From the Wisdom of Evelyn Kyle:

I was born in eastern Kansas and lived there until my late teens when we moved to Fruita.  When I was twenty I took a job in Los Angeles.   

My husband was an officer in the Army Air Corps during WWII and during those years we lived in several different states in the US.  Later we moved to Grand Junction and in 1985 I earned a BA degree in Performing Arts with emphasis in Theatre from Mesa State College.

Besides being a wife and mother of two daughters and two sons I have worked in varied capacities such as:  Secretary, Sales and Manager for a cosmetic company, Oral History Coordinator for Mesa County Public Library and the Museum of Western Colorado.  I have also been involved in making TV commercials and directing plays for the First Congregational Church.  Although my husband has always been the primary 'provider' he has encouraged me to follow my interests and that has oftentimes resulted in helping to make a living.

Over the years we have traveled to different countries to visit our children.  We journeyed to Japan to see our daughter and son in law while he served in the Air Force.  Then we visited our son and his family when they were in France working for a ski corporation.  I would one day like to return to France and still wish to visit San Francisco, California.

I really enjoy walking for exercise. For entertainment I love to listen to books and remain active in two book clubs.  Attending plays and musical events is a great source of pleasure as well.  Also, I like to cook and enjoy 'breaking bread' with friends.  One thing you may not know about me is that a friend and I wrote a cookbook.  One of my current goals is to become a better listener.

I discovered Spellbinders while in a liturgical dance group with Norma Roscoe who was always arriving a little late and wearing an odd hat I inquired about her tardiness.  Norma told me she was returning from being Gramma Poo and telling stories to school children.  That caught my interest and I wanted to know more....a new Spellbinder was born!

I love making friends with the children and their teachers.  It is always uplifting to be recognized and receive hugs from the children.  Storytelling is a bit like performing in theatre and I love my audience of children.  I 'tell' to first and second graders.  My favorite stories are fairytales and fables which convey a useful message that help children understand life.  I also like the challenge of using a variety of voices for different characters.

A couple of things that I find helpful in storytelling:  Intentionally capture the children's attention and prepare them to settle into a listening mode as follows:  "Take your imaginary key out of your pocket and turn on your imagination.  Be silent and listen...listen to a story from Gram E.  Place your index finger on your lips as a gesture to remind them to be silent and touch the ears to remind them to listen."  Now they are ready for the story.

The other thing that I have found helpful in managing commentaries and questions is the following procedure:  Have a child stand, state their name then their comment or question.  I alternate between girls and boys and plan for the amount of time left over for this interaction based on the length of stories I have told.  Generally, I tell one short story and then one longer story.  I think in part the value of this procedure will strengthen each child's ability to make themselves recognized and be heard while in meetings.

Thanks to Evelyn for sharing her story and wisdom!  And, thanks to Judi Sammons who wrote the profile for this issue!

You are both treasures! 

Thank you Lorna and Scott, for sharing your stories at the April Workshop!

Lorna McIlnay told us the classic Grimm's tale of The Wolf and the Seven Kids. Much like The Three Little Pigs and Little Red Cap, the scheming, wicked Wolf gets his just deserts after trying to harm the naïve young characters and thankfully, everyone lives happily ever after! This story is a favorite of Lorna's Granddaughter, who talked Grandma into visiting her California kindergarten class and telling the tale. Lorna suggested being ready to alter our stories a bit in case any of the children get frightened as one little girl in that class did!

Another source for this story online can be found at one of my favorite sites: SurLaLune.  This story is listed under those that are "similar" to the Three Little Pigs (one of my favorites!)  The other really great feature about this website is that many of the fairy tales are annotated.  This really helped me with my version of the Three Little Pigs as well as The Emperor's New Clothes.  Check it out! 

Scott Fairbanks kindly consented to stand in at the last minute and entertained us with his lively telling of the Robert W. Service Poem: The Cremation of Sam McGee, a tale of two crusty Yukon Prospectors. His Scottish and Tennessee accents brightly animated the two Sourdoughs! Scott says that he always enjoyed family camping trips with stories and poems told around the campfire. He first heard this poem as a child  when his Uncle told it on just such an occasion.   

(Note: the link in the title of the poem above takes you to a blog post at "Karen's Poetry Spot" and the post includes the text of the poem & links to various recordings of the poem.)

For fun you can also check out a couple of YouTube Videos of recitations of this poem....one of them is Johnny Cash!  

A big thank you to Mary Lou Palmer who wrote much of this section!