City Poem

I was really enamored with this poem, so I did a standalone performance of it. See it here!

The Most Important Member of the Family Story

Here is my submission for Assignment 4. I have taken some liberties with the story (since the star wasn't very forthcoming with details) but I think we can consider this "Based on true events."



Here is the transcript:

Rebel Dog

Once upon a time, there was a little dog named Tyke.
Tyke had no family, and was a rebellious loner. He wore a denim jacket so people would know how tough he was.
He lived on the streets, and had been known to do such terrible things as smoke. He got into fights with cats and other dogs.
Sometimes he would drink until he passed out.
Tyke liked to hang around abandoned building and make trouble.
One day, he was caught by the police hanging around an empty church and was arrested!
Tyke didn’t like jail very much. He agreed to go live with a nice family and try and not be so bad all the time.
Tyke had to leave behind his tough jacket, and decided he needed a new name to go with his new image.
He chose Budgie after a guy he knew who was very nice and kinda looked like him.
Budgie wasn’t sure his new wardrobe was better than his old jacket, but at least it was warm.
He liked not having to fight for food anymore, and learned that he could con his new family out of a lot of bacon and cheese by sitting up. He used this trick often.
He learned to read with his new family, and to enjoy fine music.
His new family took him on trips to the ocean and the snow. He wasn’t too sure he liked either.
He found out that sleeping in the sun was better than smoking.
Cuddling on laps was better than drinking.
Cats weren’t so bad after all. He made friends with other dogs instead of fighting.
The best part of all was being part of a family. Being loved was better than being tough any day. No matter what you were wearing.

Ugly Fish in Flannel

After seeing Jenine's presentation of Ugly Fish in class, I couldn't stop thinking about how great it would be in felt. Though I had never before tried to make anything from felt, I thought I'd give it a go. I found my calling in life! Not only was it super fun, but I think I have a natural flare.

Here's a pic of the whole set together, since you can't see it very well in the video.



And here is the board in action!

Picture Book Adaptation

Here is my pic adaptation of The Bug Book, by Edward Gory. Next up, ALL FLANNEL ALL THE TIME!

Insanity

In a moment of pure insanity, I persuaded my friends to let me do a storytime at a Memorial Day BBQ. Everyone will have their kids there (mostly toddlers) so I thought it would be a good opportunity. Except I have never told a story to kids before!

I'm now in a tizzy as to what and how I should tell. Weeeeee.

Last Minute Storytelling

I signed up to do a digital storytelling tonight, but due to a big project in Research Methods class I didn't do any prep for it. I considered trying to get out of it (actually, I am still considering that!) but I figured it would be good practical practice to do a last minute storytime.

I am going to do a folktale (since if I mess it up, no one is likely to notice, since they often are random), and found Folktexts, which is a great resource with all kinds of folktales compiled. They are arranged by theme - "Abducted by Aliens," "Cannibalism," "Eat Me When I'm Fatter."

Wish me luck!

Edited to Add: I was failing to pay attention, the chat had been moved to Monday. Oh, well.

Digital Storytelling

I did my first digital storytime today for the class. If you weren't one of the several people attending, you missed the chance to hear me adapt an Edward Gorey book to a kids-appropriate storytime. Tragically, I didn't think that the world was ready for The Gashleycrumb Tinies as a storytime (someday), so I did The Bug Book. I've always thought it was the oddest wonderful little story.

Some internet genius apparently also liked it, since they made a claymation adaptation!



I am totally going to make a flannel board of the story. Pics to follow.