To celebrate the first year of Flannel Friday posts, Melissa of Mel's Desk and the one who started Flannel Friday has asked participants to write about their Flannel Friday experience. ( So you can blame her for this long-winded post.)
I find it a bit ironic that such a traditional form of storytelling is being shared, encouraged and supported through the use of social media and that my love of traditional storytelling forms has pushed me into using social media that I would have otherwise ignored.
I first started this blog in 2007 when I took a Web 2.0 tech challenge. Eventually I stopped posting but began again when I took another Web 2.0 tech challenge last spring. (I figured things might have changed a bit since 2007.) About the same time I came across Melissa's post on PUBYAC and started following Flannel Friday.
Since I do a Family Story Time for all ages I am aways on the lookout for storytelling ideas. I look for stories that will engage the adults and older children as well as keep the attention of the little ones. I have the most success with humorous stories and folktales. A couple of years ago I started adapting folktales to tell using simple props such as stick puppets. It began when I wanted some prince/princess stories for a "Royal" theme. I found one that I adapted for stick puppets and for the second I made a scroll story using a roll of old printer paper. I decided to do more of my own adapting even though it takes more effort. Since I only work part-time, I don't have as many regular programs and responsibilities as do the other librarians which gives me a bit more prep time. (The down side of being part-time is that I'm almost always on the desk so I also end up doing a great deal of prep at home.) Last summer I did a program of African folktales. My current library did not own a book I wanted to read so I decided to write my own version. I did a little research and came up with "Silly Humans." I decided it would be a good story for our magnet board and I came up with the figures for the story. As I was preparing the story it occurred to me that it would be a good fit for Flannel Friday. I sent Melissa an email and that's how it all started.
Although I thought it would be a one-time thing, I ended up contributing fairly often. Seeing a post would remind me of something I had done so I would write it up for Flannel Friday. I hadn't planned on blogging so much. I joined Twitter so that I could tweet my Flannel Friday posts. I don't tweet much but I enjoy reading other people's tweets. Later I felt that since I was contributing so often I should volunteer to be a host. So I joined Pinterest so I could pin the posts. I have created two personal boards as well and I try to be selective about what I pin. I was already on Facebook when the Flannel Friday group started. I was only going use Facebook to stay in touch with far-flung family and friends. I avoided liking pages and joining groups but then the Flannel Friday group was started and I couldn't resist. So now I'm blogging, tweeting, pinning and commenting instead of watching HGTV (too much House Hunters anyway). I wonder what those Flannel Friday folks will get me involved in next.
I find it a bit ironic that such a traditional form of storytelling is being shared, encouraged and supported through the use of social media and that my love of traditional storytelling forms has pushed me into using social media that I would have otherwise ignored.
I first started this blog in 2007 when I took a Web 2.0 tech challenge. Eventually I stopped posting but began again when I took another Web 2.0 tech challenge last spring. (I figured things might have changed a bit since 2007.) About the same time I came across Melissa's post on PUBYAC and started following Flannel Friday.
Since I do a Family Story Time for all ages I am aways on the lookout for storytelling ideas. I look for stories that will engage the adults and older children as well as keep the attention of the little ones. I have the most success with humorous stories and folktales. A couple of years ago I started adapting folktales to tell using simple props such as stick puppets. It began when I wanted some prince/princess stories for a "Royal" theme. I found one that I adapted for stick puppets and for the second I made a scroll story using a roll of old printer paper. I decided to do more of my own adapting even though it takes more effort. Since I only work part-time, I don't have as many regular programs and responsibilities as do the other librarians which gives me a bit more prep time. (The down side of being part-time is that I'm almost always on the desk so I also end up doing a great deal of prep at home.) Last summer I did a program of African folktales. My current library did not own a book I wanted to read so I decided to write my own version. I did a little research and came up with "Silly Humans." I decided it would be a good story for our magnet board and I came up with the figures for the story. As I was preparing the story it occurred to me that it would be a good fit for Flannel Friday. I sent Melissa an email and that's how it all started.
Although I thought it would be a one-time thing, I ended up contributing fairly often. Seeing a post would remind me of something I had done so I would write it up for Flannel Friday. I hadn't planned on blogging so much. I joined Twitter so that I could tweet my Flannel Friday posts. I don't tweet much but I enjoy reading other people's tweets. Later I felt that since I was contributing so often I should volunteer to be a host. So I joined Pinterest so I could pin the posts. I have created two personal boards as well and I try to be selective about what I pin. I was already on Facebook when the Flannel Friday group started. I was only going use Facebook to stay in touch with far-flung family and friends. I avoided liking pages and joining groups but then the Flannel Friday group was started and I couldn't resist. So now I'm blogging, tweeting, pinning and commenting instead of watching HGTV (too much House Hunters anyway). I wonder what those Flannel Friday folks will get me involved in next.
