Greetings all!
Summer is hotter than hot and I've been busy. I joined the Jonesborough Storytelling Guild and have already performed with them a couple of times at the Cranberry Thistle. They are a great group and so very good at doing what we all love best - storytelling.
The gigs down in North Florida were great fun - I enjoyed telling eco-tales under the tent at the Green Energy Expo in Crawfordville, and also loved seeing old friends again. The day before, I told literally all day at Woodville Elementary, my dad's old school. One of the most exciting things that happened came just after lunch. I brought my cartoon storybook to review what I wanted to tell next and the art teacher saw it. She asked that I tell Third Grade Drama Queen, which is about the discovery of my learning differences and challenges (believe me, they are challenging. . .) When I told it, I also shared the cartoons and found it very rewarding. One youngster in the back of the room popped up with his hand held high and said - I have that too!
Speaking of Third Grade Drama Queen - I told that story for the Annual Tennessee Dyslexia Conference in Knoxville in April. Again, I had my book of cartoons with me and the keynote speaker saw me reviewing it and asked to look at it. We had a great discussion about the use of hand-drawn pictures as a learning aid for dylexics, and I sent them photo-copies at The Grange School in New Jersey for some of their students. That day was wonderful in many ways: it was great to be among intelligent, educated folks who understood the condition and many of whom share it with me.
More next week about Berea!
About Me
- saundra
- Born in Tallahassee, the capital of Florida, I am a genuine Florida Cracker--a descendent of sturdy women and men who farmed their way south from North Carolina in the early 1800's. I am a graduate of Florida State University with a BS in Social Science, and earned an MA in Education/Storytelling from East Tennessee State University. My work is deeply influenced by a love and reverence for the natural world and environmental issues and my love of story. Performance Photos by Valerie Menard, Silentlightimages.com.
