Sunday May 19                        San Francisco, CA

Held at the Neighborhood Playgarden on Grandview

Join us for this sunday workshop and learn the wet-felting ‘resist’ method for making creative 3-dimensional sturdy wet felted forms.  We will felt fabulous gnome houses complete with a removable roof, and a door which opens in welcome.

We will decorate our gnome abode with roots and moss and mushrooms, flowers and whatever else your imagination brings to it…. including a wee gnome.

Hours – 9-4

all felting levels welcome!

cost is $90 plus $25 materials.

contact suzanne@junipertreepuppets for information and registration

We take paypal, check, cash, and payment plans!!

We are happy to offer this beloved spring story, The Little Brown Bulb, in a puppet story crafting kit.

You can bring to life this wonderful little spring tale for your children using these 3 sweet and simple characters:  Little Brown Bulb, his transformed self into Crocus, and Little Ladybug.

Young children love and need seasonal stories to help them find their deep connections to the world around them and the cycle of the year provides a rich picture of the wonders of nature.

The kit includes wool roving to make all 3 characters, a felting needle and felting needle instructions for new users, the story, instructions for puppet making.  You will only need a sponge to use as a felting needle workbase.

$14.95 plus s&h

contact Suzanne suzanne@junipertreepuppets.com for orders.

Payment by Paypal or Check

We are happy to  offer you all a spring story kit, Mama Bird and three little Baby Birds  snuggled in a nest.

These wool felt finger puppets can tell many stories of mama bird building a nest, of feeding her babies, nuzzling them, covering them with her wings when they sleep.  The nest is a needle felted story prop.

The kit includes:

wool roving and felting needle

wool felt in 2 colors

story poem and crafting instructions

patterns

You will need needle and thread and a sponge for needle felting

ideas for using a silk landscape theater

Movement wise, the mama bird is on one hand so flight is independent of the babies sweet movements in the nest.  The babies can peep peep when they are hungry, wiggle and move independently on the other hand.

It is a wonderful magical puppet story for children, especially when the baby birds  are hidden at first.

The kit has patterns, instructions, story poem, and ideas for using your silk landscape effectively for finger puppet theater.  This is one of my most favorite little stories.  Children ADORE this visual wonder.

Kit is $14.95 plus s&h

contact suzanne@junipertreepuppets.com to order

payment by Paypal or Check.

A Workshop for Early Childhood

Teachers and Parents

Sat. March 23,  2013                 10:00-3:30

 Boulder, CO

 Join us for a day of exploring the creativity and story imaginations within the felted egg!  We will wet felt beautiful egg forms, and turn them into story vessels that sail the sea, plant a garden, rock a baby, and other delightful story helpers!   The children will be delighted with your enchanting egg creations, and also the story that lives inside them!

Come for a day of renewal and skill building in the realm of story magic!

Suzanne Down is longtime Founder/Director of Juniper Tree School of Story and Puppetry Arts,  the early childhood specialists.

Workshop fee is $70 plus $15 materials

Contact Suzanne for pre-registration   suzanne@junipertreepuppets.com

720 438-8344

http://www.junipertreepuppets.com

The Blessing Cake – A New Year’s Story

It was New Year’s Eve morning and Mama was already baking the
Blessing Cake, as she did every year.  Jack could hardly wait for
their New Year’s celebration because this year was the first year
he would be able to read the message he found in the Blessing Cake
all by himself.  Mama had told him, ‘Little Boy New Year always
leaves new messages that are just right for each person.’

First Jack had some special New Year’s errands to do for Mama.
He put on his snow boots, coat, hat, scarf, and mittens because it
was a very cold day, with a little bit of snow beginning to fall.  He
pulled his red wagon along the path, it was full of Happy New Year’s
cookies for his neighbors.  Because he lived in the country, he had
long walks to each neighbor’s house.

