A NEW STORY, A NEW STYLE, A NEW EXPERIMENT…

It is the summer vacation time and camps are in full swing. As a regular at this school for the camp sessions, I was again invited this year to lead the storytelling sessions for the kids.

Hmm… I was in two minds because I was on a break due to personal reasons. I was not sure if I will be able to give the time and commitment. But the positive person in me said that I can. Anyways the school was just opposite my house, so I know I could manage it.

And thus, after due diligence, I said “Yes” and took it up.

While my personal commitment kept me busy the whole time, I managed to also make time to do something that I had always wanted to try.

“VISUAL NARRATIVE”

Yes! That is something that I always wanted to try – an originally created visual board that I can use as part of my storytelling.

BINGO! Now I had a compelling reason to create it!

So yes, I began my work!

The theme for the camp was “Helpful Animals”. I wondered which story to tell. I did my research but I could not find anything that really touched my heart or something that was satisfying. So, I put on my Author hat and dived into my “Think Tank” 😊

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzz…. BEES!

That’s what came to me first. And thus began the crafting of my simple story on bees but in a very interactive style where I could use my visual board too. Once the story was ready, I began my work on the visual board. I did not know where to begin or how to make it. A lot of questions popped up.

Which material to use?

How to design it?

What elements to show?

And many such…

Again a few days went into organizing my thoughts and trying to figure out the answers for these questions. But finally, it all fell in place.

Paper craft, Pencil sketching, Colors, Stick-ons, puppets etc. I used all of these and slowly my visual board began to take its shape.

Finally, my visual board was ready and I must say I was quite satisfied with what I had created 😊

And now it was time to put it to its true test!

Yes! Telling the story using my visual board to the students at the camp! I was excited while at the same time anxious as to how it will be received.

The moment arrived!

And I began my story… I weaved in musical elements. Students quickly got involved in the story through the visuals I presented using the board and the puppets. We sang, giggled, ooooh-ed and aaah-ed, shared ideas and finally took a promise to save the bees for the good of the Earth! 😊

And I did not one but two sessions with my visual board. Learnings from the first session got me to do my second session even better.

Yay!

On the whole it was a satisfying experience! And when teachers come and personally appreciate and give positive comments, it is indeed reassuring and motivating 😊