Another post on schools in Argentina

Students at St. Gregory School in BA. This was a school where I was in a music room, not a cavernous hall. It's so nice to have that intimate feel and not to need a microphone.

I had good intentions to blog regularly during the tour in Buenos Aires. However, with 63 performances in four weeks and a cursed headcold for half the time, I didn't have the energy. I'll try to catch up now.

There really was no such thing as a typical day. I might perform only in the morning or only in the afternoon. I might have three shows at one school and nothing more for the day. I might do one show at a school far to the south and then travel for an hour to another school for three performances. Some days I didn't have to meet the taxi until late, say 8 a.m. or even noon, though usually it was 7 a.m.

The schools were different one from another. The level of English varied from almost native to very poor. Some schools had auditoriums, some used echoey common areas, some put me in classrooms or music rooms. If it was normally the time when they were studying in Spanish, the teachers might not understand English.

These children had a good level of English. Even at schools where the level was lower, the kids understood this stretch.

The students wear their uniforms, sometimes with their warm school jackets.

I'm wearing my fleece vest and scarf in this school, as I did quite often. Schools in many countries are not kept as warm as in the US. It was winter in Argentina.

This high school boy really was paying attention. He turned so that Yoli could take a picture that included the girls in the row ahead of him listening while leaning on each other's shoulders.

I performed at private schools, not at state schools. Most were wonderful. I only had one school where the teachers were talking among themselves, and fortunately, the children ignored them. I only had one school where the kids were poorly behaved and I had no help from the teachers. That may have been partly because of the low level of English, partly because it was a difficult space, partly because I was feeling bad because of my cold.

Generally, the students in Argentina were well behaved and we all had fun. I left a few minutes for questions at the end of the show usually and the students were brave about asking. Some of them have since become my Facebook friends or have liked Trixie's Facebook page or have sent me e-mails. Some have subscribed to my Youtube channel.

On my last day, I was at St. Luke's. It was a fabulous end to the tour. Everybody at the school was welcoming. I was in the brand-new library, a pleasant intimate space. The librarian, Sol, reads to the students every week. They were anticipating my visit. The level of English was excellent, even among the youngest listeners.

This was the day DreamOn was filming the performance. We had only one problem: between the first and second of three sets, the power went out on the whole block. Fortunately, the kids were such good listeners I didn't need the microphone and the videographer was able to reposition me to take advantage of the natural light from the windows.

I left that school feeling good about the performances there and about the whole tour. Whew!

More on schools in Argentina

 

Sorry not to have written. I've been a little busy. Today I had my 47th school performance of the tour (three weeks so far), with 17 more next week. I've also been sick. I got a head cold, which I thought I was over last week, but I had a relapse. The pharmacist suggested this cough medicine. It sounds funny in English, but it was effective!

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The schools have been mostly wonderful. The kids have been great listeners and many have asked good questions. Sometimes they get shy and don't want to ask the question in front of everybody, so they come up to me afterwards.

At schools like Las Nieves and Glasgow College, the students have showed up at the performances well prepared, having listened to stories on my website or on my youtube channel. This preparation makes a big difference.

Here are a few pictures of the listeners. You'll notice that the children wear uniforms at all of these schools. They have had excellent questions at the end of many of the sessions.

Boys helping me tell "Mr. Wiggle and Mr. Waggle."

Just a stretch between stories, to make it easier to listen.

The teachers listen as well.

In the pictures, these are primary (elementary in the US) school kids. I've also had fun telling to high school students. Yesterday I was at Highest College, performing for the older kids. The coordinator told me that they were all (both students and teachers) nervous about what I might do, worried that it might be only for young children. As I do in the US when I have middle school and high school, I started with a gory story, one I don't tell to the younger students. I could see the audience relax bit by bit and then they all had a good time. So did I.

Time to stop writing so I can get ready to go to a tango show.

Schools in Argentina so far

 

Today is the fifth school day of the tour. Because schools in Argentina teach at least half the day in Spanish, I tend to be at schools either in the morning or the afternoon, not both. Today I have three performances beginning at 1:30, so I have the morning here in the apartment. The school day runs until 4:30.

I've been having a grand time! So far, I've done fourteen shows at six schools, for students ranging from age 6 to 12. The level of English varies from school to school. Very few of the students so far have been native speakers of English. A few come up to tell me that they used to live in Florida or Connecticut. Of course, the younger kids generally understand less, but the puppets help me on that score.

The baby is always a hit.

The children wear uniforms and often the boys and girls are seated separately. I was at an all-girls school on Tuesday and Wednesday--perfect opportunities to tell Stephanie's Ponytail by Robert Munsch. 

