Mrs. Peabody Tells Stories at Christmas

Waiting for Christmas is hard especially when you are small. "Mama, Mama, Is It Christmas Yet?" is just the thing for those who have a hard time waiting.

"That's Not Santa!" is the story about Santa's lost red suit. Santa dresses in several different costumes but the elves agree that is NOT Santa. Mrs. Claus saves the day and arrives with a new red suit just in time.

"Santa Claus, Santa Claus what do you see?" is a parallel to "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see?

"Santa is stuck in the chimney" is a spin off to the Giant Turnip. Mrs. Claus, Rudolph, and Samson, the elf just cannot get the job done. When Frosty the Snowman arrives to help, all goes well!

"Santa Can't Sleep" is a funny story that sounds a lot like "Too Much Noise". The Christmas fairy offers Santa some advice when he finds himself sleepless at the North Pole. He brings in the Christmas goose (honk! honk!), Rudolph the red nosed reindeer (clip clop), a busy elf (hammer, hammer). When Santa sends away all the characters in his room, he finds things are so quiet that he gets his nap before the long night ride on his sleigh.

"Santa's House" is a story in sign language. The trick is to see if you can tell the story quickly without skipping a sign :-)

HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS and THE POLAR EXPRESS are stories that never grow old.

I was reading "The Crippled Lamb" when a very verbal 2 year old called out- "Excuse me, excuse me.... I paused, "Yes?" He replied, "Cows can't talk." His mother looked like she was going to fall through the floor. I said, "You are right but we will pretend in this story." He smiled.

Two other favorites are "The littlest Angel" and "The Candy Maker's Gift".

Truly the best gifts are not those found in a store or bought with money. Love, kindness, joy, friendship- these are priceless!

Looking Ahead~

Please accept my invitation to attend the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library Christmas Open House on December 3, 2009. There is a sale of donated Christmas wreaths and centerpieces. The parade of Trees is a highlight! Approximately 24 trees are decorated by local schools and businesses. I'll be sharing stories from 6:30-7 p.m.

December 12th and December 19th, I'll be telling stories at Barnes & Noble in Starkville at noon on these two Saturdays. Children are also invited to come and let Mom and Dad take your picture with Santa. It's free so please mark your calendar now!

Meridian Fall Storytelling Festival

On October 24, 2009 the first annual storytelling festival was held in Meridian, MS.
There was a fine line up of local and regional storytellers. It was my opportunity to share stories with the children. The audience enjoyed Scat the Cat - a participation story, The Old Lady and the Pumpkin - a folktale from Bangladesh, Anansi and the Common Sense, Popcorn - a Halloween story including a costume contest that guests helped stage, along with a drawing and cutting story. We all had a ball!
Check out their website: www.msstorytellers.com. I was able to complete an interview with June Davidson afterwards that is posted there.

Mississippi Alliance for Arts Education

I had the privilege to participate with 16 other Mississippi artists to learn more about the application process to become a part of the Mississippi Artist Roster sponsored by the Mississippi Arts Commission. It was 2 full days packed with learning experiences. Participants must apply and be accepted to attend. It is a very worthwhile time and I would recommend it.

Alabama Storytelling Association Conference

The Alabama Storytelling Association held their first annual conference in Selma, Alabama along side the Tale Telling Festival led by Kathryn Tucker Windham. It was such a pleasure to see so many storytellers together at one time sharing their stories. As one of the workshop leaders, I was able to pass on some often forgotten but engaging ways to share stories with children such as stories in mime, cutting stories with scissors, drawing stories, and more. I reminded those attending to remember the Letter "P" when telling to children. That stands for "Participation!"

The Home/School Connection

Last night I shared with parents of preschoolers ways that they can connect the learning at school to their homes. Using what I call "homemade learning" (items made with things around the house), we talked about 10 ways Mom and Dad can reinforce learning the alphabet and letter sounds, as well as other preschool concepts like colors, numbers, and shapes.

1) Take 2 empty toilet tissue rolls and wrap with construction paper to make binoculars and look around the room for the letters.

2) Take Milk Caps and write letters on them. If the child can name the letter then they can keep the cap. Also use the pieces to play the memory game.

3) Take an empty food box and cut the front panel off. Cut this panel into 6-8 pieces making a puzzle for the child to put together.

4) Fill an empty water bottle with items to promote conversation with the child. The bottle may contain pieces of colored paper. Ask the child to name a color that he sees and name a food that is the same color. The purpose of this activity is to build conversation with the child. I call these Yakity Yak Bottles.

5) Take round coffee filters and make a Learning Wheel. Write letters around the edge. Ask the child to put his finger on a certain letter.

6) Junk Mail envelopes can be used to hold letters of the alphabet. Write a word on the back of the envelope and let the child match the correct letters from inside the envelope.

7) Use empty food jars to collect words. At the end of the week pull out the strips of paper and discuss the words, their beginning sounds, and meaning.

8) Take a posicle stick and place a star on one end. Call it your Point and Say Stick. Using a book, magazine, or newspaper, point and name things, then ask your child to tell you the beginning sounds of objects in pictures.

9) Make puppets from all kinds of containers. Let the puppet ask the child questions.

10) Write the alphabet on a large piece of paper. Save transparent lids from peanut cans or other food can items. Play a game asking the child to cover the letter that you call out. Remember to ask them to name the sounds too.

Alphabet recognition and sounds are important tasks that every child must master before beginning to read.