As he walked along he saw old Mrs. Carter gathering wood for her
woodstove.  She was stooping over from the weight of the heavy logs.
“Hello, Mrs. Carter, let me help you,’ Jack called out to her.  And he put
her wood in his wagon, and pulled it along to her house.  He stacked
it by her door, and gave her the bag of New Year’s cookies.

‘Happy New Year Mrs. Carter!’ he said to her as he turned his wagon
around to go further along the path.

‘Thank you Jack,’ she called, ‘you are such a good boy!”

Jack walked on, and before too long he saw Mr. Rivers old dog, Rusty,
slowly walking down the street.  Jack thought, ‘ old Rusty must be lost,
I will take him along with me.’  Jack made a leash with his own scarf
and said, ‘ come on Rusty, let’s go home!’  As he was going along the
winding way to Rusty’s home, Jack heard Mr. Rivers calling out, ‘Rusty,
Rusty, where are you old dog?’

Just then Jack and Rusty rounded the bend and Mr. Rivers was very
happy to see Rusty!  ‘Thank you Jack, Rusty is so old now he is always
forgetting his way home.  I am glad you found him!’

Jack patted the old dog and said ‘happy New Year Rusty, and
you too Mr. Rivers’, as he gave him his bag of New Year’s cookies.

‘Jack, you are a very good boy,’ Mr. Rivers called out as Jack continued
on his way.

When Jack got to his last neighbor’s home he had to climb a tall
hill.  He could see all over the whole area from the top of the hill.
He could see the sheep in the field down below….but wait, there was
one sheep outside the fence.  He quickly knocked on Mrs.Lee’s door.
She opened the door with her baby in her arms.  Baby was wrapped
up in a blanket and had the sniffles.

‘Mrs. Lee, look there!  One of your sheep is out of the field!’ Jack was
pointing down the hill as he told her.

‘Oh dear,’ said Mrs. Lee, ‘I don’t want to take the baby out in the cold
today.  Jack, would you help me?’  She filled a bucket with oats and said,
‘take this bucket down to the gate, knock on the bucket with a stick, and
sing to the sheep like this…’

‘Oats, Oats, ho hey ho hey
Come and get them on this fine day’

‘I am sure if you do this the sheep will follow you right inside the gate,’
Mrs Lee told Jack.  Jack did exactly as she said.  He took the bucket
and walked through the snow to the field down the hill, and went near
the gate.  He found a sturdy stick and knocked the bucket and started
to sing…

‘Oats, Oats, ho hey ho hey
Come and get them on this fine day’

And sure enough, the lonely sheep was so happy to see Jack,
she gratefully followed him through the gate, ate the oats, and
ran to the other sheep with a loud Baa, Baa, Baaaa.

When Jack took the empty bucket back to Mrs. Lee he also gave
her the New Year’s cookies.  Happy New  Year’s Mrs. Lee,’ he said.

‘Why Jack, you are a fine and good boy!  Thank you for your help,’ said
Mrs. Lee.

By now Jack’s wagon was empty and he headed straight for home.  ‘It
must be time for our celebration now,’ he thought to himself.

At home Mama had set the table for a special New Year’s Tea Party.
Candles were lit, peppermint tea was hot in the pot, and the
Blessing Cake sat on a pretty red plate.  Jack and his Mama and
Papa sat together.

‘It is time to welcome in a wonderful New Year,’ Mama said, as she cut
a piece of cake for everyone.    Jack took one bite, mmmmm, it was
good spice cake.  Then he took another bite.  Aha, this bit had
something hidden inside.  It was his blessing stone.  Every New
Year’s Eve, Little Boy New Year gave mama perfect, small, smooth
white stones, with a word written on it.  Whatever word was in your
piece of cake would tell you about your year to come.  It was your own
New Year’s blessing.

Jack looked down and read out his word.  ‘Mama, it says kindness.’

Mama and Papa looked at each other and smiled.
‘That is the perfect blessing for you Jack, they said, ‘and have a
Happy  and Kind New Year!’

the end.

New!! A dancing snowman 2-finger puppet that will bring to life our story!

