Tag: Roam the Gnome

Review: An A-Z Collection of Behaviour Tales by Susan Perrow

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This review is from Amber Greene of Roam the Gnome – many thanks to her for her thoughtful review.

A-Z Collection of Behaviour Tales Amber Greene

Susan Perrow is a world-renowned storyteller with multiple books behind her. Her newest book, Behaviour Tales – From Angry Ant to Zestless Zebra [sic], is a collection of 42 stories of Behaviour Medicine.

Susan was the founding teacher and instigator of Periwinkle Preschool in Byron Bay, and her work with young children at Periwinkle was the seed for her explorations into therapeutic storytelling.

As a lifelong writer, she was thrilled with the opportunity to share her own stories with the children but never more so than when a purpose-written story could effect change. Seeing the impact her stories could have on the children’s behaviour in particular was eye-opening and led her on an exploration to learn more about this magic.

Story Magic

This new book, An A-Z of Behaviour Tales, is a book for all children who have ever faced their own challenges or inner demon. Illustrated with sweet pencil drawings by Allmut ffrench, this paperback book should be in every travelling mum and dad’s backpack.

The book features therapeutic stories to help with anxiety, fussiness, jealousy, separation anxiety, shyness, perfectionism, and being scared – some of the issues children face both at home and on the road.

  • There are healing stories for challenging behaviour such as kicking, being greedy, hurting other children, bullying and bossiness, being too loud, or obnoxious and restlessness.
  • There are stories to help children overcome laziness, messiness, whinging, and uncooperativeness.
  • There is even a story to help with the modern child’s first world problem – boredom.

In fact, there’s likely to be a story for any kind of challenge you may be facing!

Susan’s behaviour tale stories for children are designed to be a gentle therapy – there’s no need for recriminating discussions or over-the-top admonishments when a story can have a profound effect on the child’s ongoing behaviour without any of the guilt or shame.

Susan rounds off the stories with practical tips on how to extend the stories so they make even more of an impact. She provides a few ideas on how to make use of puppetry, drama, craft, games and songs complement the storytelling.

Proof is in the Pudding

I’ve been a friend and a fan of Susan’s for years, and in fact, Jack is lucky enough to attend Periwinkle Steiner Preschool again this year.

More importantly, I’ve been reading and telling Susan’s stories to my boys and to hundreds of children during my former life as a kindergarten teacher, and I’ve seen first hand how quickly these stories work to bring change.

When children are immersed in world schooling, and all the change that brings on a daily basis, a gentle story from this collection of tales can provide comfort and security.

Buy the book here…

More about Amber Greene and Roam the Gnome here…

Review: Making the Children’s Year

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This fantastic review was written by Amber of Roam the Gnome, a family travel website and blog. Many thanks to her for reviewing this title, and for letting us reproduce her review on our website. Please note, this is an edited extract; to read the full review, follow the link at the foot of the page.

In my “former” life before I was a full-time Travel Writer/Family Explorer, I was a Steiner Early Childhood Teacher for 10 years and during this time I handcrafted my share of Steiner toys.

You might wonder how someone with a serious case of wanderlust and a passion for writing and film ever became a teacher, let alone a Steiner Kindergarten teacher, living each and every day inside the same classroom, in a pattern of daily and weekly rhythms that didn’t offer much change, let alone any chances to wander and explore the world beyond. I do too!

But there were SO many gifts in this unexpected career of mine, and while for me it was a shortish interlude, for most teachers working in this way, it is a calling, a passion, a dream come true.

Steiner Waldorf Craft and Steiner Toys

One of my favourite parts of my job was MAKING STUFF. As a lifelong creative, the chance to felt, sew, paint, sing, dance, move, cook, and garden, while ‘working’ (not too hard) with children all around me, was a pretty happy way to spend my days. I made beautiful, heartfelt, handmade stuff with the children every single day.

Toys, crafts for all the seasons, festival invitations, decorations for the room, garlands, costumes, birthday gifts, drawing books, birthday posters, birthday books, story props and props for circle time, gifts for Mothers and Fathers, gifts for new babies, and things to embellish the nature table.

Handmade Waldorf Steiner Toys

Early in my journey, I discovered a book about Waldorf Steiner Toys called ‘The Children’s Year’, a compendium of children’s crafts and activities to celebrate the ever-changing seasons of the year. There were super simple toys such as felt balls, felt ducks, pom pom rabbits and the cutest flower fairy dolls, and knitted chickens that even a beginner could make.

Just a few weeks ago, I got the news that this book has been lovingly reprinted as a fully revised edition of the original “The Children’s Year” by Christine Fynes-Clinton, Stephanie Cooper, and Marije Rowling. It’s now called ‘Making the Children’s Year’- Seasonal Waldorf Crafts with Children, thanks to an update by one of the original writers, Marije Rowling.

It’s simply beautiful, a book for all families, a book for travelling families, and not just Steiner Waldorf -inspired ones.

For those families who love travel, and especially slow travel, this book should be a mandatory item on the family travel packing list, along with a few basic craft supplies such as wool felt, needles and thread, a pair of scissors, colourful ribbon lengths, and knitting wool.

Add a few of nature’s treasures such as seedpods, rocks, leaves and sticks to the mix, along with some found objects such as empty matchboxes, cardboard, and scraps of paper, and you’re set.

…

The new coloured illustrations add to the magic and bring the book to life.

I loved it then, but I love it even more now.


Buy the book here…

More about Roam the Gnome (including full review) here…