Day 30 SoL Story Challenge: Oral Storytelling and Revision

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For the past week or so, Little L has figured out that I cannot resist letting her stay up a few extra minutes to record a story before bedtime. It's becoming a new bedtime routine! (Not sure yet if it's one I really want to keep… we'll see…)

L surprised me tonight. For weeks her stories have revolved around chipmunks, squirrels, bunnies, and other woodland critters in different fantastical, magical settings and situations. Tonight she told a much more realistic story, with dogs as the main characters, a throwback to her her "younger" days. (I know, she's four, how much younger can you really get! But the three year old Little L used to exclusively tell stories about our dog and dogs in general).

Doggy Runs Away

Once upon a time there was a little puppy and its mother was a golden retriever, and it was a polka dot… it was a silver polka dotted golden retriever, and they lived together in a dog house. And their owner… and the mom person was Goldie, and the little one was Jamie, and the dad was Richard, and the dog… and those were the two pets. And one day the doggies decided that they wanted to… um… run away… so the two dogs ran away. And the next morning when the owners woke up they didn't' see the dogs in the doghouse. Then they looked and looked and looked and looked and LOOKED and LOOKED and LOOKED but they could not find the dogs. So they went to dog proovenary (???) shows. And they found the dogs and brought them home and put a fence around their doghouse so they wouldn't run away again. The… and they got to go to dog races training, and the end. And the dog race training, you get... dogs get to be trained how to do human stuff. The end.

Just after I put the camera down, Little L said, "I know why the dogs wanted to run away."

"Oh, really?" I asked.

"Yeah, they really wanted to go to dog race training school."

"Well, you could tell the story again and put that in there. You could have them talk to each other, so that it shows what they're thinking. You know, about sneaking off to go to dog race training school."

"Can I stay up and do it over?" L asked excitedly.

I sighed. "Sure, why not?"

Once upon a time there was two dogs. And Lucy, and… Once upon a time there was a little girl and her name was Carrie, uh… Carrager… no… yeah, and her name was Lucy… and Lucy, um, REALLY wanted a puppy golden retriever and a mom golden retriever and her mom said, "No… No Lucy we can't, cuz theyll… cuz cuz they won't stay at home." 

"Aw, don't worry. Golden retrievers puppies and moms are the best at staying. Kids, dads, they run away. That's all it is," said Lucy. 

"Come on Lucy" 

So… finally, finally her mom letted her get a puppy golden retriever and a mom golden retriever, and then the, the first night they got them one  said, "Lets go to dog training race school" 

But the other one said "No, cause our owners won't let them." 

THen the other, then the puppy said, "Hey I know, let's sneak OUT now."  So they snuck out… ooop. 

Today race, the dog race, the dog, the animal race training school. 

And then the next morning they woke up, and then the golden retrievers were missing. Then they looked and looked and looked and looked and looked and looked and looked but they couldn't find the golden retrievers. So they decided to look at the animal race training school. And they were there. And finally they figured out. They should bring them back home, put  them in the doghouse and put a fence around so they should never ever escape again.

The end. 

Little L sat for a few seconds in thought. I was putting my camera down and about to tuck her in to bed when she said, "And the moral of the story is…" I scrambled for my camera! How could I miss this!

"Wait! Do it again!"

"And the moral of the story is… if you ever lose your pet, go look for it. The end. Done. The end."

Notes: I have no idea when we read a story that a moral of the story ending--maybe she heard one at school. I also have no idea where the names Lucy, Jamie, Carrie, and Richard come from, they seem more like names from my generation than hers! The golden retriever thing sort of makes sense because she asks me constantly to tell stories about my dog, Bob, a golden retriever that I grew up with.

In the classroom, when I'm working with young kids, I often give time for kids to tell their stories aloud many times to their writing partner to rehearse before they write. This encourages them to revise their story again and again before they even put their pen on the page. Some prompts I often use to encourage revision in oral storytelling include:

* Put in what you were saying. "I said…"
* Describewhat things looked like. "I saw…"
* Describe what things felt like. "I felt…"
* Put in what you were thinking. "I thought…"
* Say exactly what you were doing. "I was…"
* Try using expression in your voice so it's very exciting, or scary, or calm like it's a bedtime story, or fancy like it's a fairy tale.
* Try using gestures or drama to act out your story as you tell it.

A little prompting goes a long, long way. I usually just pick one and give kids time to play around with it. Like with L. Just prompting for a little dialogue transformed the second version of her doggy story!

This Is Just To Say: A Story Told Through A Poem by Indigo, the Dog

Each Tuesday my colleagues and I at the blog Two Writing Teachers host a Slice of Life Story event. Teachers, students, and writers from all over the world share a short, focused story from a small moment in their own lives. See more Slices by clicking here.

Little L. and I read this book over and over again.

