Storyset videos

To finish out my storyset which began with Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll, I have recorded renditions of three fairy tale favorites. Enjoy!


In order of appearance from top to bottom : The Three Little Pigs in Alaska, Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel. These tales were chosen for their fairytale elements, their adaptability over generations and the creativity of using a few props. My favorite was then and still remains the 3 little Pigs in Alaska because my mom and I found that book our our summer cruise there a few years back. Amazon still sells it. Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/Alaskas-Three-Pigs-Arlene-Laverde/dp/1570612293

Kjersti and Carroll's "Jabberwocky"

For some weird reason, my Jabberwocky recording was posted twice... The file took FOREVER to upload, so... who knows :) My friend and I recorded three different tellings and then spliced them together to cut out some mistakes. (My hacking cough and spasm issues needn't be captured on film or shown via the "wonderful world of web...")

Kjersti and Carroll's "Jabberwocky"

Here I am again! I love silly sounding stuff, so see what you think of Jabberwocky...

Jabberwocky has been recorded!

Thanks to my friend Becca and her digital camera's video capacity, Jabberwoky is now on film. Before posting, the file must be converted from the camera's preset format and then uploaded to Blogger. That will happen later this afternoon. I'll post the official link to the class board when the final video has been uploaded here... Stay tuned!

Coming Soon: Jabberwocky!

Check back tomorrow afternoon for a video creation of the 1872 Jabberwocky poem by Lewis Carroll. I love nonsensical creativity, so I've had a fun time tonight committing lyrics to memory and deciding how to work the actions of the poem out as well.

Beware the Jabberwock, my son...

Oh! The Places You'll Go!! video

Hope everyone can watch my Dr. Seuss excerpts now! I've taken both my original videos off the GoPost board, too:)

Video! sumer camp and horseback riding sagas

For my storytelling classmates, this is story video formerly posted on the Module 5 discussion board. For my non-iSchool friends who got my email, here ya go! Kjersti's on camera...

second round of posting photos for my Horseback Riding "Tail..."

Hello again, storytelling folks! I figured out how to upload all the images FIRST, and THEN type in the caption text... Much better than my earlier post :)

Here is the rest of my "horse tail..." Captions are positioned above each image. Enjoy!

September 2007 brought my hard-fought international competition in Langley, BC near Vancouver. I took 2nd place in both my events that weekend and was honored to be one of two riders chosen to represent my "horse" family. That coach is now training the Canadian Paralymic Dressage gold medalist. I can proudly say that I knew Sandra "before" she was famous :)


I was losing my balance in this photo and had to correct in the middle of the judging round. I took 2nd happily! It was the highest place ribbon I'd ever received.

My good friend, Zana, and I spent nearly 10 years of Saturdays riding together. This was a competition in Woodinville, WA against our "rival" therapeutic riding center. Zana and I cheered each other through junior high and high school. We both have a form of Cerebral Palsy.

Here I am, about to enter the arena for our show in Woodinville. Thinking about these days brings back so many memories!

This flyer image was created in 1995. I am with Clyde. That year, I was the WA Easter Seals Youth Ambassador. Clyde won Therapeutic Horse of the Year honors. We were a magnificent team! At the end of my ambassador's year, a framed 10x13 print of the photo was given as a gift of thanks. I remember crying gratefully because my wheelchair was barely visible. Riding allows people with disabilities to be "one" with their horses. The sense of freedom and mobility is very powerful!

Thanks for letting me share one of my passions with you! I rode at Easter Seals, (located on the Gig Harbor peninsula), from my Kindergarten year through the summer I graduated from high school --13 years in all. Riding has many physical benefits for people with disabilities. The warmth of the horse and its constant motion simulate walking in those who cannot, and improve blood flow to the lower limbs. Riding also requires students to develop lateral trunk stability and balance. People with neurological damage like myself do not have hard-wired balance. Every "balancing act" I do has been acquired. The horses made necessary therapy fun and inspired me to believe in my ability to reach goals. Those lessons will remain with me for my entire life because there is far more behind them than a girl on a horse. The friendships and mentorships are priceless, too. The Easter Seal people gave me the courage to believe in myself!

