L. K. grew up in Clifton, New Jersey which is located close to NYC. She and her twin brother were raised as latchkey kids while both of their parents worked in nearby factories to support the family. Their father was well read and believed in education even though neither parent completed high school. So, after high school graduation L.K. worked for two years to save enough money to begin college.

She completed her teaching degree at Morehead State University and eventually married her college sweetheart. They moved to Grand Junction in 1970 and fell in love with the small town environment; no traffic, no lines and wide open spaces.  

They soon had two children and when the children were still babies L.K.'s husband had a rafting accident which left her as a single Mom. There were many challenges for L.K. with no family nearby and two babies to raise. She was fortunate to land a job and begin teaching at District 51. Eventually she went on to earn her Master's Degree.

When L.K. joined Sweet Adelines she had reached a turning point in her life. She soon discovered that she loved to entertain. Currently L.K. is an active participant in the Senior Theater and loves dancing with La Puerta Dance Studio. These venues give her an opportunity to showcase her dance and acting skills and enter in dance competitions. Occasionally this part of her world makes her feel like a Princess.

L.K. was first introduced to Spellbinders when she stopped at a table at the Senior Fair and began a casual conversation with a Spellbinder which led to taking the Spellbinder training in the fall 2010.  

When L.K. talks about Spellbinders her joy and enthusiasm is infectious. She loves to perform and receive the enthusiastic reactions from the children and to feel the teacher's excitement when she enters the classroom. It feels like the room lights up when she arrives. The most fulfilling aspect of telling stories for L.K. is just being with the kids.

L.K. partners with her Puppet Francis who frequently speaks to the children on a different level than the adult L.K. Francis can say outrageous things that surprise and delight the children.  

L.K. likes 'participation' stories and humorous stories. She may even modify stories based on comments the children are making which is the gift of spontaneous invention, a marvelous creative skill L.K. can offer.

Some of L.K.'s favorite stories right now include: "Indian Coyote tales", "The Snow Queen"," Sophie's Masterpiece" and, "No Biting Louise". What is most challenging is finding stories that she really wants to tell and then making those stories as interesting as possible for whatever level the children can understand.  

L.K. is in her third year of telling at the 2nd and 3rd grade levels. She has some goals to expand her skills with partner Francis so they can both share in telling different parts of the story from different points of view.  

L.K.'s wisdom to share includes her process: First she writes down the outline or bones of the story that reflect the sequence of events. She familiarizes herself with the flow and then begins to Tell and spontaneously expands and embellishes as she goes along. Of course each time she tells the same story it is always fresh and different from the last time. So, kiddos and teachers have to listen with new ears.

Thank you L.K. for sharing your love of Storytelling and your wisdom with all of us. You are a talented inspirational force. We all feel you joy as a storyteller.

Scott Fairbanks sang us a very funny song called Gladys the Cow, which was a childhood family favorite. Thanks Scott, for giving us such fun and introducing us to Gladys, that amazing bovine! Thanks also, for reminding us what an" Udder "delight it is to sing and laugh together!

You can find the lyrics at a Boy Scout site here. 

You can also listen and watch a YouTube video of a version of the song to get a feeling for the tune.  

Gladys the Cow

Overall, if you missed Scott's rendition, you really missed something!  Thanks again Scott!

Janice Shepherd told a  story called "Alice in Numberland." This humorous fantasy story  teaches children  math  skills. Alice is walking along reading a math book, accidentally stumbles into Numberland and finds herself in a huge castle.

Hiding in a corner of the castle's kitchen,  Alice meets The Royal Baker, Princess Pauline ,a giant, a griffin, a troll and a dragon.  

As more guests arrive for the birthday party, it must be decided how to divide up the cake to share with all of the guests, among other mathematical problems.  

Janice is especially concerned with fostering children's interest and enjoyment of math and science. What a happy and fun math experience you give them through this story!

In case you missed the workshop.... 

Janice has also been doing some extra work this year in order to encourage further reading by her listeners, particularly non-fiction books that may be related in some way to the story she is telling.

She also researches to see where the books are available and leaves a list with the teacher to share with the children.  She specifically ensures that the book is available in the library of the school where she is telling stories.  Lots of work and an awesome effort!   

Janice shared with us one of her lists to provide an example of what she has done, emphasizing that it would be best to research available books at your specific school if you wish.  

Her suggestions:

As you'll see I don't always stick to the non-fiction rule as sometimes there are just not enough non-fiction books on a given subject or the fiction has a certain appeal to me. 

Thank you Janice!