Stories

Missouri Summer Reading Workshop – Cape Girardeau, Thursday, March 3, 2011

by Dianne on March 3, 2011

3-3-11 The Youth Section of the library in Cape Girardeau, Missouri

Friends:

Today was Day 4 of my 5-day Summer Reading Workshop tour in the state of Missouri. Today I was in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, south of St. Louis. The workshop was hosted by the Cape Girardeau Public Library. It is a GORGEOUS library that is only about a year and a half old. I love the Youth section of the library. The entrance is pictured above.

The workshop began with a creativity exercise. Workshop participants created a self-portrait using items from their purses. I like this one!

3-3-11 Self-portrait created by a librarian with items from her purse. Love the hair!

We began with draw and tell tales. First, was “The Emperor’s Dragon” from my Handmade Tales book. Next, we did “Catching a Pest in 7 Steps.”

3-3-11 Catching a Pest in 7 Steps from Handmade Tales

After that, I taught them how to do the story, “Joseph Had a Little Overcoat.” It’s such a fun story and easy to tie into the 2011 summer reading theme, “One World, Many Stories.”

3-3-11 Joseph Had a Little Overcoat from Handmade Tales

Then I showed the librarians lots of great storytelling techniques from around the world: scroll tales from Asia, paper nesting dolls from Russia, towel folding to accompany a story from Denmark, and a cut and tell paper called “Papa’s Teepee.”

3-3-11 Librarians create a snow blizzard from coffee filter snowflakes

Then it was on to the ever popular “Bandana Man.” They had a good time folding their bandanas into babies!

3-3-11 These librarians just LOVE their bandana babies!

Teaching string stories can be challenging, especially when there is not a lot of time for instruction but these librarians did a marvelous job with the bowl and saucer from “The Stubborn Turnip,” a story from Russia in my Handmade Tales book.

3-3-11 Ah, sweet success! Bowl and saucer string figure from the story, The Stubborn Turnip in Handmade Tales

After lunch, we moved on to Tangram Tales. I taught them how to cut a Tangram without a pattern and then challenged them to Invent-a-Tangram. Here is the winner of the contest. Congratulations, Beth!

3-3-11 Beth wins the Invent-a-Tangram contest with her Dancing Girl. Too cute!

Then the librarians created a Tangram story theater with the story, “Tiger’s Tale, Anansi’s Stories.” It was adorable. They really got into their roles!

3-3-11 Performing the story, Tiger's Tale, Anansi's Stories from Tangram Tales

The last portion of the workshop focused on “Picture Book Make and Takes.” I showed them lots of activities that they could incorporate into their story times using my books. Look at Cajun Cornbread Boy!

3-3-11 Run, cher, run, as fast as you can. You can't catch me, I'm full of cayenne!

I loved performing Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach with them. We had a ball! Just look at these roaches partying and having a great time!

3-3-11 Monsieur Roach and his Rockin' Roach Buddies dance. While the chicken's away, the roaches will play!

They loved There’s a Dragon in the Library and all the accompanying activities. Dewey, the accordion dragon, is adorable!

3-3-11 Sarah makes the accordion dragon from There's a Dragon in the Library

It was another wonderful day in the state of Missouri. My last stop is in St. Louis, sister city to New Orleans on the Mighty Mississippi. Thank you to Sharon of the Cape Girardeau Public Library, who was the most gracious hostess ever! Loved the Cajun food at lunch time! Laissez les bon temps rouler! Let the good times roll!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

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Missouri Summer Reading Workshops – Jefferson City, Wednesday, March 2, 2011

by Dianne on March 2, 2011

3-2-11 Yes, Librarians truly are stars in my book!

Friends:

Today was another fabulous day in Missouri! I was in Jefferson City, the capitol of the state. My summer reading workshop was held at the library downtown and I had such a wonderful, fun, and appreciative group of librarians!

3-2-11 Taking a picture with the hosting library staff in Jefferson City, Missouri. Thank you for your hospitality!

