Session 6

Session 6

The sun was shining - a sense of spring in the air - and everyone was  bit restless.

The demand for Mighty Mouse came right at the start but I said, 'You always ask for that one - perhaps later.' That reply was not welcomed and did nothing to calm the restlessness. Eventually some of the more disruptive children had to be removed to allow the others to listen in peace.

This time I told 3 very simple stories that were new to me. I had found them only a couple of days before and barely had time to sort out the appropriate props and memorise the most basic bare-bones.

The Magic Porridge Pot is, I think, a famous old tale that probably appears in many forms - a poor farmer agrees to sell his cow for a magic porridge pot. The pot runs off and steals a big Christmas pudding  which feeds the farmer and his wife. It then runs off and steals a bag of gold from a miser, which makes the farmer financially secure - the pot then runs off and is never seen again.

Amongst my store of props I found a lovely soft doll... she could be Maori or some similar race. She is not pretty by Caucasian standards, but she is very attractive, warm and intelligent. I have decided to call her SuLi and make her the heroine of various strong-female stories starting with very basic ones:-

Why the Sky is High - sees SuLi getting angry with the sky lying so close to the earth that she is forced to bend over all the time and has difficulty stirring the big cooking pot. In frustration she prods the sky with her stirring stick, breaking it up into fluffy clouds that fly away up high.

SuLi and the Monster Serpent - sees SuLi volunteering to be fed to the huge serpent/dragon that has scared away all the heroes and is demanding maidens for supper. She, of course, slays the dragon and becomes Queen.

Some of the class were completely rivetted by these little tales.

I think I am beginning to be able to recognise the right sort of story for this age group.

The day before had been very interesting. I was booked to tell stories at a primary school - 4 half-hour sessions, each with a different age group.

HoneyBear & BumbleBee, my Story Companions

Both HoneyBear and BumbleBee came with me - they get loved to pieces in schools. I think every child there insisted on having a cuddle. They put up with it bravely.

With the youngest classes I tried some of the new stories and techniques I have been developing in these pre-school sessions. They worked well, and I was much less stressed than I used to be when faced with such young audiences. But I was so relieved when I reached the older groups! I do love being able to tell a story that has complex ideas, a good plot, dramatic tension - and humour. One very silly story left the class howling with laughter!