March/April 2010

Hello friends,

This is the first newsletter using the new system. Please let me know if you experienced any problems or have any questions.

I have added a new section to the newsletter in this issue. From time to time I will highlight blogs I feel are the best of the best. If you have any to suggest, please send the link along for review.

I hope you enjoyed a terrific New Year and Valentine’s Day. While I love snow I am happy to see spring peeking just around the corner. Of course, it makes me very happy that one of my favorite holidays, St. Patrick’s Day, will soon be here. As you may suspect I am of Celtic heritage, Irish, English and Scottish, so I revel celebrating the day when we are all Irish!

With that in mind, I invite you all to join us on March 6 for the adult Story Café at ArtWorks in New Bedford, MA for Celtic Fury, Fun and Frivolity with award winning storyteller Marni Gillard. For information on the evening and more go to http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2010/02/celtic-fury-fun-and-frivolity.html . You won't want to miss a moment with this delightful talented teller and author.

If you are interested in the art of storyteller please join me at the Northeast Storytelling Conference: Sharing the Fire in Warwick, Rhode Island this month. There is a wide variety of workshops, for beginners to experienced tellers as well as concerts and comaradeire. I will be presenting my workshop, Story by Story – Building a School Storytelling Troupe as well. For conference information got to http://www.lanes.org/ .

April is also full of some fun celebrations, the day of fools, no housework day (my personal favorite) on April 7 and Tell A Story day on April 27. I hope you will enjoy them all!

On April 12 the amazing Michael Parent, storyteller, raconteur and musician will be our feature at the Story Café. Michael will share stories about “He-roes and She-roes, Unsung and Unlabeled.” This is a fundraiser for ArtWorks and there will be no open mic this evening.. Contact ArtWorks at (508) 984-1588 for tickets for this special event, it will be worth every penny and you will be supporting the arts!

If you live in the Midwest and wish to learn more about storytelling there is another wonderful conference on the horizon, the Northlands Storytelling Conference. This is one of my favorite conferences, filled with fun and friends. I will present my workshop, Untangling the Web – Researching Stories on the Internet and there is so much more this amazing conference has to offer. For more information go to http://www.northlands.net/ .

In Massachusetts we are on the cutting edge with a brand new storyteller venue. MassMouth has an amazing series of adult Story Slams taking place in and around Boston, MA. For more info and to get in on all the fun go to http://massmouth.ning.com/events. The next one is scheduled for March 15 at Kennedy’s in Boston. I will be there meeting, greeting and taking tickets at the door. Come by, say hello and stay for the fun!

I will see you all again in May. If you have any comments or suggestions, or would like to see something added to the newsletter, please email me at storybug@aol.com I would love to hear from you!

Happy Spring!
Karen

Image: A Fairy by Arthur Rackham

STORIES

Okay, I admit it, I was a bit obsseed trying to find a way to connect Ireland and frogs this month. Eureka! I found a story with frogs and faeries. I hope you enjoy it.

The Little Green Frog - from the Yellow Fairy Tale book by Andrew Lang
http://tinyurl.com/ybz9sgq

St. Patrick’s Day will be upon us quicker than you can say “shamrock!” Here are some sites to help you celebrate in style. Erin go bragh!

In Chimney Corners: merry tales of Irish folk lore by Seumas MacManus and Pamela Colman Smith, 1899 http://tinyurl.com/p7onf

Legends and Stories of Ireland by Samuel Lover, 1831, 1834
http://sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/lasi/index.htm

Storybug.net - Visit my blog post to find Celtic stories for adults and children alike, along with some printables and a craft to share. http://tinyurl.com/y85cgdm

April is National Frog Month so here are some tales to get you hopping!

The Frog and the Condor - Peru - http://tinyurl.com/yl29sfy
The Frog Princess - Italian - http://tinyurl.com/yzl97rq
The Kind Stepdaughter and the Frog - Germany - http://tinyurl.com/yhg33fm
The Tiger and the Frog - Tibet - http://tinyurl.com/ykl6rzg
The Tsarevna Frog - Russia - http://tinyurl.com/yjfvtxe

April 15 is the birthday of Leonardo Da Vinci. To celebrate I offer you a some tales from the master.

The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci - Edited by John Paul Richter in 1880 this website offers da Vinci’s perceptions on a variety of topics. Click on the link “Humorous Writings” to discover fables on plants, animals and objects. All of these works are in the public domain. http://tinyurl.com/yzh72ma



"All sorrows can be borne if you put them into a story or tell a story about them."
                                                                         - Isak Dinesen Three Acre Sorrow

 
BLOGS
 
Chinese Folktales: "The White-Nosed Cat" and Other Tales From the Chinese-Speaking World - Chinese folktales, myths, legends, and proverbs translated, adapted, and annotated by Fred Lobb. http://tinyurl.com/ycr8bsu

New England Folklore
– Appealing and fun blog from Peter of Boston, MA. He is an avid folklore fan and intersperses short tales with interesting historical and background information.
http://newenglandfolklore.blogspot.com/

Sue Black – Storyteller and Teaching Artist – Sue is not only a talented storyteller but a teaching artist as well. Her blog is full of wonderful insights, a lovely feast for the mind. http://sueblack1.wordpress.com/


