Trees, tales and turmoils: storytelling in schools

Summer stories

Stories in school

and other excitements

with Creeping Toad

celebrating the richness of the changing year, here are stories, sculptures, prehistoric adventures, occasional Vikings,  books and  boggarts

With stories spinning from the first signs of spring right through to earth giants, summer flowers and thunder-tigers, here are stories and activities to enchant and inspire.

Drawing on 30 years of professional experience, Gordon’s work blends environmental experience with creativity. “Much of my work uses storytelling and story making but I also make small masks, giant masks, flags, lanterns, pop-up landscapes and create wild and wonderful occasions”

Scottish tours:

This year, I will be up in northern Scotland:

8 – 19^th May 2017 SOLD OUT!

4 – 15^th September 2017
For other possible dates, drop me an email. For dates in England and wales, just get in touch and we'll see what we can do!  Only Irish dates at the moment are  late April and the Environmental Education Ireland gathering then

A day’s visit to your school might include:

storytelling performances: lasting up to 60 minutes for up to 90 children at a time

stories out of anything! outdoors or in, we'll use leaves and pine cones, twigs and stones and shells to inspire words, create poems and shape a set of stories never told before

(allow 60 minutes for a class session)

New workshop!

puppets and headfuls of animals: like the illustration, we can make quick finger puppet animals or magnificent animal crowns. Allow an hour and a half for a class

New workshop!

Heroes for stories: building characters - as quick puppets and as written pieces: capturing the qualities of our characters for stories: their ambitions, triumphs, disasters and secrets - skills for a richer tale

Stone Age Days: with stories to set the scene, we’ll look at the worlds of our ancestors with flint tools, bone needles, wooden bowls, fur and feathers.  Usually half a day for a class. Ask for more details

story and book workshops: taking a bit longer (allow 90 minutes for a class) as well as discovering those stories no-one has ever heard before, now we will build those into the books that no-one has ever read before and leave the classroom with a library no-one has ever visited before!

pop-up storyscapes: allow an hour for a class: gathering ideas, images and words we’ll make quick 3-d landscapes holding the essence of a story in a setting, key characters and the words that set the adventure running

tales of old Scotland: a collection of stories of Highland folklore and Scottish histories, of heroes and sorrows, bravery and the magics of sea, mountain and moor. These can be steered in various directions and we might listen to stories from Viking days or medieval and Stuart stories and even add some Scottish explorers and their adventures and disasters…

your own themes and ideas: or are you exploring a particular theme that you would like to involve some stories in? In recent projects we have also made talking stone puppets, a giant eagle to hang from a classroom ceiling, prehistoric rockpools, a swarm of shadow dragons, pop-up castles

Charges: £250 a day: includes storyteller’s fee, travel and materials. Can be paid on the day or I can invoice you.  

Activities can be adapted to suit groups from P1 through to Secondary

For further information: visit the Creeping Toad website at

http://creepingtoad.com/

To book: contact Gordon directly at

            creepingtoad@btinternet.com