Here's a 2nd grader joining in on Poor Little Bug on the Wall. 

That's it for today. Off I go to work!

School performances in Peru, continued

You might think, from reading this blog, that I'm walking around Lima, eating and taking in the sights. In truth, I'm working hard. Having a great time, but working hard. Last week I told stories at four schools, in fifteen performances. That was a relatively light week.

First I went to Colegio Franklin Roosevelt, the American school.This is the first school where the librarians organized the storytelling, the way they often do in the US. I had a great time talking libraries (and everything else) with the librarians, John and Karen. It was clear that this friendly, busy library is a hub for the school.

Some of my performances were in the library itself, some in the small theater. The last group was fairly small, so the students grabbed big pillows and relaxed on the mats in the library. It's nice when that's possible.

After that I went to Colegio Santa Rita de Casia. Hmm, I must have left my camera back at the apartment, because I have no pictures of this pretty parochial school. The older kids especially seemed to like the story "Razzles," a new personal story I've been telling a lot on this tour.

On Thursday and then on Friday morning, I visited Villa Alarife. The first performance was outdoors under a canopy, in the space where the students have lunch. In between the shows, I noticed some unusual school pets:

Pet rocks (or maybe this was something else--either way, they were delightful).

Turtles! While I was having lunch, I saw one trying to join a basketball game. It was about the size of a large frying pan, moving step by step onto the court until a student gently picked it up and moved it out of the way.

Geese, safely behind a net. Or are these ducks? I always get those mixed up.

The kids here were very fun. Some of the little ones came to ask for autographs, and to try out their English. The older kids clearly understood everything and were enjoying themselves.

We had to rush out of the school on Friday to go to the next school, Newton College, in another part of Lima. Thank goodness it wasn't rush hour!

At Newton, I had just one session. These 11- and 12-year olds had been studying writing, including the use of the senses and narrative structure, so I skewed the stories in that direction. I told Laundry Soap to demonstrate one story structure, and Gramps' Appendix as an example of an anecdote. When I left, the kids stayed where they were, for a bit of writing.

Today is Monday, and after a busy weekend (I'll write more about that soon), I was up bright and early to go to Colegio Reina de los Angeles. This was the only all-girls school I've been to so far. I told stories to everybody, from age 6 to age 17. In a brilliant move, the teacher asked the oldest girls to help out with the youngest, so those helpers got to hear stories twice. This teacher, Molly, loves stories and has been working on storytelling with the girls. At the end of the last set, I gave them some advice, because they'll all be telling stories this school year. I wish I had more time (and energy) to answer more questions there.

This is the last week of the tour. I'll write about the final sessions, but not until I've written about last weekend. Right now, though, I'm going to bed.

School performances, third week storytelling in Peru

This was a present from Trener School, where I was today

Did I mention what a good time I've been having at the schools? It's a combination of the teachers and administration being so welcoming and the kids loving the stories.

This week has been packed. Monday and Tuesday I was at Markham College for eight performances. I met with students from kindergarten to fifth grade, including going out on the playing field with the fourth graders for the earthquake drill. The first grade teachers had asked me to tell stories from specific countries, so in anticipation, I worked on a couple of new stories that I think will be a permanent part of my repertoire. One is Tiddalik, from Australia (told by lots of other storytellers) and the other is Aniz the Shepherd, from the Uygur people of Western China. I love it when I get new stories!

On Wednesday I had a change of pace, shifting up to high school at Colegio Santa Margarita. At home, I rarely get to tell stories to high school or even middle school kids (for those of you outside the US, middle school usually is age 12-14, high school is age 14-18). It's a treat to tell stories to these kids. Today I was at Trener College, with the 12- and 13-year-olds.

I like to sneak in a good jump tale with these kids. Those are the stories with a startling jump somewhere in the middle. Kids usually are so shocked they have to laugh and talk to their friends for a few seconds after the jump, sort of a release of adrenaline. Then we move back to the story.

Even the older kids have enjoyed the puppets, too. Trixie continues to sit on the baby's head. When will she learn how to babysit?!

I've also been telling my new personal story, "Razzles." Remember that kind of candy that turns into gum? It's sort of the opposite of Mentos. I never realized that telling a story about gum would be so fun. Lots of chewing.

Tomorrow I go to Colegio Altair where I'll have older kids, from age 9 on up, for four performances. I expect those students will be as fabulous as the kids have been at the other schools.

Views outside the schools in Lima

Here are a few views from outside some of the schools I've been to so far.

At Cambridge College, each morning we arrived early to beat rush hour in the taxi. We sat here to wait. Are these plants giant cyclamens, I wonder?