BUSINESS NOTES

Weaving Storytelling and Business with an Authentic Voice - I recently put together a handout for a college class on storytelling and business. I have placed it on my blog for your use. http://tinyurl.com/yhnnpaa

5 Free Tools That Make You Look More Professional by Brad Egeland
http://tinyurl.com/yaspdtr

7 Tips for Money-Making Postcards by Ivan Levison
http://tinyurl.com/yhoxq9w

10 for '010 - 10 Smart Leadership Questions for 2010 by Gayle Lantz
http://tinyurl.com/yzr5fxb

Building Lessons Learned in 2009: What Highly-Successful Small Business Owners Are Doing that You Can Do Too by Stacy Karacostas http://tinyurl.com/yjj4obv

Email Newsletter Design Guide By Hostway http://tinyurl.com/ygv7589

Rid Yourself of These 10 Damaging Word-Habits by Stephanie Bickel http://tinyurl.com/yzu6oux

CRAFTS AND FUN

You’ll be “wearin the green” with these fun crafts for St. Patrick’s Day!Catch him if you can!

Leprechaun Crafts - http://tinyurl.com/yl3rmq9
St. Patrick’s Day Wreaths – Easy crafts for ages 2 – 4 http://tinyurl.com/yz4bw29
St. Patrick’s Day Word Jumble http://tinyurl.com/ykjhtf8
St. Patrick’s Day Word Search http://tinyurl.com/ylx8537
St. Patrick’s Day Coloring Pages http://tinyurl.com/yz7guar

Frog crafts to complement the tales!

Frog Pouch Craft – Ages 3 and up http://tinyurl.com/ykjkko5
Frog Paper Bag Puppet – Ages 2 and up http://tinyurl.com/yjc9cbd
Frog Paper Crafts – Ages 2 and up http://tinyurl.com/yjb5tok

“Every child, and the child in every one of us, is ready to plead: Tell me a story. For the role of stories is to explain life, and the good stories, in their substance and in the structure of their language, become revelation."   - Andrew M. Greeley



CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS

Leprechauns, frogs and toads, oh my!

An Irish Folktale to Teach Cause and Effect - http://tinyurl.com/yg62kn9
Circle Time and Game Ideas for St. Patrick’s Day - http://tinyurl.com/ygf8bj7
Literacy Ideas for St. Patrick’s Day – Site words, literacy tiles and more. http://tinyurl.com/ylyhz9a
Math Ideas for St. Patrick’s Day - http://tinyurl.com/yjcecro
Use Irish Folktales to Teach Reading Comprehension Skills - http://tinyurl.com/yzottw8

All About Frogs for Kids and Teachers – Lots of information here: lesson plans, activities, crafts, games and more. http://www.kiddyhouse.com/Themes/frogs/
Frog Life Cycle Quizhttp://tinyurl.com/yg9vvsp
Some Strange but True Facts about Frogs and Toads http://tinyurl.com/yf5enlu


EDUCATION HIGHWAY

March 5-7, 2010 Riverwind Whirlwind Weekend Belleville, Illinois with Bil Lepp at Our Lady of the Snows  “Getting Folks to Lie Well” (Workshop details to come later or contact Mary Lu Bretsch at
618-234-9698

March 19 – 21, 2010 Warwick, Rhode Island - Sharing the Fire: The Northeast Storytelling Conference http://www.lanes.org/

March 28—April 3, 2010 Oaxaca, Mexico Storytelling Retreat and Cultural with Jim May. We “workshop” ‘til 1:00 p.m. each day and spend the rest of the day with optional visits to museums, ruins, cafés, galleries, markets, etc or rest. Contact Jim May at maystory@earthlink.net

April 9 - 11, 2010 Cape Girardeau, MO with Donald Davis, Minton Sparks, Kevin Kling, and Syd Lieberman. http://www.capestorytelling.com/

April 23-25, 2010 Green Lake, Wisconsin - Northlands Storytelling Conference “The Tale’s the Thing” http://www.northlands.net/

April 28 - May 1, 2010 Mt. Vernon, Ohio - O.O.P.S. Storytelling Conference - Mary Garrett will be telling stories and presenting “Frog Goes to High School,” a workshop on “stealth storytelling” in middle and high school. http://www.oopstorytelling.org/

April 28 - May 1, 2010 – St. Louis, MO Leeny Del Seamonds will be headliner at St. Louis Storytelling Festival in Missouri, along with Bil Lepp, Peter Cook, Gene Tagaban, Regi Carpenter, and Larry Brown. http://www.stlstorytellingfestival.org/

May 19-23, 2010 – Greensboro, North Carolina - Leeny Del Seamonds returns as headliner at NC Storyfest, Greensboro, NC, along with The Healing Force and Logie Meachum. http://wwwncstoryfest.org/

July 29-August 1, 2010 – Los Angeles, California - National Storytelling Network National Conference “Many Stories…One World” http://www.storynet.org/


MUSIC

Music and Movement – Just what the title says! Some old favorites and some that might be new for you. Help the children shake those wiggles out! http://tinyurl.com/yllxvhz  

“No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted.”  - Aesop

SOMETHING EXTRA

Random Acts of Kindness – Terrific ideas for spreading kindness in the classroom, at work or in the community. Make someone smile today! http://www.actsofkindness.org/

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