I’d love to visit your school, library, museum, or educational center to offer one of my creative workshops:

Story Disks             Memory Cards            Story Map

My workshops are infused with encouragement and confidence building while helping to nurture and expand each child’s creative inclinations. Steeped heavily in literacy and self-expression, my curriculum celebrates each child’s particular mode of artistic expression.

Story Disks Workshop

Story Disks is one of the Story Starter projects in my award winning educational book, Show Me a Story. These colorful disks with tiny, meaningful pictures are an engaging way to blend art and literacy. They serve as compact idea generators and are fun to collect and trade with or gift to friends.

The program includes:
· a short period of guided brainstorming
· time to look through story disc samples
· an inspiring demonstration with clear instruction
· continual celebration of experimentation and individual artistic styles
· a short closing discussion where children are encouraged to use their disks to begin writing/telling stories.
· tips and ideas for teachers on how to integrate the Story Disks into their classroom curriculum

Approximate time: 1 ½ hours (with an extra ½ hour for set-up and clean-up)
Appropriate for:  grades 1- 6
Recommended maximum group size: 20 (30 with assistance)
Materials fee: $1.00 /person

Fees for programs: Cost is based on length of program and distance from Amherst, MA.  Please contact me to discuss.

{Story Disks workshops have been held at Bank Street Bookstore in NYC, Cup and Top Cafe in Florence, MA, The Boston Children’s Museum, Brookline Booksmith, multiple branches of The Boston Public Library, and multiple elementary schools}

Memory Cards Workshop

Memory Cards is one of the Story Starter projects in my award winning educational book, Show Me a Story. Memories make great stories! These colorful, collaged cards are used to re-tell, arrange, order, and preserve children’s special memories. Children are asked to transform important, salient, essential details from the memory into a set of meaningful cards.

The program includes:
· a short period of guided brainstorming
· an inspiring demonstration with clear instruction
· time to look through an assortment of Memory Cards
· practice in considering what to include in a story and what to leave out – children are asked to choose the essential details to act as the backbone of the story
· continual celebration of experimentation and individual artistic styles
· tips and ideas for teachers on how to integrate the Memory Cards into their classroom curriculum
· encouragement and guidance as to how to complete the set of cards at home.

Approximate time: 1 ½ hours (with an extra ½ hour for set-up and clean-up)
Appropriate for:  grades 1- 6 
Recommended maximum group size: 20 (30 with assistance)
Materials fee: $.50 /child

Fees for programs: Cost is based on length of program and distance from Amherst, MA.  Please contact me to discuss.

{Memory Card workshops have been held at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, The Smith Campus School at Smith College, The Chicago Children’s Museum, and The Manhattan Children’s Museum}

Story Map Workshop

Story Map is one of the projects from the Story Evolution chapter in my award winning educational book, Show Me a Story. These detail-rich depictions of imaginary lands are the perfect foundation for developing elaborate characters and stories. Children will continue to refer to their maps as they write engaging, new tales.

The program includes:
· a short period of guided brainstorming
· an inspiring demonstration with clear instruction
· time to look at an assortment of Story Maps
· continual celebration of experimentation and individual artistic styles
· tips and ideas for teachers on how to integrate the Story Maps into their classroom curriculum
· encouragement and guidance as to how to continue to develop the map and how to use it in future storytelling and creative writing.

Approximate time: 1 1/2 hours (with an extra ½ hour for set-up and clean-up)
Appropriate for grades 1-6
Recommended maximum group size: 20 (30 with assistance)
Materials fee: $.50 /child

Fees for programs: Cost is based on length of program and distance from Amherst, MA.  Please contact me to discuss.

{Story Map workshops have been held at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art and multiple branches of The Boston Public Library}