As usual, I began the day with a creativity exercise. It’s a great way to warm up a group and serves as a fun ice breaker. They had to create a self-portrait from items in their purses. Love seeing all the inventive faces!

3-2-11 A self-portrait made by a librarian with items from her purse. Think one of those keys is to a Porsche? ;)

I opened with a couple of easy draw and tell tales. First, I did “The Emperor’s Dragon” from Handmade Tales. I just love this story and it’s so easy that every succeeds.

3-2-11 The Emperor's Dragon, a draw and tell tale from Handmade Tales

Next, I taught the librarians “Catching a Pest in 7 Steps,” also from Handmade Tales. What a cool story and I love using it to teach children to count in different languages.

3-2-11 Catching a Pest in 7 Steps, a draw and tell tale from Handmade Tales

Afterward, I showed them a scroll story, how to make paper Russian nesting dolls, how to tell the story of “The Ugly Duckling” using towel folding, and how to create a snowflake from a story that uses a white coffee filter. I LOVE making the snow blizzard!

3-2-11 Creating a blizzard from snowflakes made out of coffee filters in the story, Papa's Teepee from Handmade Tales

They had a lot of fun creating Bandana Man and we made sure that everyone learned how to fold him. :)

3-2-11 Run, run, run as fast as you can! You can't catch me, I'm Bandana Man!

Then it was on to string stories and lunch. Following lunch, we worked on Tangram Tales. After learning how to create a Tangram set without a pattern, they were challenged to “Invent a Tangram.” There were a lot of creative entries, like this dinosaur…

3-2-11 A dinosaur Tangram invented by a librarian!

But the winner of the Invent-a-Tangram contest was Jeana with her bat!

3-2-11 Jeana creates a Tangram bat and wins the Invent-a-Tangram contest!

Then it was time for… Tangram Tales Story Theater! They performed “Tiger’s Tale, Anansi’s Stories.” The story chorus, led by Carolee, sang, “Feel the story beat, uh uh! Feel the story beat, uh uh uh!” Woo hoo!

3-2-11 Performing the story Tiger's Tale, Anansi's stories as a Tangram story theater

After Tangram Tales, it was time for picture book make and takes. I performed an excerpt of The Cajun Cornbread Boy and they made Cajun Cornbread Boy puppets.

3-2-11 Cajun Cornbread Boy gets extra flair with ring bling! Love it!

The day was a full day, ending with activities from my new children’s picture book, There’s a Dragon in the Library.

3-2-11 There are dragons in the library!

I left Jefferson City feeling loved. These librarians sure do know how to make an author feel welcome! Thank you so much. And yes, Aletha, you CAN do crafts AND tell stories! Thank you for not running away! LOL

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

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Missouri Summer Reading Workshops – Springfield, Tuesday, March 1, 2011

by Dianne on March 1, 2011

3-1-11 Librarians are stars!

Friends:

Today is the first day I am blogging about my Missouri summer reading workshops because I lost my blogging camera yesterday! Talk about bad luck… I almost didn’t make it to Kansas City due to weather diverting my flight to Des Moines, Iowa. Then it was losing the camera… BUT today was a great day! I bought a new camera and here we go!

My first workshop was in Carrollton, Missouri and I had an awesome time with the workshop participants there. Today, I was in Springfield, Missouri with nearly 50 librarians at The Library Center.

3-1-11 Librarians do Joseph Had a Little Overcoat cut and tell story from Handmade Tales

We began the workshop with a creativity exercise in which the participants had to create a self-portrait from items in their purses, wallets or pockets. Here’s the one I liked!

3-1-11 Springfield, MO Summer Reading Workshop participant creates a self-portrait from items in her purse

Then it was time for some stories! We began with draw and tell tales. First, I did “The Emperor’s Dragon” from my book, Handmade Tales. What was really awesome is that through a grant, the State Library of Missouri gave every workshop participant a copy of my Handmade Tales book! Lucky Librarians! Next, we did the draw and tell story of “Catching a Pest in 7 Steps,” a fun story that uses the numbers 1 through 7 to create the picture in the tale.

