Folktale Festival - Day Three

The final day of our Folktale Festival began this morning in Meeting for Worship with a reading of Old Turtle, by Douglas Wood. In Quaker practice, Meeting for Worship can often begin with an opening exercise or the reciting of a query in order to focus our thoughts on a particular theme. I chose to read Old Turtle in part because, while it is not a folktale, it has elements of a folktales that address questions such as how the world began. It also contains an important message about taking care of the earth, which goes along perfectly with this month's focus on the testimony of stewardship.

Out of the silence that followed the reading of the tale, several students spoke about how important it is not to pollute. Some messages came from fourth graders, recently returned from their overnight at Echo Hill Outdoor School. A third grader, reflecting the question from Old Turtle of what and where God is said, "I think the most powerful force in the world is love, and God is love."

In the library, T. Ruth has been introducing students to folktales from around the world throughout the year. In case you have not yet done so, take a look at her description of one of the most recent experiences: Yiddish tales from Nobel Prize winner Isaac Bashevis Singer.

This afternoon the final Festival events included, fittingly, presentations by both our youngest and oldest students, as well as rich exchanges among them.

In the cottage, the preschool children presented The Ugly Duckling to their parents, followed by a group singing of Circle of Friends and The More We Get Together. They then headed outside for the fun of an Easter egg hunt.

At the same time, the rest of the school gathered in the meeting house for two treats. First, we enjoyed watching the video of the pre-kindergarten class acting out Kumak's Fish.




The fifth grade then gave an interactive presentation based on their study of Tibet and Buddhism. They first explained how Tibet's location and isolation influences Tibetan's need to work together, as well as Buddhist beliefs. They then performed two puppet shows (with handmade puppets crafted with T. Caroline) based on Jataka tales: The Banyan and Three Friends in a Forest. After each show, two fifth graders asked the audience if they had seen examples of Buddhism in the play, and if they could tell which character was the Buddha. The knowledge and composure displayed by our oldest students and the accurate responses from even our youngest students were impressive.

In reflecting upon the past three days, it has been gratifying to see all that the students have learned as well as the joy they had in sharing with schoolmates, teachers, and parents -- which are, in the end, among the major reasons for the All-School Unit at West Chester Friends School. The teachers will soon be turning their attention to choosing next year's theme. Until then . . .

Folktale Festival - Day Two

Yesterday, the students were both the storytellers and the listeners (see yesterday's post about Folktale Festival - Day One). Today, the students enjoyed listening to and learning from someone who makes storytelling his profession.

Robin Moore is an author and storyteller who grew up in the mountains of central Pennsylvania. He entertained all of us this morning with "true" tales from his childhood that stretched the truth just a bit -- like the one about the day that was so hot the corn popped itself. Students could hear in his stories characteristics similar to those found in the folktales and legends from around the world they have been learning in class. Some lucky volunteers got to try on authentically made Native American and Early American clothing.

Following the morning assembly, Robin conducted writing workshops for the upper grades and introduced them to his Four Secrets of Writing. The first is to "see the pictures of the story in your mind." Robin helped the students to do this by leading them through a guided meditation, accompanied by soothing music played on his Celtic harp. The second step is to write using your inner eye (imagination) and your outer eye (paper and pencil). The third and fourth steps are to rewrite and read your story out loud -- advice that I know matches what their teachers instruct them to do every day. Robin also described his work as a published author, including working with editors, illustrators, and translators.

Meanwhile, over in the gym . . . students acted out tales narrated by T. Amy. After listening to The Crane's Walk, an Aesop's fable retold by Brishti Bandyopadhyay, they practiced their crab walking skills. Rabbit Plays Tug-of-War, a Native American legend retold by S. E. Schlosser, led to -- you guessed it -- a good old fashioned tug-of-war.

The day ended back in the meeting house with a second assembly. As in the workshops, Robin led the audience through a visualization exercise. Ask your child to tell you about their imagined trip inside their family tree and the symbol for their family that they found there. For the grand finale, Robin had students join him on stage for a rousing audience-participation story about how the rabbit lost its tail.

The Folktale Festival wraps up tomorrow. More to come . . .

Folktale Festival - Day One

Today is the first of our three-day Folktale Festival, a celebration of this year's All-School Unit, "Folktales and Legends." Since the beginning of the year, students have been learning about this theme through special lessons and activities with their classroom teachers and in many of the special area subjects. These festival days provide an opportunity for students throughout the school to share what they have learned and accomplished with each other, and to celebrate the art of story telling.

At the conclusion of this morning's very first performance (kindergarten's puppet show for the fifth grade) I smiled at the realization that the festival was already meeting one of it's major goals. It was gratifying to hear our oldest students offer very specific and thoughtful words of affirmation and commendation to their younger buddies. Similar interactions happened throughout the day as children of various ages asked questions and appreciated each others' work.

Some of the events were designed specifically for a student audience, while others lent themselves to include parents. I have the great privilege of taking in all of the festival performances, displays, and activities. am glad to share the following images from the day . . . with more to come tomorrow!

Day One

Kindergarten's puppet show, "Tales of Kindergarten," explained various parts of their day (morning message, math, science, music, etc.) to their fifth grade meeting buddies.




First grade presented two shadow puppet shows: The Rumor, A Jataka Tale from India (taken from the book by Jan Thornhill) and The Rooster's Antlers, A Story of the Chines Zodiac, as retold by Eric A. Kimmel. Fifth graders recognized characteristics of the Indian story from their own study of Jataka tales.

Pre-kindergarten acted out the story of Kumak's Fish, A Tall Tale from the Far North, by Michael Bania, as narrated by T. Annmarie. Their performance was recorded in order to spare them the pressure of a live performance. Parents got to see the video today, and the rest of the school will view it on Thursday.


Second graders hosted visitors to their "Fairy Tale Gallery," where original fairy tales and illustrations were on display, as well as castles created through cooperative teamwork. Visitors enjoyed snacks of ogre eggs and troll stew!

In art class, second graders glazed their ceramic dragons.







Third graders, divided into small groups, shared The Story of Jumping Mouse, a Native American tale from the Plains region, with first grade audiences.






Fourth grade told The Groundhog Wars, a Pennsylvania folktale by Robin Moore, using expressive narration and handmade illustrations (including a homemade version of a "tunnel tickler").


Robin Moore will be our visiting artist tomorrow. Until then . . .