Communication.

It’s the basis of what we do- we help children communicate through painting, through music, through drawing, through poems.  In this project, we helped them find & use the voice that we as adults tend to communicate most effectively with- straight from our vocal cords.  Our stories.

The problem is: Telling our story is scary.  You could fumble your words, your voice could give out, your audience could tear you down.  Our goal was to create a space to shake out the fear, to add some whimsy to make storytelling fun & applicable.

To do this, we enlisted some FABULOUS volunteers who have great experience providing theater workshops with children.  We brainstormed crazy activities.  We created a fresh new space with all of our kids: Storytelling Tents!

Week one, we learned to finger-weave, finger-crochet & braid strands. (We’ve been so happily surprised by children showing us the scarves, belts & necklaces they’re weaving for Christmas presents to continue practicing!)

Then we built this amazing tents serving as a shield from embarrassment & a funky take on the armoire leading to Narnia.

We got silly.

We worked together to form stories.

We gained confidence to tell our own stories.

One of our favorite moments was when a child started his story “When I was three…. eerrr… I mean: There once was a three year old boy…”  He proceeded to tell his story of foster care & rejection, ending with a hopeful note of where his story is right now.  Waiting to live with his family again.  All below the safety of the whimsical woven tent, for all of his classmates to hear.

What’s your favorite way to tell your story?

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Love Naively. Give Generously. Be Foolishly Compassionate.

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