Made of strong wool felt that will last years and years, with needle felted wool roving eyes, mouth, carrot nose, buttons, scarf and cap!

Easy to make and delightful to use, children love this snowman who comes to life!

The kit comes with instructions for making this sweet character, a story poem to act out with presentation ideas to help you enliven the puppet and story.

you will need a sewing needle and white thread, and a sponge workbase for the needle felting .

10.95 plus s&h

paypal or check

contact suzanne@junipertreepuppets to order

Design and Story by Juniper Tree Puppets 2012

This tale is an excerpt from an upcoming book on

Early Childhood Puppetry – a curriculum guidebook

 Sign up for our free story email newsletter!  http://junipertreepuppets.com

The Animals Boxing Day

by Suzanne Down

It had been a very dry year in the farm village of Deerwood.  When autumn harvest came there was a poor crop for all.  By first snow, there were no hidden grains of corn or old carrots left in the fields.  The farmers had sent out the children to find whatever they could find for their family food storage.  Mouse and rabbit, who lived by the cornfield, were hungry.  Try as they did to gather their winter food, there simply was nothing left.

By Christmas, the animal friends had no food to celebrate together.  And because they were hungry, they were cold when the winter wind blew.

At the farmhouse by the cornfield, Mother had made a Christmas soup from the onions and potatoes in the root cellar.  They gathered round their Christmas tree and ate their warm and nourishing dinner.  There was no turkey to eat this year, but he family was grateful for what they had.  Even the people in the village had little to eat.

After supper, they lit the candles on their tree, and one by one, with each candle lit, they spoke a wish.

Mother wished for a New Year of good farming and enough harvest left over to buy cloth to make new clothes for Ben and Sarah.

Father wished for healthy cows and oxen.  Then he added a wish that all animals survive the long winter this year.

Sarah wished for sleigh rides in the snow, for she was only four and loved the bells that jingled and sang out around the horse’s neck.

Ben was quiet for a long time.  He was nine years old and a thoughtful boy.  He was thinking about his father’s wish for the animals.  Ben had been watching the little mouse and rabbit that lived by the cornfield looking for food.  He knew they were hungry.

Then Ben said, ‘I wish I could help the mouse and rabbit in our cornfield have a good holiday meal.  As good as ours has been!’

Mother smiled.

‘I have an idea,’ she said, ‘tomorrow is Boxing Day, let’s make little paper boxes and fill them with some grain and bread and apple from our storage.  Ben, you and Sarah can leave them near their burroughs, with our Boxing Day blessings.  It can be the animals Boxing Day!

The next day Sarah helped Ben make boxes with strong brown paper.  ‘Let’s put something soft and warm inside them,’ she said.

Mother gave them bits of yarn and left over wool from the sheep to put in the boxes.  On top of that they filled the boxes with some corn and barley, and small crabapples.

Sarah added an old pair of wool mittens that were too small for her.  She put one in each box.  Now they were filled to the tippy top.

The children carried their gifts to the cornfield, now covered with snow.  Ben knew where the burrough doors were.

By the field mouse’s door they put down a box and sang out:

Mousey, mousey do not flee

By your door a gift to see,

Something warm, something sweet,

Something good for you to eat!

By rabbit’s door, they put down the other box and sang out:

Rabbit, rabbit do not flee,

By your door a gift to see,

Something warm, something sweet,

Something good for you to eat!

Then Ben and Sarah tiptoed away and hid behind a straw bale to watch.

By each little door there was a

Sniff, sniff

Sniff, sniff

‘What is this I smell?’

Mouse and rabbit peeked out and saw the brown and paper bundles, wondering what they could be.

Sniff sniff

Nibble nibble

Right through the brown paper.

Oh what treasures they found, enough to eat for a long time.  And oh soft warm nesting for their burroughs.  And what else is there?  A woolen sleeping bag for each one to curl up in.

Mouse and rabbit carried the gifts one grain at a time into their own homes.  At the end of the day the two friends visited and told each other of their good fortune.  They both decided it must be a miracle of the season.

