Posts Tagged ‘storytelling’
I love journals. It’s the writer/storyteller in me that just goes wild when I get a new journal. As much as I enjoy opening a blank book and writing away, I love journals with prompts even more. I think I have a suppressed love of filling out forms. I don’t know where it came from, but it surfaces about tax time each year 
So I was really excited when Carrie Lundell agreed to feature her This Is Me journal as part of the Winter Wonderland carnival.
Aside from the prompts in the journal, I was drawn to Carrie’s slogan: Scrap the Scrapbook and Preserve the Personality! I have never been a very good scrapbooker and as the girls have gotten older and busier, I’ve fallen farther and farther behind in getting pictures in albums. Carrie’s slogan broke through my fog created by feelings of guilt and being overwhelmed and shone like the bright sun on a new day. I was pumped to share this journal with Sammi.
And Sammi did not disappoint! She was so excited that we got a book just for her and that she got to draw and write in it all by herself. Carrie had suggested reading the parent’s guide on the last page before beginning. So with an antsy preschooler at my side, I flipped to the back and scanned. The layout made it easy to ready quickly and absorb the tips so that in just a few moments I was ready to share the journal with Sammi.
I had her start by drawing her self portrait on the first page. In hindsight, I think I should have warmed her up to drawing herself before drawing on the actual first page. She grabbed her favorite color, pink, and scribbled away. After that, I gave her a piece of paper and talked about drawing herself and got a very adorable, 3-year-old’s perspective on what Sammi looks like to herself. I’m tucking that portrait in the pocket at the back of the book to keep to show her she did really draw herself, not just crazy pink lines.
We worked through the first few pages. I turned the prompts into questions I asked Sammi and then wrote down her answers. Some of my favorite are that her favorite thing about being 3 is going to preschool. But she doesn’t actually go to preschool! I haven’t found a program that has space so we’ve visited a few, but I’ve mostly decided to do preschool activities at home. Another favorite is that if she could have any pet, it would be an elephant. And then she drew this adorable picture of the elephant. It’s hard to see, but her elephant has seven legs and a tail. She was very pleased with the long trunk she drew (top left).
While we could get any book and so some of the same things, I would choose this keepsake journal for a few reasons. First, I love the design. It’s professional but appealing to kids. Second, the prompts are already there and, after flipping through the book, there are ideas I never would have thought to include. One last reason, because it’s already formatted and bound in a book, I’m more likely to finish it with Sammi over the course of the year and then keep it for her to look through in the future.
As part of the Winter Wonderland, Carrie is offering one This Is Me journal to a BBGU reader. Make sure you comment on the Join the Winter Wonderland post to enter the giveaway. You can also comment on this post for an extra in the giveaway. This giveaway is open until January 31 at 11:59 pm EST.
What memories have you preserved that are special to you know? Would they have been forgotten if you hadn’t done something to preserve them?
2009 was a fun, fast and fantastic year for our family. Because Babies Grow Up launched on New Year’s Day 2009. Given all that’s happened in the last year, I’ve spent some serious time reflecting on all our experiences. I’d like to share some highlights from the year as well as some of the most popular posts.
Here we are with Carol Rice
My Highlights from 2009
Amazing New Friends
I met some amazing people through blogging and have developed some pretty cool friendships over the last year. As I started my blogging, I was invited to participate in Play Activities‘ Operation Playtime. Melitsa has become a close friend and encourager over the last year. We both released our first eBooks in 2009. I enjoyed reviewing Treasure Basket Play and hosting a giveaway just this month.
I also enjoyed meeting many of the gals from Sassy Scoops long before they formed this amazing marketing team. Vanessa of I Never Grew Up drew me in with her Nature Days. Through her I was able to meet Jyl of Mom It Forward and subsequently get involved in local blogger events in Utah such as the Goldsmith Jewelers pearl necklace promotion and the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival. Through the TSF I re-met Carol Rice and was able to be a mommy blogger for the Jonesborough Storytelling Festival in Tennessee. All that, alone, was enough to keep our year busy and exciting. But there was more.