Cambridge College is by the ocean. There was often a sea breeze in those palms above the buildings. The one on the right is the primary school library, which was airy and open, with a friendly librarian. We talked about the fact that she doesn't want computers for the kids to use in the library. There are computers in the classrooms and in the computer lab, and most of these students have them at home. Here, it's about the books. Nice.

This playground equipment is at Markham. Very fancy--looked like fun to climb. Later that day, as we were leaving the school, I saw a herd of small rolling suitcases that the kids use for their books next to this equipment. I almost stopped to get a picture but lunch was calling me. The kids were on the playing field nearby.

This was over on the early primary side at recess.

The weather here is a steady 73 degrees fahrenheit most days (about 23 centigrade), at least now in the autumn, so there are lots of plants blooming. This is outside the building where I performed at Trener School.

Trener has a great view of the hills outside Lima.

Catch-up: school performances in Lima

I've had two weeks of storytelling in Peru now, so far at five schools, thirty-two sessions in all. It has been intense, exhausting, and very fun.

I began at Colegio Maria Reina Marianistas. For those from the US, "college" doesn't mean "university" here. It means school, so at Maria Reina, I began with the first graders and had classes up to the fifth graders, over the course of three days.

Even when the kids didn't understand all the English, they did understand puppet. You can see that they're joining in on "Nighty-nighty, baby" using their fingers.

At this school, some of the kids came up to me on the playground to try out their English. One third or fourth grader told me her grandmother lives in Houston. She translated for the other kids. They were very curious about who I was and what I was doing on their playground (having a quiet break, until it was time for recess). We had quite a discussion of family pets.

The next school was Hiram Bingham College, where the students had just had a French day. Here I am showing the map. At all the schools, I begin by showing where Kansas is. Then I tell them that I was born in Rhode Island, and I point there. Then I say that my mother lives in Maine. I start naming the states where my six siblings live. All of this is a way for the students to get used to my voice and how I speak, before I start the stories.

This was at Cambridge College. This school has a brand-new state-of-the-art auditorium. The auditorium manager, Eduardo, was great. Because he was actually involved with the construction of the building, he knows everything about it and about the equipment. He set up the backstage for the primary school performances, making it an intimate space (he also gave me a couple of granadillas, a fruit I'd never tasted). The secondary kids sat in the auditorium seats.

You can see the beautiful wood floors and the edge of the wood risers some of the students sat on.

I spent just one day at Markham College, beginning with the kindergarteners and then telling to some of the upper primary kids. I'm going back this week for two more days.

Yes, another map picture. This was at Trener School, with the fourth or fifth graders. The students here were well prepared--they'd come to my website and had read some of the blog (are you reading it now, Trener students? You can leave comments, if you want). They had thought in advance about questions to ask. Some were about storytelling, some were about my favorite kinds of pie, some were about what I'd seen (and eaten) in Peru. I'm going back to Trener for another day soon.

I'll post pictures of the outside of some of these schools next.

Storytelling at family literacy events

Last week I sent out this postcard to about 800 schools:




I love telling stories at school Family Nights. Sometimes the kids--and even the adults--come in pajamas. Sometimes they bring sleeping bags and quilts to snuggle up on to listen to stories. Sometimes the PTA or PTO has multiple activities, including reading aloud in family groups. It's exciting for the kids to be at school for a special event, where they can show their parents their domain and they have a little more leeway for horsing around with their friends. I clearly remember running full tilt down the corridor at John Howland Elementary School in 5th grade at an evening program, something I never would have done during the school day ("corridor" is the word we used in Rhode Island--in Kansas and elsewhere, people are more likely to say "hallway").

Hmm, that sounds like it's always wild, doesn't it? It isn't. When families listen to stories together, they settle right in, participating at the appropriate times, enjoying the stories completely. As the theme is literacy, I tell my favorite stories from books, including lots of Robert Munsch stories (with his permission). I often end with the story of the Gunniwolf, a quieting tale perfect for sending everybody home peacefully.

It's a treat for us all.

New publicity sheet for schools

Here's the first draft of the replacement for my brochure, an item called a "one sheet" in the biz world. Click the image to see the whole enchilada. A printable version is also on my regular website.

School inappropriate stories

I offer many different storytelling programs on themes perfect for schools and libraries, such as stories from books, world folktales, stories about wise choices, etc. While I know that kids rarely care about themes as long as I tell engaging stories, adults often prefer to have a specific program. When they don't, I offer Storyteller's Choice, in which I look at the audience and decide what stories would be the best for them in that moment.

