Aaaachooo!

Picture this: about 125 kids, ages 5-8, sitting on the floor of the library, with teachers at the ends of the rows, all listening to stories. About three rows back was a kindergartener, a little girl in a pink shirt, who got a funny look on her face and then quick, pulled the neck of her shirt up over her nose and sneezed. I think her funny look meant "I'm going to sneeze! What do I do?! Oh, how about inside my shirt!" The teachers were too far away to get to her with a kleenex.

I guess that's better than spraying everybody with germs. "Bat wing" (sneezing or coughing into the elbow) would be preferable. This was at the same school where I said something about coughing and suddenly twenty or so of the kids began to cough. Must be something infectious.

Teachers and administrators are doing their best. Every room has a few boxes of tissues, every school bathroom has a sign about handwashing. Here's one I saw yesterday:

When was the last time you washed your hands? Germ Farm. Scrub 'Em!

At another school, this sign was wordier:

Tips to prevent colds and flu...

Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.

Do not touch your eyes, nose or mouth.

Sneeze into your elbow if a tissue's not available.

Soap.

Wash your hands often with soap and water, or use hand sanitizer.

I'm guessing I ate more than a peck of dirt in my childhood, and we hadn't heard of antibacterial soap or hand sanitizer. Still, I'd rather not catch every cold that comes my way. I wash my hands often and I don't fill my water bottle from the drinking fountain (or bubbler, as we called it in Rhode Island). Too many mouths have been on those. I sometimes spray my puppets with rubbing alcohol, in hopes of killing off some of the germs.

On the other side, I've changed the way I do the song Poor little bug on the wall. We do the last verse underwater (about 2:43 on the video), but with the finger of one hand acting as a snorkel in the air , instead of making an underwater noise with a finger on the lips. Darn. It was funnier that way.

Telling to a wide age range

 

Nah, I wasn't at that school this week, but I did have three performances with kindergarten through 6th grade (ages 5-11, roughly). Each of these groups had at least 200 kids. I was asked in advance if I could tell to that age range. I said I could, though my preference is always to split the group if possible. Kindergarteners are very different from sixth graders. When I tell stories to k-3rd grades, I include plenty of audience participation. I think I've written about how I do this, with the whole group making a motion together, or I call on kids in the audience who want to suggest something in the story (when I let them know that's appropriate). I know what it's like to be a shy child, so all participation is from the safety of the group. As a kid, I was always afraid I'd get picked, then afraid I wouldn't, and then I'd feel embarrassed if the kids on stage were made uncomfortable. When I tell stories to 4th-6th grades, I tell stories that make the kids think a bit more. There's less audience participation, because they're starting to be a little self-conscious about that. I usually leave time for questions at the end. I was pleasantly surprised that my performances at all three of these schools (and the other two in the same city) went as well as they did. Here are some reasons they succeeded:

• I made sure the kids were as close to me as would be comfortable for us all. I prefer not to have a wide aisle, though at one school the teachers set them up that way.
• Before the performance began, I got the audience on my side. I play my harmonica when the classes are coming in. We play "Name that tune," and sometimes I have the kids sing the ABC song, Baa baa black sheep and Twinkle, twinkle all at the same time. The teachers then understand that I can manage the energy in the room, so they relax.
• The first story was one I knew the older students would like. If you don't capture the attention of the big kids in the beginning, all you get in return is scorn. If you do pull them in, you can do almost anything after that--a fingerplay, a silly story for little kids, puppet stuff.
• Trixie mentioned to the audience that the first story was a bit...well, strange. That made them all curious and willing to listen. Strange seems to be a better hook than scary, which sometimes gets everybody too excited.

I don't know if this contributes to the success of a program, but often before a show I look out at the audience and see the listeners as the wonderful beings they are, ready to listen and have a good time. My wish is also that I always have a good time. If I do, there's a better chance the audience will, too.

Publicity photos over time

If you saw the last post, you've noticed that my hair is longer than it used to be. I've almost always had short hair. This is the longest it has been in 25 years and possibly the first time I've ever put it in a ponytail. With this new look, many people--even old friends--don't recognize me.

This leads me to think about publicity photos I've had over the years. Here is a small sample:

Taken by B. Wang, 1992 or 1993?

Taken by Wally Emerson, 1993

Taken by Darrell Sampson, 1999?

Taken by Mary Howe, 2003?

Taken by Kate Dinneen, 2008

Taken by Cristiana Ceschi, 2008

Taken by Kate Dinneen, 2010

So tell me, is a picture worth a thousand words?

Videos on my philosophy of storytelling

Last week, Marisa Bregman interviewed me about storytelling. Here's a bunch of my random blather on the topic. These short videos show off my crooked fingers, too!