Monday 24 March 2014

A summer full of stories




A Summer full of stories
Stories in school with Creeping Toad, Summer 2014

From the secret treasures of frogspawn to the first birds’ nests, bees in trees and flowers in fields, we’ll meet stories that encourage us to look with new eyes on the world around us and remember that there are stories inside the humblest of creatures and the most ordinary of plants, and that we can all have adventures too

I am releasing ideas and workshop spaces for the summer term - and through into autumn - if anyone out there would like a storytelling or workshop day in school -or as an event in a country park, nature reserve, or some other place that would enjoy a bit of extra excitement!

A day’s visit to your school might include the following: shorter sessions might include bits of one or two of these longer activities

storytelling performances: lasting up to 60 minutes for up to 90 children at a time

stories outside! using the school ground, we’ll take storymaking out of the classroom and use the immediate environment, the day’s weather and whatever we can find to inspire words, create poems and shape a set of stories never told before (allow 60 minutes for a class session)

New workshop!
puppets and headfulls of animals: like the illustration, we can make quick finger puppet animals or magnificent animal crowns. Allow an hour and a half for a class

New workshop! 
Heroes for stories: building characters - as quick puppets and as written pieces: capturing the qualities of our characters for stories: their ambitions, triumphs, disasters and secrets - skills for a richer tale

New workshop!
Limestone life: working with fossils and models of life in ancient seas, we can look at the worlds that gave us the limestones and sandstones of the British Isles adding finger puppets and rockpools from ancient seashores as we go! (allow 60 - 90 minutes)

story and book workshops: taking a bit longer (allow 90 minutes for a class) as well as discovering those stories no-one has ever heard before, now we will build those into the books that no-one has ever read before and leave the classroom with a library no-one has ever visited before!

pop-up storyscapes: allow an hour for a class: gathering ideas, images and words we’ll make quick 3-d landscapes holding the essence of a story in a setting, key characters and the words that set the adventure running

tales of old Scotland: a collection of stories of Highland folklore and Scottish histories, of heroes and sorrows, bravery and the magics of sea, mountain and moor

your own themes and ideas: or are you exploring a particular theme that you would like to involve some stories in? pirates….tropical islands….ancient cave people…..where in our school would bears live?…castle adventures,  have all featured in recent Creeping Toad projects


Charges: £250 a day: includes storyteller’s fee, travel and materials. Can be paid on the day or I can invoice you. 

To book: contact Gordon directly at
or by telephone: 
landline: 01298 77964
mobile: 07791 096857


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