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Workshops and Visits
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"I was bowled over by how well the day worked. Your thought and planning ensured that every child in our large primary school enjoyed and engaged throughout the day. The whole school introduction assembly was great, interactive, at their level and the stories went down a treat. It is quite something looking at approx 400 pupils and seeing EVERYONE facing you and captivated!!"
Sandra Sambrook, St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Chesterfield
"It was amazing. I loved it. I would do it every day if I could!"
Noora, 9
These are just some of the comments I have received from the many children, teachers and families who have enjoyed my interactive workshops. If you are looking for fun literacy activities for your school, library or family event, then check out my workshops below.
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Visits and Workshops for Schools, Libraries and Public Events
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Rhythm & Rhyme in Sheffield '09 Find out what over 200 children got up to on my workshops in Sheffield libraries during the 2009 Summer Reading Challenge.
New for 2010! Look Where We Live Creative environmental workshops for primary school children.
Tailor-Made I am happy to tailor the level and duration of workshop sessions to suit the clients' needs, and the age / ability of the children. Below is a summary of the kinds of activities I offer. I am always open to suggestions, however, and would be happy to design a specific program if you wish to cover something in particular.
If you would like to find out more, or book a workshop or visit, please complete the online booking form.
My usual rate is £320 for a full day, and £200 for a half day plus reasonable travel expenses. I can also do shorter visits for venues within about an hour's drive from my home in Derbyshire. Please check the Terms and Conditions before making a booking.
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Look Where We Live!
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NEW FOR 2010! Creative Environmental Workshops for Peak District Schools
The Peak District National Park is a beautiful area. But what’s it like growing up in a place that other people view as special? A place with strict planning laws, environmental targets and over 10,000 visitors every year?
Do our children feel the same about their environment as tourists and environmental managers do?
Why do people make such a fuss about the Peak District anyway? What does it matter?
In this series of half or full-day creative workshops, children explore their environment using games, role play and other thought-provoking activities. They use descriptive writing, poetry, drama, illustration and video to communicate their thoughts and feelings to others. The best work will be published on the project website.
This project is supported by Live & Work Rural, which is funded by East Midlands Development Agency, Peak District National Park Authority and Derbyshire Economic Partnership.
Find out More
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Class Workshop: Do Something Different with Books
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No. of Children: One Class
Duration: A half or full day of activities to choose from
Age Range: R - Y4
Sessions can be tailored to children's needs, and can last from 30 minutes to two hours, depending on your needs.
Make-it. Play-it!
Children make their own musical instruments from recycled materials and use them to explore the rhythm of rhyming texts. Children divide into groups to play several rhythm parts to create a fun, musical-rhyme performance.
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The Big Green Rhyme Machine
Making up rhymes might seem difficult, but in fact is easy peasy! In this session, children use the Big Green Rhyme Machine to learn how easy rhyming is. They then make their own Mini Rhyme Machines to help them create funny short rhymes of their own.
Catch That Rat! - How DID you think of that?
Catch That Rat is a rhyming book due to be published in 2012. It is based on something that really happened in the village where I live.
In this session, I tell the story of how I came to write the book, then children help me read it by joining in with the repeating refrain with the help of my own "pet" rat, Pinky. Can they spot which bits of the story are true and which bits I made up? If there is time, we can "play" the book using clapping, clicking or stamping.
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You Can Make Up a Rhyme about ANYTHING!
Starring: Don't Dip Your Chips in Your Drink, Kate!
What would it be like to go to tea with the Queen? Would we eat with golden knives and forks, and drink from crystal glasses? In this session, we us this funny rhyming story to explore the tricky subject of table manners, and discover what happened to Kate when she went to tea with the Queen!
Children then create their own rhyming rules on a subject of their choice and share them with the group.
Where time allows, we discuss and read the sequel to this book, Don't Wear Your Pants on Your Head, Fred!, due out in 2012.
How a Picture Book is Made - Role Play
We know we need a writer to write the book, and a book shop to sell the book, and children to read the book..... but what happens in between?
In this session, children volunteer to dress up and enact the process of creating a book from writer to reader. It could be a little chaotic, and it will certainly be loud...but also lots of fun!
Children will hear some early text drafts, see rough illustrations and the dummy book.
We finish with a reading of the completed book and sequel.
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Make Your Own Mini Book
Children create funny rhymes on a particular theme (eg wildlife, monsters, football) then make their own mini-books from a single sheet of paper to copy out and illustrate their rhymes.
Cake Collage
Starring: Don’t Dip Your Chips in Your Drink, Kate!
Children work together to re-create a scene from the book using collage, adding their own cake creations to the scene.
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Class Workshop: Don’t Dip Your Chips in Your Drink, Kate!
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Number of children: one class (approx. 30)
Duration: Half Day
Age range: R - Y4
You can make a funny rhyme out of just about anything, even a boring list of rules! In this workshop, children use percussion instruments to have fun with the rhythm and rhyme patterns of a range of texts. We then create our own rhyming texts using Don’t Dip Your Chips in Your Drink Kate! for inspiration.
Watch video clips
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Class Workshop: Make Your Own Picture Book
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Number of children: one class (approx. 30)
Duration: Full day
Age range: Y3/Y4
Printing: £3 per book (cost price)
Children work together to create their own illustrated picture book. They can use one of my texts or create a counting book for toddlers.
We explore different illustrative styles, layouts and text presentation, then create the illustrations in a consistent style. Then we simply scan the images, and send them off to our printers. The finished books will be delivered to your school, complete with all your children's illustrations.
"What a great idea for fundraising! Schools can print extra booklets and sell them to parents and friends." Claire South, Sheffield City Council Schools Library Service.
"We love illustration club!" Sophie, 9
This workshop is sponsored by Citiprint Midlands who have offered to produce the books at cost.
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Want something else?
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If none of these workshops sounds right for your school, don't worry! I am very flexible and can design activities to suit you. Simply contact me to discuss your ideas.
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