Good Morning!!
I hope everyone had a fun and safe weekend. The weather was beautiful. It was so nice to spend some time outdoors in our backyard enjoying the sun and some coffee.
When I was a kid I had a huge imagination and I'm thankful that I still have it today. Everyday I was able to run around my backyard and use my imagination that took me to some amazing new worlds. One day I would be a super hero and the next a detective. I'd jump on our trampoline in costume and pretend I was flying. I was never bored.
Having a big imagination really helped me in school as well. Even though school was hard for me in some subjects, creative writing was something I always made great grades at. I would even have the smartest people in class ask me for help with their papers. Now I am no genius, but I LOVE to tell stories full of imagination and wonder.
My sister and I shared a room growing up and almost every night my sister would ask me to tell her a story. I would full the air with how we were the princesses of this castle and how we had to defend it from these crazy trolls. My stories were fun and adventurous. They helped her fall asleep and bonded us in a special way. Those are some of my favorite memories with my sister that we still talk about today.
Telling stories are special and can make a huge impact. I remember taking my grandmother on a special date to have lunch and use her gift cards that she had gotten as a gift for some books. She loved to read and never learned to drive, so I was excited to take her out and spend the day with her. I had just had my first summer at camp and I was so enthusiastic to share my adventures with her. We bought our food and sat down and started talking my adventures and her childhood. She lived through the Great Depression and shared detailed memories of that time. Although she was very little, she remembered a lot and as we sat there with our dessert, we cried together as she shared her story. That is one of my most treasured memories of my Grandmother.
Nation Tell a Story Day on April 27th each
year in the United States encourages people of all ages to share all kinds of stories. Whether it's read from a book, one from your imaginations, or an actual story from your childhood. Storytelling is an ancient practice used to hand down knowledge from one generation to the next. It's a wonderful way to pass on family traditions, histories, and long tales and can be entertaining as well as educational. Some of the very best stories come from real-life experience.
Here are some fun tips when sharing your story:
- Engage your audience and invite them to participate, too!
- Be sure to give your characters their own voice.
- Get physical! Body movements give your stories extra impact. You will capture your audience’s attention, and you’ll also bring your story to life.
- Ask your audience questions.
- Use misdirection to surprise your audience.
- Facial expressions punctuate your words. Use this powerful tool to drive a character’s emotion home.
However you decided to share your story today have fun and use your imagination. Face-time the Grandparents and have them tell stories to your kids about their childhood. Have the kids write their own amazing adventure and share it at dinner. This would be a great way for the kids to share how they are feeling with COVID-19. To create a story to help them cope with what's going on. Write one of your own. This is a great way to get away from your screens and use your imagination and have some fun. The possibilities are endless. Have fun today in whatever adventure you write yourself in.
Tiffany
Program Supervisor