Storytime / Vreme za priču

Unfortunately, there is no such thing like Storytime or Storytelling in children libraries, here in Serbia. And I so wished that my kids could go to the library and hear a story or a few from time to time, told in a special - storytelling way! You folks, who are reading this post in english, probably know very well what storytime is, and therefore I think no need to explain! 
There is a beautiful small children library near our home that we love to visit often. V loves it, and he is a member since he was 1,5 years old. It has nice toys, nice baby and children books, and a beautiful space in an old house. But no storytime! 
So, I decided to create a storytime programme myself and offer it to the library. They accepted the offer! For the last few months I have been working on this with two of my good friends - Katarina who is a visual artist, and Ivan - who is an actor.
We created six storytime sessions for kids ages 4-6, each of them consisting of few stories. First, we made a selection of stories, Katarina made all the visual props necessary for telling the stories and tales (felt board sets, dolls, overhead transparencies, etc.), and Ivan prepared the stories for telling them! Papa V made some photos and posters, and this is the poster for our first storytime session that was today! 
V was watching and listening the stories with delight, and I was so so happy that this small dream of mine - came true! I shall write more about our stories in the days that come!


Nažalost, u našim bibliotekama ne postoji Pripovedanje priča (engl. Storytelling). Pripovedanje priča  je umetnost pripovedanja priča u kojoj se koriste jezik, zvuk, i/ili fizički pokret i gestikulacija kako bi se pred određenom publikom oživeli i otkrili elementi i slike jedne priče. Kada se priče pripovedaju deci često se koriste i različiti vizuelni predlošci i rekviziti  -  poput slika ili lutaka -  koji pomažu u vizuelizaciji priče. U dečjim bibliotekama širom sveta pripovedanje priča je neizostavni deo redovnih programa namenjenih deci.

V je član dečje biblioteke Čika Jova Zmaj u Hilandarskoj ulici u Beogradu od svoje prve godine. Često je posećujemo i volimo tamo da idemo, jer ima igračaka, knjiga za bebe i decu svih uzrasta a prostor je predivan, smešten u jednoj staroj beogradskoj kući. Ali, nema pripovedanja priča! Zbog toga sam odlučila da sama osmislim i uz pomoć prijatelja realizujem pripovedačke seanse, po uzoru na one koje sam videla u dečjim bibliotekama u Americi I Evropi, koje bih potom ponudila našoj biblioteci. Biblioteka Zmaj je ponudu prihvatila! Poslednjih nekoliko meseci sam radila na pripremanju ovih seansi sa svojim prijateljima Katarinom - umetnicom, i Ivanom - glumcem. Pripremili smo šest pripovedačkih seansi za decu uzrasta od 4-6 godina, a u okviru svake seanse planirano je da se ispriča nekoliko priča. Prvo smo napravili izbor priča prema uzrastu i prema mogućnostima za vizuelno predstavljanje - Katarina je napravila sve vizuelne rekvizite neophodne za pripovedanje, a Ivan je priče pripremio i malo prilagodio za ovu vrstu pripovedanja (storytelling). Tata V je napravio fotografije i plakate a ovo je plakat za našu prvu pripovedačku seansu koja se održala danas!

V je sa oduševljenjem posmatrao i slušao priče, a ja sam presrećna što se jedan moj mali san ostvario! U narednim danima pisaću još o ovom slatkom pripovedanju!

Dinosaur (foot)prints in play dough/ Tragovi dinosaurusa u testu

V is crazy about dinosaurus. He loves them, knows everything about them, always pretending to be one of them, moving like them, etc. The other day I made some play dough (2 cups flour, 1 cup salt, 3/4 cup water, 1 spoon of oil, food color) that is one of his favourite art materials, and invited him and his friend to make some dinosaur footprints in it. They loved it but their game turned out much more than I expected! Even Baby Z played the game!

V obožava dinosauruse. Zna sve o njima, stalno se pretvara da je neki od donsaurusa, kreće se kao oni, itd. Pre neki dan sam napravila testo za vajanje, jedan od njegovih omiljenih likovnih materijala (2 čaše brašna, 1 čaša soli, 3/4 čaše vode, 1 supena kašika ulja, boja za hranu) i pozvala njega i njegovog drugara da naprave otiske igrčaka-dinosaurusa u njemu. Jako im se to dopalo, ali su njihova igra i istraživanje mogućnosti materijala prevazišli moja očekivanja. Čak je Beba Z učestvovala u igri!