Ben and Sarah went happily home to tell Mother and father about their Animal’s Boxing Day!

That night mouse and rabbit each curled up in their sleeping bag mittens, and slept warm and very cozy with happy full tummies.

The Country Mouse’s Thanksgiving

Across the hills and in the valley by a large pond lived a kind

farmer.  It was harvest time, and the thoughtful farmer always 

left food in the fields for the animals.  A little grey-brown mouse lived 

under the yellow shelf in the root cellar, with plenty of room in his

house for storing good food for the long winter.

Every day now Mouse went to the fields to gather the kind gifts from

farmer.  There were corn kernals, small potatoes, outer leaves of

cabbages, and so much more.  In the orchard there were also

many apples, pears, and plums that were still on the ground.

It was a great harvest for Mouse.  In fact his cozy room became full

of food for winter.  This year there was more than the mouse needed,

and he decided to invite his meadow and forest friends for a country

Thanksgiving Harvest Soup.  For mouse was indeed grateful to the

farmer for providing so much food to eat.  Mouse knew how many 

animals would be hungry by mid-winter.

Mouse talked to his friend Sparrow about his plan, and Sparrow  

flew here and there inviting the friends to the Harvest soup.  He first

flew to Frog who said, ‘oh yes what fun, we can  celebrate on the flat

stone in the pond.  There is a log bridge right to the big flat stone,

and from there we can see the harvest moon rise

in the sky.’  Frog said he could bring some wild onions to add to the soup.  

There were still some growing by the pond.

Sparrow then flew to Little Brown Bunny  who was delighted with the idea,

and said he would gladly bring carrots to add to the soup.  The last stop was

Gold Finch’s nest, and she fluttered her wings and said,  ’oh Sparrow,

you and I can bring lots of  tasty sunflower seeds!’

And so the friends planned their Thanksgiving feast. Mouse started

cooking the soup.  How good it smelled.

Barn Cat was hiding nearby, and heard them planning.  ’Yummm’, he

thought, ’what a tasty meal I will have, I will sneak up on them and pounce!’

Evening came and the friends set up their Thanksgiving meal 

on the flat rock in the pond.  Mouse and Little Brown Bunny pulled 

the soup on a little cart carefully, carefully over the log bridge.

It was a little slippery!  The sunset colors danced on the water.

They ate the delicious soup, sang songs, danced, and had so much

fun together.

They did not see Cat hiding in the reeds by the log.  He started silently

creeping over the log.  It was getting darker and he went very slowly.

Closer and closer he got.  ’Mmmm mouse and bird will make a fine

Thanksgiving dinner for ME!  Now that they have eaten their soup

they will be all the tastier.’

It just so happened that  Frog decided to have a little swim, right then,

and he turned around just in time to see Cat closing in!  

SPLASH, he jumped in the water, spraying water all over cat! 

Cat stopped to shake, shake his fur! 

Mouse squeeked, Bunny thumped, and they both hid behind the soup pot! 

Sparrow and Goldfinch started to squawk and flutter and dive at Cat….

peck peck peck they went, up and down, up and down, 

pecking at Cat!

 It was so dark by now and the birds were so quick that Cat could not

stop them, and he got so off balance that he fell off the log

right into the pond!

‘Meow, meow, meow’, Cat called out as he scrambled as best he

could onto the shore, and ran lickety split back to the barn.  He went

right to the hay bales and hid himself there, to lick his fur and

recover from all the fright.

Back on the flat stone, Frog and Mouse, Gold Finch, Sparrow, and

Little Brown Bunny said ‘WHEW!  that was a close call!’  

But nothing was going to ruin their Thanksgiving party.  

They sat on the edge of the flat stone and watched as the

Harvest Moon rose in the sky.

‘Look, said Mouse, ‘Moon has a friend tonight’, and they saw the

moon’s reflection in the pond.  Mouse started to sing, and the other

friends joined in.

‘Shine on shine on Harvest Moon up in the sky….’