3-1-11 Catching a Pest in 7 Steps story from Handmade Tales

Then I showed them “Joseph Had a Little Overcoat” and I had so much fun showing them how to “blow” into a handkerchief.

3-1-11 Mallory Has a Little Overcoat. Hahahaha

Then I showed them towel folding, how to create folded paper Russian nesting dolls, how to create a scroll story, and how to use a fortune teller in a fun, educational way. They even learned how to create a coffee filter snowflake in the story, “Papa’s Teepee.”

3-1-11 Creating a snow blizzard with coffee filter snowflakes from the story, Papa's Teepee

Then they learned how to make “Bandana Man” from my Handmade Tales book. Boy, did we have fun with Bandana Man!

3-1-11 Bandana Men in the Air!

They learned a string story, how to create a star with string, how to create a one-snip star, and even how to create a six page book out of a single sheet of paper. After lunch, it was on to Tangram Tales. First, they learned how to create a Tangram set without a pattern. Then I held an Invent-A-Tangram Contest. I loved this one… It goes with my book, There’s a Dragon in the Library.

3-1-11 Roxanne invents a dragon Tangram!

But Mallory ended up the winner with her “Man Reading a Book” Tangram. Talk about awesome!!

3-1-11 Mallory wins the Invent-A-Tangram contest for Man Reading a Book

Next, all the librarians in the room worked together to create a fun Tangram Tales story theater, “Tiger’s Tale, Anansi’s Stories.”

3-1-11 Librarians perform the Tangram story theater, Tiger's Tale, Anansi's Stories

Several of the librarians helped me perform a rousing rendition of Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach. Woo hoo!!

We ended the day with “Picture Book Make and Takes,” creating all kinds of activities to accompany my picture books. We ended appropriately with There’s a Dragon in the Library, my picture book illustrated by Marita Gentry.

3-1-11 A librarian creates the accordion dragon from There's a Dragon in the Library

It was such a fun day and I had a blast with the librarians in the Springfield-Greene County district in lovely Missouri! Thank you so much!! A heartfelt thank you to Naphtali Faris, the Youth Services Consultant for Missouri State Library for coordinating such wonderful workshops. Thank you also to Charla, who helped so much.

I look forward to my workshop in Jefferson City, Missouri tomorrow!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

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Kansas Summer Reading Workshops – Topeka, Kansas, February 22, 2011

by Dianne on February 22, 2011

2-22-11 Dianne's star cheerleaders in the front row!

Friends:

Today was the second day of my summer reading workshop tour in Kansas and today, I was in Topeka! It was a brisk 16 degrees when I was picked up from my hotel. Brrrr! But things quickly heated up once my workshop started. I had some sizzling librarians with warm hearts!

2-22-11 Librarians create a snow blizzard using a coffee filter to make a snowflake in the story, Papa's Teepee from Handmade Tales

I began with a creativity exercise in which the participants had to create a self portrait out of items from their purses, wallets or pockets. There were some very interesting self-portraits! I love this techie self-portrait. A cell phone for the hair, flash drives for the eyes… I soooo relate! Hahahaha!

2-22-11 A self-portait by a workshop participant using items from her purse

The first half of my workshop was dedicated to Handmade Tales. They learned some draw and tell tales and some cut and tell tales such as “Joseph Had an Overcoat.”

2-22-11 Librarians make Joseph's overcoat in the story, Joseph Had an Overcoat

They learned how to make a scroll story, how to create paper Russian nesting dolls, and how to cut magic stars. They learned the string story, “The Stubburn Turnip” and how to make a star string figure. A favorite is always “Bandana Man.” John and Jacob make such adorable little old women!

2-22-11 John and Jacob are old women in the story, Bandana Man, from Handmade Tales

I love how Bandana Man always makes my workshop participants sooo happy! Yes, he’s quite the cutie!

2-22-11 Workshop participants in Topeka, KS make Bandana Man

After an hour lunch, the second half of the workshop was dedicated to Tangram Tales and “Picture Book Makes and Takes.” First, they learned about Tangrams and cut out a Tangram set without a pattern. Then they began manipulating the Tangrams.

