Session 8

Session 8

Very interesting... I decided to try telling a longer story this time - my own story of The Tintagel Dragon and the Plane Crash. The crash really did happen in Tintagel in 1979 and there are photos online to prove it. The cause was never explained until I discovered the dragon's role in the event. It is a favourite story with older children and adults - I had never tried to tell it to pre-schoolers.

The sun was shining and the room was too hot. Several of the children were restive and, even before I started, were distracted by the toys that had been left lying around. Then a late-comer arrived which added to the distractions. My large dragon puppet proved to be a bit frightening for some and a few of the children decided to leave the room. Apparently some wanted to come back after a few minutes, but were told they couldn't.

Of those that stayed, some were absolutely transfixed throughout the story - excellent eye-contact and smiles of understanding. But I found the puppet a bit restricting. He is quite large, expressive and gorgeous in blue panne velvets and gold trimmings... very friendly... but I usually use a much smaller one. I think I can be more expressive myself, and more in control, with the smaller version.

As requested, I told Papa Joe's the Magical Blue Feather again and was interested to note how much I changed the words this time to suit the younger audience.

Next Friday is the last day of term - and my last session with this particular group. I think I am going to focus on bird stories.