They sang and sang and all agreed to have a Thanksgiving party each

and every year.

The End

  ]]> http://junipertreepuppets.com/country-mouses-thanksgiving-story/feed/ 0 http://junipertreepuppets.com/country-mouses-thanksgiving-story/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/junipertreepuppets/~3/9qPMR94fQg8/ http://junipertreepuppets.com/walkabout/#comments Sun, 21 Oct 2012 20:11:00 +0000 Suzanne http://junipertreepuppets.com/walkabout/ Walkabout Tales

writing children’s story with the help of our nature muse…

Fair Oaks, CA   April 2-5 2013

I try to go on ‘walkabout’ every day, out in nature, taking in the details with my senses, and then I sit and write a children’s story. Who knows what invites the muse, but mine seems to enjoy this pathway in.
I am bringing ‘walk and write’ exercises to all my classes and workshops now….it has been amazing to see the stories flow out of people….

Usually we start with a little exercise such as;

As you are walking, pay attention to what you hear. After you sit to write, list 3 things that you heard that you were drawn to the most. Now write a story with those 3 things woven into the tale.

And like magic, with no thinking, just free writing, the stories arise and are beautiful.

If you stop and think about it we have unlimited imaginations, we walk the path of creative infinity.

**********************

Join us for a 3 and a half day immersion into the world of walkabout, where nature sparks your creativity, and through guided exercises, glorious and joyful stories will appear.  Story voice practice, story writing, and a look at how to get your stories published!

Fair Oaks, CA     April 2-5

cost – $300

contact suzanne@junipertreepuppets.com  for more details and registration

we take paypal, check, and cash  - payment plans are always available.

Story Theme – Redeeming Halloween

I often look at children’s book stores to see what is new.  They put
out special seasonal tables promoting storybooks for an upcoming
holiday.  I am too often disappointed by the selection.  But when
I find a story that warms my heart, I celebrate.

In case you haven’t found one you like, I offer my new story for
your halloween telling.  It is simple and sweet, about an approachable
and kind little witch.  It is a tiny story, like the witch herself.  Her name
is Willow, someone a child would like to visit and become
friends with.  I imagine her pleasant to look at, with warm eyes
and heart.

Written as always for puppetry, I include a photo of my table top
version of her.  This could be told by a tree with open gnarly
roots where she could live…. and of course it can be told in
any pumpkin patch (needlefelted or otherwise)!

Story: A Halloween Wish
(all my stories are written with the visual movements of
puppetry in mind)

*************************
It is said that on a magical full moon Halloween night, the most
heart felt wishes may come true….

There once lived a wee little witch named Willow.  She was
not an ordinary witch, but a kind and good witch.  She lived alone
in the roots of a hollow tree on the edge of a large garden.

It was Halloween, the busiest time of the year for all witches,
good and bad.  Willow Witch was working in her pumpkin patch.
There were pumpkins everywhere, big and small, round and tall.
She weeded and watered them, and took good care of them.
She worked until night fell, and as she stood up, she looked up and
saw a big Harvest moon in the sky.  She knew just what to do….

‘Oh I wish I had a child. I am a lonely little witch.
I would love her with all my heart!’

Then she closed her eyes tight and said…

I wish I may
I wish I might
Find a child to love
This Halloween night!

The wind began to blow.  It blew through the pumpkin patch, whooosh
whooosh.  Pumpkin leaves fluttered here and there.  Then Willow heard
something, it was a small  sweet sound coming from one of the pumpkins.
Willow went closer to have a look, and there, under the pumpkin leaf
was a child!

‘A child for me’, cried out Willow!!  It looked just like her, so she knew it
must be true.  ”My wish came true!  Hurray! Hurray!

Willow picked up the baby, held it close to her heart and sang,

‘Rock-a bye my baby,
From the pumpkin patch,
When the wind blew
I looked and found you!
My love for you is true and deep,
Rock-a-bye, it’s time for you to sleep.’

‘Happy Halloween,’ Willow called out into the night.

The End