Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Storytelling

I remember when a group of storytellers came to my elementary school. I remember sitting on the bleachers, a tiny kindergartener, captivated. One of the stories required someone to jump behind a curtain and switch from a pig mask to a wolf mask and back again and I laughed hysterically everytime. It is likely that was my first introduction to theater, in a sense.

I've taken to creating elaborate stories about the children I work with and the children I spend time with. It's a tip I learned from a coworker for bringing a kid down from the elevation cycle when they are upset. It works really well. For instance:

One day Katrina was walking down the street carrying a remote control (I usually let the child fill in details like what someone is carrying and such). She heard a little voice saying "hello? hello? little girl?" She looked down and spotted a frog. The frog smiled, tipped his hat at her and said, "would you mind using that remote control to transform me into a prince?" Katrina laughed and said, "How would my remote control that runs my tv turn you into a prince?" He said, "Just try that button there." Katrina laughed.

And then she tried it.

Seconds later a handsome prince stood in front of her. He said, "Much obliged," and ran off toward town to find the princess he loved. Katrina said, "What else can I do with this remote?" As she kept walking she found a shoe. It was untied. She pressed a button on the remote and the shoe tied itself. After transforming a piece of trash into a flower, a book into a cd and a nasty dog into a cute little pomeranian she went home, holding tightly to her new treasure. Her mother placed her dinner plate in front of her. Asparagus. Ew! Katrina snuck the remote out from under the table and the asparagus transformed into...

Brussells sprouts.

And Katrina realized there are some things you just can't change.

She tenatively bit a brussells sprout... not so bad!

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