2-22-11 Workshop participants create Tangrams

Then I challenged them to a contest, requiring them to invent their own Tangram. This one was the winner – a plant in bloom by Jacob, AKA “Wonder Boy.” After he won the contest, he did a victory lap around the room and everyone did the wave for him. Hilarious!!

2-22-11 The winner of the Invent-a-Tangram contest - a blooming plant

Then it was time for the workshop participants to create their Tangram Story Theater. Everyone in the workshop performed “Tiger’s Tale, Anansi’s Stories.” It came out sooo cute!

2-22-11 Librarians perform a Tangram story theater - Tiger's Tale, Anansi's Stories from Tangram Tales

After finishing Tangram Tales, we moved on to “Picture Book Make and Takes,” where I showed them different book activities to go with all of my picture books. First, they made Cajun Cornbread Boy puppets. Ooh yeah, cher!

2-22-11 Spicy Cajun Cornbread Boy makes a librarian happy!

I told the story of Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach with the help of some great librarians with a good sense of humor!

2-22-11 Workshop participants become dead roaches in the hilarious story of Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach

My last story was There’s a Dragon in the Library. They loved all the activities that went with this story, especially the accordion dragon!

2-22-11 There's a Dragon in the Library large accordion puppet

It was a fantabulous day and I sooo enjoyed my time in Topeka! A very special thank you to my editor from ABC-Clio Libraries Unlimited, Sharon Coatney. She lives in Lawrence and made a special trip to attend my workshop. She is amazing and I love her! Thank you also to Mickey Coalwell, Teri, Brenda and all the staff of the Northeast Kansas Library System (NEKLS) for getting me from A to B and for executing a flawless workshop! You guys rock!

Thank you especially to all the wonderful librarians with whom I had the privilege of sharing my day. Keep doing the amazing work you do!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

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Kansas Summer Reading Workshops, Iola – Monday, February 21, 2011

by Dianne on February 21, 2011

2-21-11 All librarians are stars!

Friends:

Today I had the great privilege of doing a summer reading workshop for Kansas children’s librarians in Iola, Kansas. The first part of the morning was dedicated to Handmade Tales. I began the workshop with a creativity activity to warm the participants up. They had to create a self-portrait from the contents of their purses or wallets. Fun!

2-21-11 Participants create a self portrait out of items in their purses or wallets

Then we started with draw and tell tales. First, they learned how to draw “The Emperor’s Dragon” from Handmade Tales.

2-21-11 The Emperor's Dragon from Handmade Tales

After a couple of draw and tell tales, I taught them “Joseph Had a Little Overcoat.” I demonstrated some of my other Handmade Tales such as making nesting dolls out of paper, doing the “Ugly Duckling” out of towels, and showing them a scroll story, “The Boy Who Drew Cats.” We did “Papa’s Teepee,” creating snowflakes and a snow blizzard out of coffee filter. So cool!

2-21-11 Creating a snow blizzard with coffee filters snowflakes from Papa's Teepee story

Then it was on to “Bandana Man,” a fun rendition of “the Gingerbread Man.”

2-21-11 Anita creates Bandana Man from Handmade Tales

I taught them “The Stubborn Turnip” out of string and they loved the string figures! I also taught them how to make stars!

2-21-11 String figure stars!

After lunch, it was time for a fun game. Since the theme is “One World, Many Stories,” I taught them a game that I learned from children in Singapore called “Pluck the Pearl.” Game players face each other and try to “pluck” the pearl from the open oyster. The oyster snaps closed and if the “plucker” gets snapped, she loses. It’s a lot of fun and takes a bit of speed and coordination.

2-21-11 Leah and her partner play Pluck the Pearl, a game from Singapore

Afterward, it was time for Tangram Tales. First, I had them create a Tangram set and work with Tangrams.

2-21-11 Amanda creates a bucking horse Tangram

Then they invented their own Tangrams. I made it a contest and here is the winner!

2-21-11 Wendy invents a humming bird feeder Tangram and wins the contest!