I have a lot of stories in my repertoire that are not appropriate for schools and libraries. Many of these stories are about bodily functions. If I told those tales in schools, not only would I probably not be invited back, I'd lose control of the audience and never be able to regain it.

Still, these stories, such as Abu Hassan's Fart, are fun to tell and to listen to. At long last, I've decided to offer a program including them. Here's the blurb from my newly-revamped program list:

School Inappropriate Stories
(all ages) No, these aren’t x-rated stories, just tales of poo, farts, devils and other mild taboo subjects. You’ve been warned!

I'll be curious to see if I get hired to perform this program. 

Snow day!

I'm out here in Salina, KS for two days. The plan was that I'd do a day of writing workshops with fifth graders today and then have performances at other schools tomorrow. It wasn't until I'd arrived last night that I learned that school would be cancelled today.

There was a massive ice storm here. Lots of houses (and the middle school) are still without electricity. Limbs are down all over town. I went out for a walk this morning and took some pictures. It was brilliantly sunny and the trees sparkled. I used my old-fashioned camera (remember, the kind that uses something called "film"?) so I won't have the pics for a while. I dug around on youtube and found some footage, not of the sunny scenes but of earlier devastation. I'm not sure if this is Salina, but it might be:



So today was a day off. I've been getting over a cold and didn't mind having more time to feel better. I had full confidence that I'd be in the schools tomorrow.

It was a pleasant day, a motel-based solitary retreat, with a short meeting in the afternoon. I stopped at Big Lots on the way back to the motel and was surprised to hear the cashier say that school was cancelled tomorrow as well. I thought about going home, but by chance I'm in a room with a jacuzzi. I'll hang out here and make my way home tomorrow before the next snowstorm blows in.

Time to fill the tub.

Last week's busy-ness

It's a nicely quiet week at home. Last week was busy.

Tuesday was Wonderscope Children's Museum (second and fourth Tuesdays at 9:30, though in September it will shift to the first and third). I really appreciate having that regular gig, getting to see some of the same kids every week. Having structure gives me the freedom to try out new stories for little guys and audition new puppets.

Wednesday I went to two schools in Olathe, KS. One was an older school right near downtown. There were some 5th graders in the gym when I was getting ready, so I warmed up with the circular story, A dark and stormy night. This was one of those great schools where the teachers and kids join in. Even the principal did the call-and-response song My aunt came back with the kids. I love that!

From there, I went on to a newer school with a rock-star principal. Huh? At some schools, the principal is so well-liked by the kids they treat him like a rock star. This was a particularly good day: as a fundraiser, the principal had auctioned his job off, so the acting principal was a 2nd grader. She did a fine job introducing me and thanking the students for listening so well. The performances were the real principal's way of thanking the kids for doing their best for the standardized tests.

Afterwards, I drove to Jefferson City for the Mid-Missouri Storytelling Festival. It's a funny festival, with lots of driving to schools in the area. I went to New Bloomfield and Mokane on Thursday, driven by my friends Sarah and Angela from the Daniel Boone Regional Library. I'd been to Mokane a few years ago, not under the aegis of the library. When I was done with the show, I said the usual, "Stay sitting down and look at your teachers. They'll know the order you're going to leave the gym." The principal made a little hand motion for the kids to wait, and then she asked if I could tell one more story--one of the teachers had requested "Chickens!" No problem!

Thursday was gray and drizzly. Friday was absolutely beautiful. I was at two schools in Columbia, MO, hosted by Hilary from the library--she drove me around one day last summer, so it was old home week. I know I'm with the right people when it's okay to swap camp songs in the car on the way to a gig. These schools were the two in town where they don't always get the best test scores. Too bad they don't measure how kids listen to stories--they were excellent audiences at both schools.

That evening I shared a performance at the Columbia Public Library with Tom McDermott from Texas. I've performed at this library many times (they have a performance space in the shape of a big green egg!) and knew it would be a good show. Before the show, Tom and I played a bit of "Name that tune" with the audience--Tom's an excellent musician as well as storyteller.

On Saturday I hung around, having a relaxed breakfast with Sarah and Thom at the Cafe Berlin, then going down to Ashland to see Beth Horner perform. I love hearing Beth tell stories--she's always wonderful. Eventually, after a long and leisurely lunch, I made my way back home.

Now I'm puttering. I plan to tackle the pile of papers on my desk and kitchen table soon, and I may even vacuum. I spent some time this morning planting tomatoes and peppers. I'm always so optimistic this time of year, even knowing that I have a packed schedule and may not get time to weed or water.

Oh, and my new mower finally arrived! I splurged and bought a cordless electric mower, a Bully. I'm looking forward to mowing without so much noise and smell, and to being able to start the darn thing right away. It's charging now.