Echo Owl Puppet for Fundations

I haven't had Fundations training yet (though I am registered for early August) but I've already got my Echo.

A colleague told me that in Fundations, the kids chorally decode phonemes by repeating (/echoing) what an owl puppet tells them.  And its name is Echo.  Well, the teacher whose class I'm taking over didn't show me any owl puppets, so I assumed I was on my own if I wanted/needed one.

I've been entertaining my in-laws this week (they're here from England) and we brought them to Newburyport for the day.  I think we will all look back on it as the highlight of the trip.  We had fun checking out lots of the cute little shops, and one of those had puppets.

I didn't see owls at first, but then I saw a white furry thing with black spots and thought, "This is either a snow leopard or a snowy owl.  Oh, I hope it's an owl..." and sure enough.  The prettiest breed of owl, as far as I'm concerned.

Does my Folkmanis owl puppet look more like Harry Potter's Hedwig than Echo?  Of course it does.  Does that make me love it less?  Of course not.  When I got it home I was even more thrilled with it because I learned that the velcro on its wings is meant to pull them back so it looks as if it's perched.  Perfect for sitting with me to work on phonemes!

Not only am I changing the species of Echo, I'm changing the gender.  Apparently all white snowy owls are male, and the ones with markings are female.  So my Echo is a girl.  And I love her.

Edit:  I just did a search for Echo, and apparently I was wrong.

I'm not changing the species of Echo...she's on the official Wilson site!!  

I'm really surprised since the logo elsewhere for Wilson has been (I believe) a Great Horned Owl.  But now I'm even more thrilled.  I feel all official now, haha.  Not to mention I paid less in Newburyport than I would have on the site (they gave me a teacher discount).  Even the Folkmanis site seems to cost less, although I couldn't tell the shipping costs on Wilson's site. 

So there you have it, if you are thinking of buying an owl puppet, you can either go through Wilson, Folkmanis, or use my affiliate link for Amazon (yay free shipping!).  And it really is a beautiful, award winning puppet (apparently it made the list of the 1997 Dr. Toy 100 Best Children's products as well as the 10 Best Children's Socially Responsible Products).  It's soft and the swiveling head makes it even more endearing.  Time will tell how well the kids like her, but I have a good feeling.