Dancing pastels / Pasteli koji plešu

 I found a beautiful surprise today: I got a nice blog award from Natasha of Leptir -montessori blog. Thank you, Natasha! This award has 2 rules: specify 3 songs that are imopratnt to you and tell what you dreamed about.

I always have a problem when I have to specify things I really like. They kinda disappear out of my head. So instead of specifying 3 songs that are important to me, I decided to do another thing: these days V and I are listening to a CD that we got with this book. V loves it! We never did any art activities related to music before (I never found it inspirational), but since we are listening this CD all the time, I decided to give it a try. 

We imagined that our pastels danced to the music, and here is what V's dances looked like:

Danas sam našla divno iznenađenje: dobila sam nagradu Nice blog! od Nataše (Leptir - montessori blog). Hvala Nataša! Ova nagrada ima dva pravila: navesti tri pesme koje su važne za vas i ispričati san koji ste sanjali.

Uvek mi je problem kada treba da nabrojim stvari koje volim. Kao da tada iščeznu iz glave. Zato, umesto da nabrojim 3 pesme koje su mi važne, odlučila sam da uradim sledeće: ovih dana V i ja slušamo CD koji smo dobili zajedno sa ovom knjigom. V ga obožava. Nikada nismo radili likovne aktivnosti sa slušanjem muzike (nikada mi to nije bilo inspirativno), ali kako ovaj CD slušamo stalno, odlučila sam da probam. Zamislili smo da pasteli plešu uz muziku i evo, kako su V-ovi pasteli plesali:

1. Offenbach: Can Can  

2. Brahms: Hungarian dance No5

3. Tchaikovsky: 'Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy' from The Nutcraker 

4. Beethoven: Symphony No.6 (IV 'Thunderstorm')

5. Mozart: Sonata in C major K.545 (Movement I. Allegro)

And, I must admit that I found this activity very interesting and fun. The dancing pastels really helped us hear the music better! And we all enjoyed it. Even Baby Z danced with us and her pastels! 

So, these compositions were for the songs, and this one is for the dream:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHlfNYY1YIY

And the award goes to: Let the children play  Zach Aboard  The Artful Parent   Manuales

Bakers and Astronauts   Exploring the outdoor classroom

Moram priznati da sam nepravedno bila potcenila ovu aktivnost! Plesanje pastelom po papiru nam je zaista pomoglo da bolje čujemo muziku! Svi smo uživali, čak je i Beba Z plesala sa nama i sa svojim pastelima.

Dakle, ovo su bile kompozicije umesto 3 pesme, a ova koja sledi je umesto sna:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHlfNYY1YIY

A nagrada ide:  Let the children play  Zach Aboard  The Artful Parent   Manuales

Bakers and Astronauts   Exploring the outdoor classroom

A House for Fairy-Babies / Kućica za bebe-vile

Fairy houses are small nature structures for the fairies and other nature friends to visit. Building a fairy house is a simple activity from the repertoire of Waldorf nature-inspired activities. Creating a fairy house encourages children to go outside and connect with the natural world, and at the same time it nurtures care and respect for the nature.

All you need to build a fairy house are some natural items (leaves, sticks, pebbels), a little imagination and a pinch of magic! 

Kućice za vile su male strukture od prirodnih materijala (grančica, lišća, kamenčića...) napravljene za vile i druga šumska bića. Građenje kućica za vile je jednostavna aktivnost iz repertoara Valdorf aktivnosti inspirisanih prirodom. Pravljenje ovih kućica podstiče decu da izađu napolje, da provode vreme u prirodi, razvijajući istovremeno odnos poštovanja i ljubavi prema njoj.

Sve što je neophodno da bi se napravila kućica za vilu je malo sakupljenih prirodnih materijala, malo mašte i prstohvat magije!

I thought that it would be interesting to make a house for a fairy baby. If we made it with enough love and care, maybe, just maybe, a fairy baby would come and sleep in it.

So we made it with much love and much care, and went to sleep.

And this is what we found in the morning:

Pomislila sam da bi bilo jako lepo napraviti i kućicu za male bebe vile. Ukoliko bismo je napravili sa puno ljubavi i pažnje, onda bi možda, kozna, bebe vile došle i spavale u njoj.

Tako smo napravili kućicu sa puno ljubavi i puno pažnje, i potom otišli na spavanje.

Ujutro, kad smo se probudili, našli smo ovo:

A tiny little fairy baby lying in her nut-shell - smiling!

Malu bebu vilu kako leži u svojoj kolevci. I osmehuje se ;)