She decorated this gingerbread house all by herself.

"Nobody is allowed to touch this. Not even you, mommy."

This is Just to Say
a poem by Indigo, the dog

I have eaten
the gumdrops
that were decorating
the gingerbread house

and which
you were probably
so proud of
having done it all by yourself

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so delicate

Guilty doggy!

Mom's Best Friend

Each Tuesday my colleagues and I at the blog Two Writing Teachers host a Slice of Life Story event. Teachers, students, and writers from all over the world share a short, focused story from a small moment in their own lives--a Slice of Life Story. See more Slices by clicking here.

The alarm goes off. It's early. The sun isn't quite up yet. My eyes are blurry. My head hurts. My hips hurt. My back hurts. My feet are swollen. I feel slightly sick to my stomach. Only four more weeks to our due date.


My hand touches something fuzzy and warm next to me in the bed. Indigo! He's got his furry little head resting on my belly, using it as a pillow--so cute! I wonder if he can feel the baby moving around in there. How did I not notice him sleeping on me? He's warm and soft, and suddenly I don't feel so sick anymore.

I pause for a minute to give Indigo some pats and some love, and then I gently slide him over to the side so I can get up and start the day. He lifts his head for a moment and gives me a look that says, "Hey, I'm snuggling here!" (I've always imagined that Indigo has a Brooklyn accent) and then he flops back down with a giant doggy sigh and goes back to sleep.

Comments From the Peanut Gallery

Baby L is learning more and more words by the minute! Her newest craze is to chime in to conversations, books, songs, anything with her own "comments." Usually "Dooooo!" or "Deeda deeda deeda" or something like that, but she sounds like she's really adding to the conversation! We respond with all due seriousness, "Yes, Baby L., of course. What else would you like to say?" And she responds!

Adorable!

Add that to her fascinating "self conversations" that she has nightly in her crib before she drops off to sleep, and each morning when she awakes. She can be heard listing off the words she knows, cooing, and babbling. It's the best alarm clock ever!

So cute!

She can also be heard "talking" to Indigo, our dog, and Baby L's best bud. "Dee! Dee! Heh heh heh." She smiles, and pats him, or waves to him from across the living room and says as clear as day, "Hi!"

Too bad Indigo can't talk. Maybe with enough reading aloud, modeling conversations, responding to his attempts at conversation...

Baby Sign Language!

It's obvious how much Baby L loves her doggy, Indigo. When I call Indigo from across the room, I make a kissy sound and pat my lap and he comes running. When she was just a few months old, Baby L started doing it too! The first time she did it I could hardly believe it! She couldn't sit up by herself, but she could make kissy sounds and pat her lap to get Indigo to come running!

The kissy sound and patting was really L's first sign. Now she also makes a panting sound when she wants to tell me, "doggy." She'll be in the middle of playing with blocks and she'll look up, break into a big smile and pant, and then look around for Indigo-- brilliant!

The jury is still out on the benefits of teaching your baby to sign, but according to the research I've seen, it seems to help babies communicate and lessen frustration. No to mention, that it's a fun way to play with words, and it's SOOO cute!

In the past month or so Baby L has learned all the most important signs: "dog" "food" "cup" and "milk." What else could a girl want? I think we'll work on "book" next!

Biscuit and the Baby

Okay, so I have had a crush on Biscuit for a long time now. Not only is he a cute little puppy, but he's also a character that first graders can follow across a nice easy series of books. As a teacher, the Biscuit books are my favorite series of books to help kids move on up into what we call the "watershed levels" of reading. If you're a little kid, and you're reading books at level F/G/H, there just aren't that many series books to choose from. Thank goodness for Biscuit!

Now I have a whole new reason to crush on Biscuit. Baby L. loves the Biscuit books! It's the repetition. Not only is there a pattern to the text (Not yet Biscuit! Silly puppy...), but I read the books over and over so often that L. lights up when she sees a Biscuit book now. Lily loves familiar books and songs. Whichever books I read the most-- those are her favorites.

The best part is that my dog, Indie, loves the Biscuit books too. Whenever I'm reading to Baby L., his ears perk up when I read "Woof! Woof!" He watches us reading Biscuit, with his head cocked to one side, wondering why I'm barking (especially since I tell him not to). Between Baby L. lighting up, and Indie's quizzical expressions, the whole scene is just adorable.

For Mother's Day, I'm hoping somebody gives me Biscuit Loves Mother's Day. The perfect combo for Baby L.: Biscuit the puppy, AND flaps to lift up, all in one book.

Doggy Haiku III

Baby moves. Cries, then coos.
Doggy stands up. Stands guard.
Furry protector.

* Day 7 of the KidLitosphere Poem-A-Day Challenge for National Poetry Month.

Doggy Haiku II

He rests, chin on paws,
Puppy-dog eyes are alert,
Always on the watch.

