Ballet is an art in which adults partake in a fantasy world that is more often associated with children’s stories. Nobody speaks in a ballet–the classic story ballets are performed silently–although there is a sign language that one starts to recognize after watching several ballets. But no preparation is really required to fall into the magic of the ballet theater–besides, as with the great fairy and fantasy stories, an ability to let the world as we know it fall away as a fantastical world of magic takes its place. In the world of ballet, chickens (La Fille Mal Garde) and swans (Swan Lake) dance, fairies good and bad cast spells (Sleeping Beauty), pirate kings find true love (Le Corsaire), and Roman gods come to life (Sylvia). Watching ballet helps break through barriers between reality and fantasy. It is an art form that can speak to children and inspire young writers to let the dream-world that is in so much ballet enrich their stories. The digital world gives everyone access to some of the great performances of classic ballets. To get you started, we’ve added a few links below to You Tube videos of the UK’s Royal Ballet performing some of the ballets mentioned above. You’ll find many more yourselves. Have fun with the beauty of the movement and the music, and see if a balletic release into a fantasy world can help to get your creative juices flowing! Some simple exercises to try: Story-telling. What story might be conveyed best through dance? Is it an epic tale of fairies and unicorns, or a simple forest walk? Whatever the story is, which styles might you use tell that story? Many of the ballets below are based on full-length novels, or on short stories. Many people identify poetry in the movement of ballet. Once you know your story, and have written your story or poem, perhaps you could write it again in a different way–say, by writing a plot summary for the imaginary program given out in the theater. Art: What might your ballet look like? What is the scenery like, and what to the characters look like? Are they all human, or might they look like something never-before-imagined? Perhaps you can draw the sets, or the characters in their costumes. <iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/rryxZjqLtNs” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>
writing ideas
Complex relationships and why expectations matter
It’s a funny thing. If your friends, parents, and teachers expect you to accomplish something great, you very likely will. Not only do you want to please the people you care about, but their support helps you believe in yourself. And when you believe in yourself, you feel good, you have extra energy, and you can do your best. On the flip side, if others’ expectations of you are low, there’s a chance you will fall short, just as they predicted. The Biggest Win, by 12-year-old Caelen McQuilkin, is the featured story from our May/June 2016 issue. It’s a story about a friendship, but it also reveals something about the power of expectations. Rachel, the narrator, is best friends with Janina. Rachel is a soccer star, and Janina is good at art. They enjoy hiking together. In Rachel’s mind, this arrangement is perfect. “Opposites attract,” says Rachel. When Janina announces that she wants to sign up for the soccer team, Rachel is shocked. Not only does she think that Janina is not good at soccer, but she’s also afraid their friendship will never be the same. At first Rachel lies and encourages Janina to sign up. This makes Janina happy and even more eager to sign up. Then Rachel’s true feelings come out. She starts avoiding Janina, and worse. The other girls on the team say mean things about Janina’s soccer playing behind her back. Instead of standing up for her friend or helping her improve, Rachel joins in the negativity (although, to her credit, she feels guilty). Janina senses the negativity and, sure enough, she continues to play poorly. Luckily, Coach sees what’s happening and tries to steer the team in a better direction. She asks them to think about the concept of ohana (family) and apply it to their behavior as a team. Instead of keeping the ball away from Janina, why not give her a chance? If they are kind and expect more of her, maybe she will rise to meet their expectations. It takes a while, but finally the concept of ohana begins to sink in. It’s the championship game. Coach wants Janina to do a throw-in. One girl objects, but Rachel sides with Janina. The throw-in is perfect! As Rachel kicks the ball to the goal, her friendship with Janina flashes before her eyes. She realizes she has finally done the right thing. Janina just needed her best friend to believe in her. The friendship–and the game–have been saved. Friendships are complicated. A good friend is supportive and helpful, even if she’s uncomfortable with a new direction the friendship is taking. Think about your own life. Did a close friend ever step outside the box you thought she belonged in? Did you support her, even if it meant you had to change your own thinking? Was there a period where the two of you fell out of sync, then eventually got your rhythm back? Did you see the power of expectations? A complex relationship is at the core of The Biggest Win. Your own experiences can form the core of your own great story. Give it a try! You can do it!
Character, Plot, and Setting, Oh My! (Part 3)
Developing the Elements of a Story, Part 3 I can’t even count how many times I have read Thomas’s Christmas Delivery or Little Bear’s New Friend. My children never tired of hearing about Thomas’s and Little Bear’s adventures. Though as adults we may not read the same book as many times as our children reread their favorites, we can appreciate the draw of a good story. It’s that connection we have with the story that keeps us up to the wee hours of the night turning page after page and lingers in the periphery of our minds, wooing us as we go about our day. But what makes a story one to treasure, and how can we help our kids develop a tale beyond a sequence of events? The glue that holds a story together is character, plot, and setting, and when children understand and develop them, a great story is born. Have you ever imagined strolling along the paths of the shire or sitting in potions class at Hogwarts? The authors of these worlds have so craftily described the settings of these places that it makes it easy for us to fall right into the stories alongside our favorite characters. The setting of a story can set the mood, influence the characters, and affect the readers’ emotions. Although setting is an element children tend to forget, developing it can add interest not only for the reader but also for the writer. First, children need to understand the different aspects of setting: time, place, and environment. When and where does the story take place? What does the place look like? Who lives there? Is it a suburb, city, or countryside? Is it a rich or poor area? There are free lesson plans available online for teaching about setting. “Using Picture Books to Teach Setting in Writing Workshop,” by ReadWriteThink.org is a useful guide and easily adaptable to the homeschool classroom. Second, developing the setting is more than just telling the reader the where and when. Like the rest of the story, the writer should show rather than tell the reader the setting. This is not an easy task, but Teaching Ideas provides a wonderful lesson sure to help kids see and practice how this is done. Finally, once the children have a better understanding of what setting is and how it is projected, they can have some fun developing the setting for their own story. A simple way to do this is to have them list the aspects of time, place, and environment on a sheet of paper and brainstorm ideas for each category. For example, have them attach sensory descriptions to the environment category. Primary Paradise, however, has free graphic organizers that both upper and lower elementary aged students would find useful for this purpose. Story writing should be fun for kids. When they also understand and develop the elements of a story, they not only become better writers, they also go on an adventure, exploring their characters, plot and setting—oh my!