Favorite Products
Toward the end of 2009 our product reviews have focused primarily on music for children and families. We have added some terrific music to our collection and look forward to finding more great albums to share in 2010. My favorite from 2009 isn’t actually on sale yet, but it will be in just a few weeks. It’s Bari Koral’s Rock and Roll Garden. While we were away from home over the holidays the girls had a few days of being out of sorts. I just popped this CD in and it worked like a charm every time to bring my girls back into good spirits.
Another favorite of the year was Wow! Wow! Wubzy! Pirate Treasure. Even Brent enjoys listening to this when driving the car. Elli has just started trying to say Wow! Wow! Wubzy! and it’s too cute! We also love our Band in a Box from Melissa and Doug and use the instruments weekly as we make our own music.
My Favorite Posts
I was so sad to hear that Reading Rainbow was taken off the air and then further saddened by the reasoning behind the decision. I already described my feelings and elaborated on the overlooked need Reading Rainbow filled in creating lifetime readers.
I was fascinated by the benefits of rocking I learned from a child development professor at BYU. This post is one of my favorites because it shows just how perfect mothers are for their children.
While Brent was away at Officer Training for the Air Force, I wrote this post containing my thoughts on love. Fulling loving another person, spouse, child, parent or friend, entails a bit of hurt along with a wealth of joy.
Most Popular Posts in 2009
- The End of Reading Rainbow
- Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Crafts
- Musical Monday: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
- Gingerbread House Frosting Recipe
- More Pumpkin Crafts and a Book
- Monster Mania: Crafts for Little Monsters
- Laptime Songs for Mommies eBook
- Physical Friday: Crawling
- Leaves Are Falling
- Pumpkin Snack and Craft
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Welcome to Tell Me Thursday. I’m excited to share more about our partial family photo with good friend Carol Rice at the International Storytelling Center (ISC) in Jonesborough, TN. Here’s the picture from yesterday’s Wordless Wednesday post:
Here we are with Carol Rice
We loved attending the Storytelling Festival last weekend. I probably loved it more than the girls. They were a bit restless and didn’t want to be confined to seats. But we had a fun time exploring a new location and meeting up with a friend from Utah. I’ve already gone on at length about the value of storytelling, so I’ll get right to the picture.
We are in the ISC in front of the Wall of Storytelling. Our friend from Utah is Carol Rice of Cherish Bound. She is dedicated to the art of storytelling and helping people capture their own personal stories in beautifully bound books. In case you can’t think of any stories, her company also has lots of great tools to help you find the stories that you want to preserve and share.
I Heard a Story...
The ISC has recently teamed up with Cherish Bound to help Festival goers to capture their experiences at the Festival. They’ve put together this terrific little book, I Heard a Story and Thought of You, that is easy to personalize but has professional photos from the festival already included. That is right up my alley because I usually buy postcards because the pictures are better than anything I can take! They also have a Family Tree storybook to preserve your family history.
The International Storytelling Center is also joining the world of Social Media and can be found on Twitter. They’ve recently updated their website with tons of information about ISC, where to find storytelling events and how to stay in the know on future events.
I was lucky enough to be able to share my thoughts on how to make the Festival more friendly towards parents and little ones. I’m excited they cared what I thought and look forward to enjoying the festival again next year.
We had the chance to see some great storytellers at the National Storytelling Festival this past weekend. We enjoyed the Family Showcase at the Library tent where the stories were focused on childhood experiences or stories children could relate to and enjoy.
Saturday morning, though, was my favorite. I was able to go all by myself and hear two great storytellers. My absolute favorite from the conference has to be Syd Lieberman. He tells personal tales. Personal tales are true experiences from the teller’s life. Syd masterfully weaves heartache and joy into his tales. I was laughing and crying simultaneously through most of his stories.