Then it was time for the creation of a Tangram story theater. They practiced and performed “Tiger’s Tale, Anansi’ Stories,” a tale from the West Indies. It came out so cute, especially the story chorus!

2-21-11 Participants perform Tiger's Tale, Anansi's Stories from Tangram Tales

After Tangram Tales, it was time for Picture Book Make and Takes. First, I told an excerpt of The Cajun Cornbread Boy. Then they made Cajun Cornbread Boy stick puppets.

2-21-11 Workshop participants create The Cajun Cornbread Boy puppets

Then I performed Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach with the help of the audience members. Rachel, thanks for playing the part of Monsieur Roach!

2-21-11 Dianne de Las Casas performs Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach with Rachel as Monsieur Roach

The roaches in the story were soooo funny! Love them!

2-21-11 Hilarious! Kansas children's librarians play like dead roaches in Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach

It was a spectacular day and I had a ton of fun!! Special thanks to Sandy Wilkerson for coordinating this portion of my Kansas tour. I felt so much love and sunshine from the Sunflower State!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

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Book Launch Party! There’s a Dragon in the Library at Cherry Books in Thibodaux, Louisiana – Saturday, February 19, 2011

by Dianne on February 20, 2011

2-19-11 There's a Dragon in the Library fans at Cherry Books

Friends:

This past Saturday, Marita and I launched our new book, There’s a Dragon in the Library, at Cherry Books in Thibodaux, Louisiana. We had a big bayou bash!

2-19-11 Telling the story of There's a Dragon in the Library at Cherry Books, Thibodaux, LA

The story was fun and interactive. Marita drew the dragon as I had all the kids act out the parts with puppets.

2-19-11 The whole cast of There's a Dragon in the Library at Cherry Books, Thibodaux, LA

As usual, Marita’s drawing was AMAZING!! She is such a talented illustrator. I am so lucky to work with her!

2-19-11 Marita Gentry with her Dewey the Dragon drawing from There's a Dragon in the Library at Cherry Books, Thibodaux, LA

Afterward, the kids made mini accordion dragon puppets. They came out sooo cool!

2-19-11 Avid fan, Jaden B., proudly displays his accordion dragon puppet. Too cool!

We even had a fan come who matched the cover of our book! Precious!

2-19-11 A fan at Cherry Books matches the book!

Thank you to everyone who came to help us celebrate our new book. A special thanks to the Breaux family, who came from St. Mary Parish! You all rock! Thank you also to Cherry Books for your support!!

Books are for reading, not for eating! Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

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Book Launch Party! There’s a Dragon in the Library, Barnes & Noble Citiplace in Baton Rouge – Friday, February 18, 2011

by Dianne on February 20, 2011

2-18-11 Dianne de Las Casas, Dewey the Dragon & Marita Gentry sign books

Friends:

This past Friday, Marita Gentry and I launched our new book, There’s a Dragon in the Library in Baton Rouge at Barnes & Noble Citiplace. We had a HUGE crowd with lots of fans and friends there! We began the evening dedicating a copy of the book to a very special boy, Brayden, Marita’s grand-nephew, who was the inspiration for the paintings of Max, the main character in the story. He was so cute!

2-18-11 Dedicating a book to Brayden, Marita Gentry's great-nephew and inspiration for the character of Max at the Baton Rouge launch of There's a Dragon in the Library

Marita began her illustration as I told the story with the help from kids in the audience. She started by drawing the head of Dewey the Dragon.

2-18-11 Illustrator Marita Gentry begins her live illustration by drawing the dragon's head

It was tons of fun having the kids participate in the story. I absolutely love the interaction with my audiences!

2-18-11 Dianne with Dewey the Dragon from There's a Dragon in the Library

Marita’s illustrations are always amazing but this time she did a live illustration in FULL color! So loving this dragon!

2-18-11 Marita Gentry's finished dragon in full color! WOW!

After the story, all the kids who participate in the story on stage came up to take their big final bow.

2-18-11 The whole cast of There's a Dragon in the Library at Barnes & Noble Citiplace

Afterward, we had a scavenger hunt and gave away tons of prizes: book bags, a reading pillow and Marita’s illustration.