* Day 6 of the KidLitosphere Poem-A-Day Challenge for National Poetry Month.

Doggy Haiku I

A furry soldier
stands guard just outside the crib.
Waits... Listens... Sniffs…Wags.

* Day 5 of the KidLitosphere Poem-A-Day Challenge for National Poetry Month.

Life-After-Baby for Doggy: Another Small Moment

Indigo smells. He smells worse than he as ever smelled before. Ever. Do I dare guess what he smells like? Dead animal? Vomit? A combination of the two?

He looks sad. His big brown eyes gaze up at me through his wiry fur. I feel a pang of guilt. The last time he went to the groomer was when I was home on maternity leave. Baby L. is five months old now, and I've been back at work since January. He's looooong overdue. His sleek, short fur has been left alone so long that he now resembles a small bear.

And he STINKS. Oh, I feel terrible for him. Poor Indigo. I don't think he's been getting much sleep. Ever since L. started sleeping in her own room, he doesn't know where to put himself. He starts out in his old spot at the foot of our bed, then moves to his own doggy bed in our room, then out to the floor in the hall between the two bedrooms, then finally out to the couch in the living room, where he's more comfortable. Right now he's dozing on the floor in the hall between bedrooms, sprawled out, all four legs out straight, like he's playing dead.

What IS that smell? Ew. I look at Indigo. I can't help thinking he's hit the doggy version of rock-bottom. His fur is matted in a few places, poor dog. I know what I need to do. I need to look under his tail in case, well, you know why... I check, and sure enough. Leftovers from his last bathroom break are stuck in the fur under his tail. Ack!

I scoop him up, tell him I love him, and stick him in the shower for a good long doggy bath. He presses against my arms to hug me while I wash his back. I think it's the most attention he's had since the baby was born. I have plenty of time while Baby L. is asleep, so I give him a good long scrub, with the nice smelling doggy shampoo. I dry him off with his special green towel that we only use for him, and I brush him for a long time. He shivers with happiness at each brush stroke, and licks my hand to say thank you. By the time I'm done with him he looks, and smells (thankfully) like a brand new dog.

** Picture taken after his bath **

Puppy Love

When Daddy B. and I were expecting our daughter, Baby L., we received tons of advice about how to help our dog, Indigo, adjust to his new life. Anybody who knows us knows that Indigo was the center of our attention. He pretty much ran our household, controlling everything from what time in the morning we woke up, to our weekend activities, to how late we stayed out with friends at night. He seemed to need constant cuddling, snuggling, playing games, tugging on his favorite rope, fetch, doing tricks...

When we moved all the office furniture and books out of Indie's "bedroom" to turn it into Baby L.'s bedroom, Indigo was incredibly upset by the change. He cried and moped around for days during the switch. That room had always been "his," from the time he was a puppy. So, during the months leading up to L.'s birth, we made sure to play with Indigo as much as we could in the baby's new room. We even gave him treats in there so that he wouldn't think of the baby's room as a bad place in the apartment, and when L. was born, Daddy B. brought home a hospital blanket for Indigo to sleep on before Baby L. and I came home from the hospital so that her scent would be familiar to him.

I'm and avid reader of doggy-lit. I read dog-centered websites and books. I watch dog-related shows and movies. You name it. From all this research, I've pulled out four essential things you can do to help your doggy and baby love each other:

1. Right from the beginning, teach your dog to always stay calm near your baby. That means no playing with the puppy near her when she’s in her play-gym, no tug-of-war next to her while she swings. And no more playing with baby with one hand, and throwing the ball to Doggy with the other. While it might seem perfectly safe to get your pup all excited while you're holding your three month old safely in your arms, you may want to reconsider. By keeping the dog calm near the babe, you can establish a routine that will keep your baby safe as she grows older and you can't be right next to her and the dog every minute.

2. Give your pup his own special place(s) around the house. It could be a dog bed, the rug he likes to curl up on for naps, or his favorite spot on the couch (or all of the above). Don’t allow the baby (or her toys) in his spots, so that they don't have her scent. We keep Indigo's dog beds baby-free (yes, he has several dog beds around the house - though he sleeps in ours at night).

3. Early on teach your child to be gentle to your dog, so he can trust her. Be especially careful when your baby and dog are new to each other. Over the years your doggy will learn to put up with more and more poking and fur-pulling, but let him learn to love your baby first – that way he’s more likely to be patient with her later on.

4. Doggies love routines – just like babies! Make sure that there are times in the day that you give your dog some attention. Maybe you always do a couple tricks with your dog when you come home from work, or maybe you always snuggle with him after his morning walk. Our dog knows that after Baby L. falls asleep, we’re all his. He comes looking for some extra lovin’ as soon as she’s asleep, and sticks to us like glue for the rest of the night.