Tales of Parenthood
His last story was about the seasons of our lives. He reflected on his children and how they’ve grown and what the future holds. As I thought of my two girls playing back at my friend’s house, I was filled with emotion. These years when they are so young are full of exhaustion and emotion. But this stage will pass and where will we be? What will my relationship with each girl look like? Will Sammi like me? Will she trust me enough to confide in me?
I was filled with a renewed desire to connect with the girls while they are young. The dishes can wait. Toys will be played with again, anyway. Dinner doesn’t need to be fancy. It really is about how we spend our time with our little ones. What are we sharing with them? What traditions are we perpetuating from our own childhood and developing in our new family?
We read. I have always loved books. I’ve been lucky enough to have two girls who took to them as quickly and lovingly as I did. We love reading our favorite stories again and again. I’m much better at reading a story than recounting it from memory. Brent tells an amazing Three Little Pigs, but I much prefer to read the stories I share. But as I listened to Syd Lieberman tell stories from his life, I felt a connection to storytelling I hadn’t felt before.
I can do this!
As I sat there, I thought, “I can do this. I can tell the girls stories from our life. I can keep memories alive by sharing those stories again and again.” And in reality, that’s what parents do day in and day out. Sometimes it isn’t very glamorous telling our little ones again and again that we always brush our teeth, or that we always pick up our toys. But those are stories of who we are, of how we live life. At other times we relive vacations or holidays or trips around the city through stories.
My goal this week is to think of a story or two from my early years that I can share with the girls. And then share it everyday. What personal stories do you share with your children?
Here is my ticket to the great weekend I just had in Jonesborough, TN. The girls and I were able to attend the National Storytelling Festival. There are so many wonderful things to share about our weekend, the international storytelling center, the storytellers themselves. It’s gonna take me a few posts to share it all with you. I hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoyed our weekend!
Rebecka is back to give us a full report on the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival. Over Labor Day weekend Rebecka attended the Festival with her three children. She introduced us to the Festival in this post. Rebecka has been a guest blogger on Because Babies Grow Up during our series on Emergent Literacy Skills.
Hello again everyone at Because Babies Grow Up! You know that Amber gave our family her weekend pass to the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival. I’m trying to decide how to tell you how incredible it was. If you read my email about Thursday night’s performance and multiply it by 100 you would have the essence of our experience. The festival definitely has something for everyone. Some tellers are funny, some are inspiring, some are both. Some tell stories from their own lives, some tell beautiful folk and fairy tells, and some tell outrageous tales that started from the truth of their own experiences but grew to the unbelievable.
Story telling is a great way to bring your family together. When you listen to a story together you’re changed together. Later when a family member sees a connection between your family’s experience and a story you heard together they will make a joke or share the connection and you are drawn together by the experience again.
My girls are 12 and 14, and my son just turned 11. The girls wanted to be at every event. They loved everything. Steven however got tired quickly. A few of the tellers just grabbed him and drew him in, but he was not very patient when he had to listen to tellers who didn’t. So I let him stay at home for many of the daytime events. The event that is best suited for young children is Friday night’s Bedtime Stories. If you have small children you may want to only take them to that event. If you do take children to the daytime events they might like the puppet shows better. This year there was also a mime and a juggler.
The weekend was jam packed and we were totally exhausted by Sunday morning, but it was worth it. A great thing about the festival is that it begins Thursday evening on labor day weekend, but the last event is Saturday night so you still have Sunday and Monday to recover before you have to go back to work and school. A weekend pass is only $100, which for a family of five or six is a bargain. We are definitely going to make the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival a family tradition. We think you’ll like it too.
Thanks so much to Rebecka and her family for enjoying the festival and telling us all about it! If you’re sad you missed the festival, I have good news. You don’t have to wait all the way until next September to enjoy the art of storytelling. The Timpanogos Storytelling Festival also hosts a MidWinter Conference in February. This conference includes general storytelling sessions open to the public, but it is so much more. There are workshops on storytelling presented in schools and workshops for adults presented around Utah Valley. This is a great way to experience great storytelling and get your feet wet, too! Happy Storytelling. Thanks again, Cherish Bound for a great event.
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