2-18-11 There's a Dragon in the Library Prize Winners (Photo by Dianne de Las Casas via iPhone)

Abby Hannie, the CRM of Barnes & Noble Citiplace is amazing. She had dragon face painting for the kids and even had little wings for them! Soooo cute!

2-18-11 Dragon Face Painting at the Barnes & Noble Citiplace book launch of There's a Dragon in the Library (Photo by Dianne de Las Casas via iPhone)

Even the staff got into the spirit of things! Thank you so much, Nick! You rock!!

2-18-11 Nick, a Barnes & Noble Citiplace staff member, gets into the spirit of There's a Dragon in the Library w his dragon face! (photo by Dianne de Las Casas via iPhone)

We also had the kids create paper bag dragon puppets and they came out soooo cute!

2-18-11 A fan makes a paper bag dragon puppet. Smokin' hot fun! (Photo by Dianne de Las Casas via iPhone)

Kid Chef Eliana got to sign books too! Yay!

2-18-11 Eliana with her book, Eliana Cooks! Recipes for Creative Kids

We had an awesome time and everyone had so much fun! Barnes & Noble Citiplace is so wonderful. Thank you so much, Abbie! I also want to thank a very special person. Alyson G., a longtime fan and friend, took all the pictures unless otherwise noted. I forgot my camera and Aly came to the rescue! Woo hoo, Aly!!

2-18-11 Alyson Guidry, our event photographer, with her baby dragon!

Thank you to everyone who came out to support me and Marita as we launched our fourth book together, There’s a Dragon in the Library! We <3 you!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

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There’s a Dragon in the Library Book Launch Party at Octavia Books – Saturday, February 12, 2011

by Dianne on February 14, 2011

2-12-11 The AMAZING There's a Dragon in the Library cake at our Octavia Books Launch Party

Friends:

This past Saturday was our book launch party for There’s a Dragon in the Library, illustrated by Marita Gentry. We had our fabulous launch at our favorite indie bookstore in New Orleans – Octavia Books. It was our largest book launch at Octavia to date! There were so many people in attendance that some people couldn’t see the performance!

2-12-11 The awesome audience at Octavia Books

I had an amazing dragon cake made (Thanks, Lana and Dana) and it was DELICIOUS!

2-12-11 The Dragon cake table

Here is a close-up of that up-ROAR-ious cake, which was chocolate cake with raspberry filling. YUM!

2-12-11 A close-up of the Dragon cake!

As is our signature method, Marita and I entertained the audience with interactive storytelling and live illustration.

2-12-11 Audience participation is so much fun and Marita's dragon comes to life on paper!

I made puppets out of oven mitts, which came out sooooo cute. The templates for the puppets are on my website in the book activities. Marita did such a marvelous job on the puppets.

2-12-11 The oh so cute boys in my story, There's a Dragon in the Library. Marita is illustrating and Eliana is page-turning.

This time, instead of drawing several illustrations, Marita decided to do something different. Because the dragon is a very complicated character to draw, she decided to draw and color one enormous dragon. It came out sooo cute!

2-12-11 The whole cast comes up for a final bow

Here is a close-up of Marita’s illustration. It’s a little blurry because there were so many people that my photographer (hubby Antonio) couldn’t get close enough to even zoom in on the picture. But you can see how cute it is! Marita is incredibly talented! I’m so lucky to team with such a great illustrator!

2-12-11 A close-up of the Marita's finished illustration of Dewey the Dragon in There's a Dragon in the Library

Afterward, the children participated in a scavenger hunt, looking for a dragon tale hidden amongst the books. The winner received a reading pillow and blanket. We gave away lots of prizes including book bags, a Dragon accordion puppet, and a signed dummy of our book. Then the kids made the cutest Dewey the Dragon paper bag puppets.

2-12-11 The cutest dragon puppet with the cutest little boy!

Marita and I signed books as Judith Lafitte and Tom Lowenburg, the bookstore owners, served cake and dragon juice.