Thanks, everyone. Hope you enjoyed my story :)

Horse Pictures to Accompany Kjersti's "Tail"

This flyer was a summer camp/ horseback riding brochure. The horse in the photo was Clyde. He was Therapuetic Horse of the Year and I was Washington State Youth Ambassador. That was 1995. The photo was given as a gift in '95 and still hangs in our family room now. I cried with joy when I saw it because my chair was barely noticable. Riding gave me the freedom to be one
with my horse...

"My story" is in progress

Hello! My friend just recorded my retelling of some childhood horseback riding adventures. That video will be posted soon on the discussion board! After I scan the accompanying photos tomorrow, I'll post those here. (All my horseback riding pix are 35mm so I need to scan them into jpg files to share.) I'll be making a Sat morning trip to Kinko's because it's too bad I left the photo album at home this morning... Thinking ahead is clearly dangerous :)

My upcoming story

There are so many tales to tell... Where shall I begin? Hmm. Look back for updates. My friend is happily being used for her recording equip (again!) on Friday morning. Hope you enjoy what we put together that day :)

Video Efforts

Last night my friend was kind enough to bring her gizmos and record me retelling my favorite "scenes" from Dr. Seuss' "Oh! the Places You'll Go!" It turned out well. We were both laughing :)
Unfortunately, my laptop doesn't have video editing software, so my friend will send me a zipped video for posting from her home computer. Hopefully tomorrow... The wonders of technology, eh?!

One thought leads to another

Tonight, after I read through the article about how to tell stories to kids, I closed my computer and went away... Later, I found my mind wandering back to the ASL classes I took 10 years ago in community college. Much of what the author called good storytelling technique is also true in an ASL environment. The Deaf community is tightly knit and rooted in personal story. Animation and expression is mandatory because many signs have more than one meaning depending on placement (where they are signed in proximity to the signer's body). Even Deaf people use intonation and a vocal range to express their ideas. Whenever a student would begin a story, I was captivated. I remember being a tad envious of my Deaf friend because I saw then that his language was richer in its many layers of delivery than my usually flat, simple, spoken words.

One blown power transformer, a finished critique and a list of sources

Hooray! I just finished my written critique and emailed Jenine! That's not easy task considering that a power transformer blew this morning just up the street... So, I spent the afternoon writing in a local free wireless enabled coffee ship. Isn't technology grand?! Seriously... What teacher would *ever* believe me saying "A transformer blew, knocking out power and the internet, too?!" Good thing for my laptop and the bus :)

Here is a really cool storytelling website and the citation info for the two DVDs I mentioned in my written response:
Website:
www.goingdeeperstories.com
DVDs:
Childhood: A Journey Series Storytelling the Navaho Way, 2006.
Welcome to NorthPoint Shape Masters Fort Fun Productions, 2003. www.ftfun.com

Storyteller Patricia Howe

Wow! I discovered digital nirvana here! http://storytellingnotes.blogspot.com/2007/11/my-storytelling-videos-online.html Patricia Howe, a storyteller who travels to schools and retirement centers sharing stories with kids and kids of all ages." I found a video of her take my fav, the 3 Billy Goats Gruff. Howe's rendition had a bullied slant, though, for which she named the tale, The Bully Billy Goat. It began like the traditional tales and incorporated the repetitive strand exemplified in "Rock is my home" from residency. Howe did not use any animation other than moderating her voice and animating her body language. She stood primary in the same spot at the center of the room, moving "in space" the entire time. If you become intrigued like I did and wish to follow Patricia Howe's latest gig, she updates her status often via Twitter!

Viewing stories

Over the past two days, I've watched a couple of storytelling DVDs and an online storyteller's video blog. One of the DVDs dealt with heritage tales; Nordic and Navajo. The contrast of the two cultures struck me as odd at first, but then I began to see many universal traits being transmitted through oral and dramatic story.

The second DVD was a computer-animated children's tale about a captured princess, a samurai warrior and a sparkly, orange paisley dragon told through the eyes of five different kids. The story originated when one kid saw a cloud in the sky and said, "Hey! That looks like..." the ensuing story morphed and expanded from that point forward.

I thought the animated DVD was a unique bridge between traditional storytelling with very few props and the increasingly digital market for stories. That DVD, created by NorthPoint Children's Productions, used animation and technology, yes, but the stories of dragons, samurai and princesses are as old as time... Maybe stories make old things new again!