Workshops

• The Magic Matchbox
  We look at and handle precious things, draw and model them, and make stories about our own precious things.
• Myths, Monsters and Dragons
  Children hear ancient myths and legends from around the world on a theme of monsters and dragons. They create dragon masks in response to the story, either re-enact the story as a group, or use their monster mask as a stimulus for developing their own story.
• Family workshops
  Parents and children learn together to develop and record their own stories
• ‘When grandma was a little girl’
  Older and younger generations, parents, grandparents and children, work together to represent family histories and stories from long ago.

New for September 2008

• The storytent day
  Make a lasting resource for your school during a day of creative activities and storytelling! Create your very own storytelling tent, working with artist Penny Lutoslawska to make batik flags and hangings inspired by stories, and learn storytelling games and skills with storyteller Marion Leeper, as well as ideas of how to use the tent in your school library or classroom.
• Make a storyteller project
  Each class will hear multicultural stories on a range of themes to suit your classes, and learn storytelling games and skills which will enable them to tell their own stories to friends or on video. Marion can round off the day with a workshop for staff, bringing together all the skills she has taught during the day, and enabling staff to gain confidence in their own skills as storytellers and teachers of storytelling.
• Barefoot Books ‘Young Storyteller’ competition
  This competition, which runs until 7th November, invites schools to post videos of children telling stories on the Barefoot Books website. It’s a chance to see your children telling stories in the company of storytellers like Hugh Lupton! Marion can help you make and upload videos of storytelling from your school for the website (subject to parental consent!) as part of the ‘make a storyteller’ day, or as a session on its own.

Workshops for adults include:

• Storytelling and voice:
  Games, songs and ideas to help you find the voice of your story and to use story to work on your voice.
• Storytelling for children
  Telling stories is the simplest and most powerful way of communicating with children. This workshop takes the mystique out of oral storytelling and makes it fun and accessible for all.