2-12-11 Dianne de Las Casas signing books with a tiara on! Viva la Diva! LOL

Caitlin Smith with Pelican Publishing Company stopped by to say hi and check in on our party.

2-12-11 Dianne de Las Casas, Caitlin Smith from Pelican Publishing, and Marita Gentry

Marita and I have such sweet fans and friends. Jon and Jordyn have been to every single one of my book launch parties!! They deserve a crown just for that!!

2-12-11 Dianne with favorite fans, Jordyn and Jon

The party was such a smashing success. We owe so much to King Tom and Queen Judith of Octavia Books, our benevolent rulers! :) Thank you, your majesties! Thank you to everyone: fans, friends, and family who came to support us as we unveiled our fun new book, There’s A Dragon in the Library. We even had someone drive in from as far away as Lafayette! WOW!

2-12-11 The Cutie Crew with their paper bag dragon puppets

It was a fantastic day and we look forward to many more book launch parties at Octavia Books.

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

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Stories on Board Residency at Strehle Elementary, Avondale, LA, Day 10 – Monday, January 22, 2011

by Dianne on January 25, 2011

1-24-11 5th graders play The Hunter's Trap by fellow students

Friends:

Today was the 10th and final day of my “Stories on Board: Creating Board Games from Favorite Tales” at Strehle Elementary in Avondale, Louisiana. It was “Gradewide Game Day” where all the students came to the cafeteria to play the games their fellow students created. The first group to come into the cafeteria first thing in the morning was 5th grade.

1-24-11 5th graders play The Troll Troubles by fellow students

The students really enjoyed playing the games and it was fun to see their reaction to the games their fellow students created. All the games were fabulous but the students had their favorites. The game that received the most acclaim was “The Three Billy Gs.”

1-24-11 The Three Billy Gs game was voted Favorite Game Overall in 5th grade

The next group to come in was 3rd grade. We had a special visitor from Jefferson Parish Public School Board: Mr. Dermady, from the Social Studies Department. He came to observe the lesson and see the students’ work. He was so enthralled by the process that he even joined the students for some fun and games!

1-24-11 Mr. Dermady from the Social Studies Department of Jefferson Parish School Board plays Makin Bacon with 3rd grade students

Again, the students were fully engaged in the Game Day, playing games created by their fellow students. I loved observing their reaction to the artwork, the game design, and the perils and triumphs of the board. The great part about this process is the success ratio. Everyone participates, everyone succeeds, and everyone has fun.

1-24-11 Six 3rd graders play Killer Foxy Loxy by fellow students

Another great element about the “Stories on Board” process is the collaborative process. The students have to work together to create their board games. One student simply cannot complete the planning, designing and coloring of the games by him/herself within the alotted time frame. It is a team effort and a team success.

1-24-11 3rd graders play The Kooky Cookie by fellow students

The last group to come to the cafeteria was 4th grade. They are a boisterous group and we had to work to settle them down. Once we passed out the board games and they started playing, they had a good time.

1-24-11 4th graders play self-created board games on Strehle Game Day

They made some really clever and inventive games. One of my personal favorites was Hen-Opoly. Reptile Road was a cleverly conceived game based on the story of “The Tortoise and the Hare.”

1-24-11 4th graders play Reptile Road, based on The Tortoise and the Hare, created by fellow students

On my last day of the residency, I always like to do something special for the teachers to show them my appreciation. I asked my mom to make pancit, a Filipino noodle dish with chicken and vegetables, similar to Chinese lo mein. I also brought two containers of macaroons for dessert. Needless to say, the teachers enjoyed the food!

1-24-11 Pancit (Filipino noodle dish) made by Dianne's mom almost gone!

I also stuffed the teacher’s in-boxes with posters from my book, The Gigantic Sweet Potato.

1-24-10 Teachers' in-boxes stuffed with The Gigantic Sweet Potato posters from Dianne de Las Casas

Last but not least, I had a bag full of goodies to raffle off to the teachers. Tina Champagne, Special Ed Teacher, was the lucky winner! Woo hoo, Tina!

