Sunday 11 November 2018

Story-Makers: 'The Adventures of the Owl and the Pussycat'- Week Two: Building a Boat.


A new week with our Story-Makers and a lot of fun was had this morning as we got crafty. Last week we looked at story-boards and creating a layout for the narrative of a story. This week the focus was set; how can you use set to help create a story? In Carol Rumble's 'The Adventures of the Owl and the Pussycat,' the characters venture out to see in a box 'on the living room floor.' It made sense then that perhaps we could make our own boat...well it did to me; so much so that this morning I found myself on the bus into St Thomas with armfuls of cardboard and a bagful of stickers. Thankfully, unlike the rest of the week, there was no rain at all this morning. Finally some luck!


It's not all about craft and making, however. We played some games to get everyone warmed up first- as custom in drama workshops. The games are simple, silly ones which help the group ease into drama, as well as familiarise themselves with each other. Part of the mission is to build confidence and communication skills, so this aspect of the workshop- however short and sometimes irrelevant it may seem- is important for the group and for the facilitator in charge. Games are a fun way to bond with a group and learn about participants. 


We talked a bit about the theatre, asking whether any of our Story Makers had been to see a show before and what set there might have been. Then we spoke about how we could use different things to represent what we wanted in a story. For example, we couldn't have a real boat on stage because it would be too big. In order to help us then, the group got a chance to create their own boat which, if we were aiming for this, could be used in a telling of the story. 


Everyone got stuck into the creating of our boat. Using separate sheets of cardboard the group decorated them with a multitude of drawings, sketches, scrap paper and scissors. So many different drawings and stickers went into the vessel before we finally assembled the pieces, tying them together with colourful string to form the shape of the boat. 


Whilst facilitating is important, it is equally important within early years work to respect the space of children and allow them the chance to communicate and bond with one another. New friendships have started forming in the group; which is wonderful to see. A team based project such as this really help to forge these; with a common goal being an excellent springboard for constructive and positive conversations.


All in all a lovely morning with the Story Makers. Creating the boat was a lot of fun and, mad as it was, the final result was colourful and could indeed make an appearance again before the end of term. It has been a busy week at Anthos between all our amazing youth groups, so I will stop typing now and go and rest. Next week we will be looking at the characters in the story again and creating some cool animated puppets to help us in telling it. 






  


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