"Making Small Miracles a Big Success"

ICS Head Start, in Grenada, Mississippi, prepared for the new school year with Pre-Service Workshops on August 13, 2009. The Reading Aloud class that I taught focused on learning skills to use for pre-reading, during reading, and after reading.
Asking questions before reading the story helps the teacher recognize the child's background knowledge and experience with the subject. During reading the teacher may pause to clarify vocabulary or meaning of text. She may stop and ask the class "What do you think is going to happen next?" before she turns the page. Extensions that follow reading aloud a story help the child pick out important parts, learn sequence, and apply higher order thinking. Each teacher received a TIME FOR READING FUN bag with items to use in their story times. These included: Eyeball It, Frog & Toad puppets, Read My Lips Signs for retelling, and a Read Aloud Learning Wheel that showed best practices for reading aloud. Also in the bag was a foam star with the 5 W's - Who, What, When, Where, & Why, and yes, we did 'Dance with the Stars'. Lastly, a song sheet had words to familiar tunes that could be used while teaching basic concepts. Learning takes place when we engage our students in the process.

Learning Around the Clock

Wednesday, August 5th, Head Start Teachers and assistants in Tupelo, MS learned components of reading aloud and new ways to present stories to build a love for reading with young children. Since language and music are cousins, we learned some songs to use with themes and attention-getters too.

Try some of these:

Song: SNEEZE (Tune: Shorten Bread)
If you have to sneeze, sneeze, sneeze,*
If you have to sneeze, look what I’ve found.
Sneeze in your elbow, elbow, elbow.
Stop those germs from spreading around.
If you have to sneeze, sneeze, sneeze,
If you have to sneeze, do it right!
* cough

Chant: RHYMING WORDS
Do you know 2 rhyming words, 2 rhyming words, 2 rhyming words? Do you know 2 rhyming words that sound a-lot alike?
Bake & Cake are rhyming words, rhyming words, rhyming words, Bake & Cake are rhyming words that sound a-lot alike!

Song: COLORS
(Tune: Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes)
Red, & yellow, green & blue, green & blue. (2X)
Black & brown, purple & orange,
Red & yellow, green & blue, green & blue.


Fingerplay: LITTLE RABBIT
Hop little rabbit, hop, hop, hop!
Hop little rabbit, don’t you stop!
Hop little rabbit, 1-2-3.
Hop little rabbit, just like me!

Save the Date - November 17, 2009

Join me at MSU on November 17, 2009 for the Enrichment Class "Gifts from the Heart".

Read more on the webpage: www.ce.msstate.edu/pe
Click on the blue sidebar that says Fall classes.
Look under Miscellaneous - Gifts from the Heart.
Homemade is best!

BOOKS ARE GREAT! BOOKS ARE NEAT! READING BOOKS JUST CAN'T BE BEAT!

Last week, friends at United Christian Day Care & After School held a Puppet Theater Class. Fluency was a big thing as we learned how to use expression in our voices. Puppeteers really made us laugh by just the way they said things!

We all learned that putting on a show is hard work. Although puppeteers read their scripts posted on the stage wall, it was necessary to be familiar with the words so that you don't get tongue tied. Your arm can sure get tired holding that puppet in place for a whole skit. Remembering to move the puppet's mouth as you are speaking is kind of like patting your head and rubbing your stomach all at the same time. These friends were definitely shining stars!

Reading and Presenting (RAP) Stories to Children

On September 12, 2009, I am presenting a continuing education class at Ole Miss in Oxford, MS from 9-3 at the E.F. Yerby Conference Center. The cost is $75 for .5 CEUs.

Teachers will learn 4 basic strategies to build comprehension to use in Story Time circles.
Different types of stories and numerous methods of presentation will be given. Participants will learn more about do's and do not's for reading aloud. Attention getters and music are a part of the activities. Teachers will make a Reading Strategy Glove and a Story Time Box To Go.

Contact: Leteria McDonald @ 662.915.7283 or email: lmcdonal@olemiss.edu

Hope to see you there!

MUW Discovery Camp July 6-10, 2009

Kindergarteners enjoyed a rootin' tootin' good time during a week jam packed full of activities around the theme The Wild West. Fun stories like BUBBA THE COWBOY PRINCE and WHY COWBOYS SLEEP WITH THEIR BOOTS ON were just a part of the fun. We made numerous things including Story Time Boxes with the flannel story of THE THREE PIGS and THE TRUE STORY OF THE THREE LITTLE PIGS. These boxes were covered with chalkboard paint and children could draw stories too. Campers panned for gold and played in the S.D. Corral. We enjoyed painting and designing our own puppets. Our week ended with a presentation for parents at the Discovery Rodeo and Indian Pow Wow. Ya'll come back and see us now!

America's Birthday

Mrs. Peabody visited the Child & Development Center at MUW and shared stories about our country's birthday. Little friends sang songs about the flag as they waved it high in the sky. We also learned that Abraham Lincoln loved to read and helped others in many small and kind ways.

Puppet Theater

Our group of puppeteers was all girls! Each person learned how to read a script and speak with expression. The scripts are taped to our theater prop and can be easily read as the puppet acts for the audience. The 3 & 4 year olds who came to the presentation were all giggles as the puppeteers interacted with them.
After performing the girls asked, "When can we do it again?"

Sitting on the Farm

This week's puppet class put together 4 skits to share with children at a local Learning Center. Puppeteers shared songs and stories about the farm.