1-24-11 Tina Champagne, Special Ed Teacher, wins Dianne's bag of goodies! Woo hoo!

It was a fabulous day and I loved every minute of my time at Strehle! Special thanks to Patti Waddell, Principal; Pat Runge, Special Ed Teacher and Grant Writer; and Betty Brodtmann, Librarian! Another special thank you to the Arts Council of New Orleans for providing the grant funds that made my visit possible.

1-24-11 Dianne de Las Casas with 3rd grade students on Strehle Game Day

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

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Stories on Board Residency at Strehle Elementary, Avondale, LA, Day 9 – Friday, January 21, 2011

by Dianne on January 21, 2011

1-21-11 5th grade students play their game, The Troll Troubles, based on the story of The Three Billy Goats Gruff

Friends:

Today was Day 9 of my 10-day “Stories on Board: Creating Board Games from Favorite Tales” residency at Strehle Elementary School in Avondale, LA. The first class I visited was Ms. Hervey’s first grade class. Because the class was on a field trip yesterday, we have to rearrange my schedule to fit them in today. I told the story of “The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza” and then they played the game based on the story. When I left their class, they were as quiet as can be. Great job, Ms. Hervey’s class!

1-21-11 Students in Ms. Hervey's first grade class play The Little Red Hen's Pizza Party

After Ms. Hervey’s class, I visited Ms. Giroir’s Pre-K class. The children were so excited to see me and I was bombarded with hugs from the moment I walked into the classroom. I told the story of “The Gingerbread Man” and they played the game, “The Gingerbread Jam.”

1-21-11 Students in Ms. Giroir's PK class play Gingerbread Jam

Next, I headed to fifth grade. Most of the students in this class were finished designing and coloring their boards. This particular class was assigned the story, “Little Red Riding Hood,” and they did such an amazing job with their board games! Look at this!

1-21-11 Little Red's Escape, a game created by 5th grade students, based on the story of Little Red Riding Hood

This next game is absolutely amazing. It’s called “Little Red’s Caper,” and I love the play on words and how they used Little Red’s cape as the game board. I also LOVE her adorable face! Great job on the face, Antonio!

1-21-11 Students in 5th grade play their game, Little Red's Caper, based on the story, Little Red Riding Hood

My next class was also a fifth grade class. This class was less organized than the previous class and were not as far along on their board games. They worked for most of the class plotting their spaces, outlining, and coloring their boards. They were assigned the story, “The Lion and the Mouse.” Still, many of the boards came out great although they ran out of time to play.

1-21-11 The Lion Escapes, a game created by 5th grade students, based on the story of The Lion and the Mouse

I also loved the concept of the zig zag board used in this game called “The Hunter’s Trap. It was well-executed and look like a lot of fun to play.

1-21-11 The Hunter's Trap, a game created by 5th grade students, based on the story of The Lion and the Mouse

Next, it was time to visit special ed Pre-K. We had a great time with my new book, There’s a Dragon in the Library. We made dragon roaring sounds and sang a song. It was fun and they were very responsive. I just love working with Ms. Pat, Ms. Tina, and Ms. Katie!

1-21-11 Dianne de Las Casas with Special Ed PK

My last class of the day was my final fifth grade class. The class was assigned the story, The Three Billy Goats Gruff. This class worked so well together that I had the opportunity to play a game: The Troll Troubles. We had a fantastic time and I loved seeing their games come to life!

1-21-11 5th grade students with their game, The Billy Goats Trippity Trap, based on the story of The Three Billy Goats Gruff

There was so much creativity and the students were so inventive, using both the left and right sides of their brains. I truly enjoy seeing them delight in their accomplishments. I also love seeing their reaction to other students playing and enjoying their games. It’s a terrific process and I can’t wait until Monday, when we have Gradewide Game Day for all the grades. Classes in each grade will exchange games and play each others’ games.

1-21-11 5th grade students with their game, The 3 Billy G's, based on the story of The Three Billy Goats Gruff

Monday is going to be a total blast and I can’t wait!! Fantastic job, Strehle students!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

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