Handmade Tales Workshop; Friday, April 4, 2008
Friends:
Today, I did a professional development workshop for teachers at an elementary school in the metro New Orleans area. What made the day so special was that my youngest daughter, Eliana (7), accompanied me and was my little assistant throughout the workshop. She passed out supplies and even took all the pictures (except for the one of us). (Thank you, sweetheart! Mommy loves you!)
I began the workshop with a cut and tell of “Joseph Had an Overcoat.” It was fun seeing the teachers cut out all the shapes. Next, we moved to draw and tell stories. Here is a picture of my original draw and tell tale called “Catching the Pest.”
“Catching a Pest” uses the numbers 1-7 to illustrate the story and at the end, becomes a mouse. The teachers loved the story. Next, we did another draw and tell story titled “The Emperor’s Dragon,” based loosely on a Chinese folktale. It’s a fun story that kids love watching and drawing themselves.
Following that story, I told the story of “Bandana Man.” The teachers really responded to the story. It’s an adaptation of “The Gingerbread Man,” told with bandana folding. The story begins with an old woman…
Here’s my favorite old woman…
Here are the teachers with their bandana men. “Run, run, run as fast as you can. You can’t catch me, I’m Bandana Man.”
The workshop ended with the story of “The Stubborn Turnip,” a string story based on a Russian folktale. It was so much fun and the teachers loved every minute of it. Eliana helped me perform the story. She was definitely a show stopper! Here is a picture of us telling together.
It was a funtastic workshop full of energetic, enthusiastic teachers. I’ll get to see them again soon. Next Friday, I have performances at their school for “Family Literacy Day.”
Eliana was such a big help that I treated her to a surprise lunch. Lunch was the show and the show was lunch! We went to a Hibachi Bar. It was a blast. The Hibachi chef really knew how to heat things up.
Eliana, thank you so much for all your help today. You were an absolute angel!
Happy Handmade Tales to You! Until next time…
Warmly, Dianne
Tags: Author, Professional Development, Stories, Storyteller, Workshop