Susan Strauss teaches stories through movement
Youth In Action students in Buena Vista and Salida recently had the opportunity to both listen to and tell stories with Susan Strauss, storyteller extraordinaire from Bend, Oregon. Her visit was a perfect transition into the Thanksgiving Holiday as she shared Native American stories of gratitude. After listening to a story about coyote (and his “tracks, tracks, tracks . . .”), students practiced movements for a story of how Eagle stole the sun. After learning the story through movement, middle school mentors told the story to families at our end-of-the-month “Parent Showcase.”
Susan’s visit also served as a culmination of our month of “building bridges.” Each month in Youth In Action, we introduce a new story from Rasperries and Rhinos: Tolerance Tales for the Early Grades, a free curriculum offered by Teaching Tolerance, a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center. The story chosen for November was “Old Joe and the Carpenter: An Appalachian Tale of Building Bridges.” This story of farmers from the eastern U.S. taught us to be willing to find solutions to issues that may get in the way of our friendships. Middle schoolers and pre-schoolers shared ideas like saying “thank you” or “I’m sorry” as ways to “build bridges” with each other. Then they built more literally: matches built mini bridges out of wood, cardboard, and glue and worked together to form bridges/towers and do acrobatics with the Salida Circus. Susan’s stories reminded us of the bridges built between Europeans and Native Americans in the early history of our country — the background behind our celebration of Thanksgiving.
During Susan’s week in Buena Vista and Salida, she also shared stories and a workshop with Nurturing Parenting families and taught two workshops for teachers, entitled “The Passionate Fact,” which were sponsored by Colorado Mountain College and the Buena Vista and Salida Libraries. Susan’s visit was also made possible thanks to support from Lakeside Motel, Joyful Feet, and Farmhands Education.