater experiences that are inclusive, allow children to express themselves freely, and offer social-emotional learning benefits. Daniel has 12 years of early childhood education experience and has worked as a classroom teacher, expressive arts specialist, teaching artist, and consultant. Daniel holds a Master of Arts in Early Childhood Special Education from San Francisco State University.
Daniel Gill (Founder & Teaching Artist) was born in Johannesburg, South Africa and is an educational puppeteer, early childhood educator, and teaching artist living in San Francisco. He is passionate about art and theater experiences that are inclusive, allow children to express themselves freely, and offer social-emotional learning benefits. Daniel has 12 years of early childhood education experience and has worked as a classroom teacher, expressive arts specialist, teaching artist, and consultant. Daniel holds a Master of Arts in Early Childhood Special Education from San Francisco State University.
Key Skills
Inclusive education
Play-based storytelling
Social-emotional puppetry
Process art
Sensory processing
Conferences & Presentations
Conferences & Presentations
San Francisco Bay Area Guild of Puppetry – Sonoma, CA, 2024
Expressive Face Collage Workshop
Led a hands-on workshop for educators in Sonoma, CA, focusing on expressive face collages. This workshop demonstrated how collage techniques can be used to explore emotions and facial expressions, providing educators with new tools for fostering emotional literacy and creativity in their classrooms.
CAAEYC Annual Conference – California, 2020 & 2024
Using Puppets to Increase Engagement in Early Childhood
Presented at the California Association for the Education of Young Children (CAAEYC) Annual Conference in 2020 and again in 2024. This presentation focused on how puppetry can enhance engagement, foster creativity, and support social-emotional development in early childhood settings. The sessions highlighted practical ways to integrate puppets into classroom activities to increase student participation and interaction.
Puppeteers of America Professional Day for the Teaching Artist and Therapist – Brattleboro, Vermont, 2018
Using Puppets to Help Young Children Solve Problems (Co-presented with Elyse Jacobs)
Co-presented a workshop to a national audience, exploring how puppetry can be used as a tool for problem-solving and inclusion in early childhood education. We showcased how Pacific Primary utilizes puppets to support children in navigating social-emotional challenges and building a sense of community.
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