Woodland Learning

Storytelling

Stories are a great leveller. Most people really enjoy them, whatever their age. Stories can be used to teach people about woodlands and to encourage them to visit and participate in story based activities. By using stories we can break down barriers, explain things in a non-threatening way and make woodlands a magical place.

Services Offered by Woodland Learning

Ruth Parsons can make up age appropriate stories to illustrate a certain point or explain something or to encourage a certain group to enjoy and use a wood. I can use the Harry’s Hazelnut story I wrote and was published. I also use many stories by other authors. I can create a comfortable story telling place in a wood and involve people in the telling of a story or show them how to do it themselves. I charge £220.00 a day for storytelling workshops or courses. Please contact me to discuss what you would like. See Events page for forthcoming storytelling courses and events. Woodland Learning Story telling 2

Examples

Harry’s Hazelnut

At Goddard Park Primary School a group of parents and grandparents wanted to involve the children in using and caring for the school wood. I worked with them over the course of a year to make a story sack and to share it with all the children in the school.

Story sacks are cloth bags containing a fiction book and toy characters and scenery to help illustrate the story. There is also a CD of the story, a related non-fiction book, a game, parents guide, sometimes a teaching pack. Everyone loves them but they are especially good for parents who have limited reading skills and those without English as a first language so they can share books with their children.

We decided to make a story sack. I wrote a story called Harry’s Hazelnut about a little boy who finds a nut on the way to school. He plants it and watches it grow. The story then goes on to explain about how hazel trees in a wood are managed and the produce that can be made from them. I also wrote the teaching pack to go with the story.

The parents group designed and made all the props and a wall hanging for scenery and a sack to put it in. To go along with this we ran a few family days with activities based on the story in the school wood. We made bird boxes and walking sticks, created habitats and played games, and ate hazelnut biscuits. Of course, we also told the Harry’s Hazelnut story out in the wood. The days were very popular. We also took the story to assemblies and did projects with every class. The parents and grandparents all received well earned Open College Network qualifications and some have gone on to train to be Forest School Leaders. The school has embraced the Forest School ethos and has trained staff, improved the wood and use it very often.

Storysacks Ltd. Really liked the story and decided to publish the book and produce a commercial version of the story sack. I have led lots of workshops for other schools and teacher groups based on the story sack. I wrote the story when I was employed by the Great Western Community Forest and they own the copyright. Royalties go back into Swindon Schools for Forest Education projects.

A Corner to Learn.

Mountford Manor Woodland Storytelling and Activities Course

This 5 morning course for families was funded by the Swindon Learning and Engagement team. The course focused on 5 stories with games and activities based upon them. Children were excused from lessons to join their parents in the beautiful school wood. A different story was the focus for each week. They were Oliver Finds His Way, A made up Fairy and Elf story, Little Red Riding Hood, a made up Maurice mouse story and, of course, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt! Every morning finished with hot chocolate made in Kelly kettles and a chat and sharing of ideas.

The course was very well attended with 13 adults and 21 children. Some parents expressed an interest in further courses and all said they would feel more confident taking their children to the woods. Two of the parents had very little English and were encouraged to attend by the School’s Nursery manager. The ladies joined in with everything and were definitely more relaxed as part of the group by the end of the course.

Storytelling

Eastrop Infants, Highworth. Reception and Year 1 story visits to Stanton Park.

The younger children at the school visit Stanton Park once per season to explore the changes. The visits are for the whole class with lots of adult helpers. Each visit is themed on a story the children are learning about in Literacy. The first visit was the old favourite “We’re going on a Bear Hunt”. We followed bear footprints around the lake and through the wood. Each group of children taking it in turns to be at the front and find the next footprint. We went through long grass, through a bog (instead of a river), etc. Eventually we came to a cave (The Round House). In the cave was a large teddy. Instead of running away the children got their own teddies out and joined him for a picnic. The event was great fun and the children walked about 2 miles with never a moan. They really enjoyed bringing their teddies and changing the end of the story as they all thought the big bear only wanted to play and had gone off lonely in the real story.

The next visit will be themed on “The Jolly Postman” where we will post and find all sorts of letters in holes in trees. We have also planned a visit with the theme of materials where we will build the houses of the three little pigs using the materials we can find and will ask the local wolf to test them for us.

These events are supported by Swindon Ranger Service.

Bear relaxing on special bed after large lunch