This week, I'm working with the fabulous 'Uh Oh Books' team and we've been talking a lot about how stories can help shape a better world! So, this week my storytellings will focus on the positive impact of working together to make things better for everyone, as well as warn about what happens when we don't protect our planet as well as we should!
I'm going to kick off the week with a Saami folk tale about resistance and hope - a tale about trying to find a way out of the dark and a celebration of one boy's courage and his refusal to live paralysed by fear.
FACEBOOK LIVE SESSIONS ON TUESDAY AND THURSDAY AT 10.15AM, THEN UPLOADED TO THE WEBSITE! Or, click here to watch it now!
BACKGROUND-BITE: The Saami are the native people of northern Europe. Their land stretches from the north of Norway, Finland and Sweden to the Kuola peninsula in Russia. Historically, most were fishermen, hunters and above all reindeer herders, and a nomadic lifestyle was natural way for many. The constellations, the movements of the sun, moon and stars and the Auraura Borealis (Northern Lights) were well known to them and feature in many of their stories. These tales were passed down to generation after generation until a few hundred years ago pagan beliefs of the Saami were suppressed. As a result, many of the old stories vanished and only fragments of those myths and legends are left.
As global warming accelerates and climate change threatens our future, the Saami have much to teach the world about how to adapt and thrive, and much of this wisdom can be seen in the stories that survive today!
ACTIVITIES FOR YOUNG CHILDREN - EYFS / KEY STAGE 1 (0-7 years):
1. Read some more Saami stories - https://fairytalez.com/region/sami/
2. Find out a bit more about the Saami people and learn about their link with Frozen 2 - https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/discover/geography/general-geography/sami-people-facts/
3. Watch a video that teaches you about the Saami people - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8p7V4pFNl4
4. Grab some props - of the general household variety - and check out just how dramatic you can make your own re-working of our tale!
5. Try telling the story from the reindeer's perspective - here's a funny little video to help remind you how to organise your story - www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpWHZJZQDSE
6. Using story stones/dice to devise your own adventure for Anansi!
7. Make your own sun and reindeer antlers - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7iokGsaYus and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWtjT3OHpnM
ACTIVITIES FOR OLDER CHILDREN - FOR KEY STAGE 2-4 (8-15 years):
1. Read some more Saami stories - https://fairytalez.com/region/sami/
2. Find out a bit more about the Saami people and learn about their link with Frozen 2 - https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/discover/geography/general-geography/sami-people-facts/
3. Watch a video that teaches you about the Saami people - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8p7V4pFNl4
4. Create an comic strip or animation of the story - https://www.imagineforest.com/blog/how-to-create-a-comic-strip/ , www.storyboardthat.com/storyboard-creator https://www.canva.com/create/comic-strips/
5. Try writing the story from the reindeer's perspective or write a brand new adventure for our hero - https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zwjsyrd/revision/2 , www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpWHZJZQDSE
6. Learn about how climate change is threatening the Saami's way of life - https://arcticwwf.org/newsroom/the-circle/arctic-tipping-point/climate-change-culture-change/
7. Find out a bit more about climate change - https://ed.ted.com/series/?series=our-changing-climate
8. Discover how you can make a difference - https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/just-kids-what-climate-change-and-what-can-i-do
FOR GROWNUPS - STORY-ORIENTATED ESCAPISM:
1. Read about how the Saami people are frontline in our battle against climate change - https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/mar/10/sami-finland-climate-change