Toddler Time (two-year olds & three-year olds):
Rabbit Tales & Familiar Tunes
CC Jones, a rabbit who lives in a hat, and his puppet friends share high interest, fun-filled tales with the tremendous toddler groups! These short stories are often accompanied with a song based on a tune familiar to the children. Sometimes we take imaginary trips. We go to the zoo while singing “We’re Going to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo” and meet the animals that reside there. We also go to Florida with CC Jones and meet the animals that live in the water. The trips we can take are limited only by our imaginations and the kinds of puppets I have!
These interactive stories and songs reinforce basic skills such as counting, color identification, body parts, animal identification and more. The time just flies in this 30 minute program!
CC Jones, a rabbit who lives in a hat, and his puppet friends share high interest, fun-filled tales with the tremendous toddler groups! These short stories are often accompanied with a song based on a tune familiar to the children. Sometimes we take imaginary trips. We go to the zoo while singing “We’re Going to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo” and meet the animals that reside there. We also go to Florida with CC Jones and meet the animals that live in the water. The trips we can take are limited only by our imaginations and the kinds of puppets I have!
These interactive stories and songs reinforce basic skills such as counting, color identification, body parts, animal identification and more. The time just flies in this 30 minute program!
Younger Listeners (PreK through 1st grade):
Rabbit Tales
CC Jones, a rabbit who lives in a top hat, and his friends share short, delightful, high interest stories with younger listeners. Many of their tales are versions of familiar stories, such as Stick Soup (Stone Soup), or are stories adapted from familiar songs, such as Billy the Farmer (The Farmer in the Dell).
These familiar tales with a twist aid the children’s ability to retell the stories and recall details CC and his friends also help the listeners move beyond themselves and help them to better understand how different types of families live.
Rascal Tales
Children enjoy listening to Rascal, a loveable raccoon puppet, and his woodland friends as they share stories about their lives. Their lives are so different from ours – or are they? Young listeners will relate to Rascal and his friends’ misfortunes and triumphs. They might even discover parallels to their own lives.
Where in the World?
The audience finds themselves transported to other parts of the world – jungles, deserts, and Australia to name just a few – during these stories narrated by the puppet characters who live there. Monkey, Tiger, Lion, Kangaroo, Panda and others entertain these young listeners as well as teaching them something about the environments in which they live.
CC Jones, a rabbit who lives in a top hat, and his friends share short, delightful, high interest stories with younger listeners. Many of their tales are versions of familiar stories, such as Stick Soup (Stone Soup), or are stories adapted from familiar songs, such as Billy the Farmer (The Farmer in the Dell).
These familiar tales with a twist aid the children’s ability to retell the stories and recall details CC and his friends also help the listeners move beyond themselves and help them to better understand how different types of families live.
Rascal Tales
Children enjoy listening to Rascal, a loveable raccoon puppet, and his woodland friends as they share stories about their lives. Their lives are so different from ours – or are they? Young listeners will relate to Rascal and his friends’ misfortunes and triumphs. They might even discover parallels to their own lives.
Where in the World?
The audience finds themselves transported to other parts of the world – jungles, deserts, and Australia to name just a few – during these stories narrated by the puppet characters who live there. Monkey, Tiger, Lion, Kangaroo, Panda and others entertain these young listeners as well as teaching them something about the environments in which they live.
Older listeners (1st grade through 5th grade):
'Why Is It So?' Tales
These porquoi tales provide listeners with possible, but not very plausible explanations about why things are the way they are. The stories tell why porcupines have quills, how skunks got their stripes, and much more. They are so believable that children often ask at the end of the tale, “Is that true?” This, of course, leads to wonderful post-tale discussions of reality vs. fantasy, nonfiction vs. fiction, and the history of porquoi tales.
Gotcha Tales
These tales of tricksters have characters and situations so real that the listeners will easily identify with them. As the plot unfolds, the children get caught up in the story and often times find themselves rooting for the trickster! One of the audience’s favorite 'Gotcha' character is Anansi, the spider. Anansi is a lazy and greedy fellow who almost always outwits the other guy. In some stories, Anansi is actually tricked and gets his just desserts! It’s hard to say which of these Anansi tales the audience likes the best – Anansi as the trickster or Anansi as the tricked!
Tales of Sillies and Fools
In these tales the main characters, through no real effort or planning, seem to get themselves out of the hot water they’ve gotten themselves into – at least most of the time! The audience finds themselves identifying with either the characters and/or situations of these stories. After all, haven’t we all been silly or foolish at one time or another?
Jack Tales
A subcategory of the Tales of Sillies and Fools. Now Jack is a fella who doesn’t care much for work and is a bit dim-witted. The listeners delight in hearing the stories about the fixes Jack gets himself into and the improbable ways he tries to resolve his problems. Yet, somehow Jack usually manages to come out on top!
These porquoi tales provide listeners with possible, but not very plausible explanations about why things are the way they are. The stories tell why porcupines have quills, how skunks got their stripes, and much more. They are so believable that children often ask at the end of the tale, “Is that true?” This, of course, leads to wonderful post-tale discussions of reality vs. fantasy, nonfiction vs. fiction, and the history of porquoi tales.
Gotcha Tales
These tales of tricksters have characters and situations so real that the listeners will easily identify with them. As the plot unfolds, the children get caught up in the story and often times find themselves rooting for the trickster! One of the audience’s favorite 'Gotcha' character is Anansi, the spider. Anansi is a lazy and greedy fellow who almost always outwits the other guy. In some stories, Anansi is actually tricked and gets his just desserts! It’s hard to say which of these Anansi tales the audience likes the best – Anansi as the trickster or Anansi as the tricked!
Tales of Sillies and Fools
In these tales the main characters, through no real effort or planning, seem to get themselves out of the hot water they’ve gotten themselves into – at least most of the time! The audience finds themselves identifying with either the characters and/or situations of these stories. After all, haven’t we all been silly or foolish at one time or another?
Jack Tales
A subcategory of the Tales of Sillies and Fools. Now Jack is a fella who doesn’t care much for work and is a bit dim-witted. The listeners delight in hearing the stories about the fixes Jack gets himself into and the improbable ways he tries to resolve his problems. Yet, somehow Jack usually manages to come out on top!
All Ages
Seasonal Tales
These are stories for each of the four seasons as well as tales for the holidays. Those shared with the younger crowd include puppets who help tell the tales. For older children, tales and traditions from other cultures are included to help expand their world view. All sessions have opportunities for audience participation. A fun time for all!
The Young at Heart
I've been invited to share my program for all ages, all minds at Retirement Communities, Dawes Arboretum, The Ohio Village and Ohio History Center, The Gahanna Blues and Jazz Fest, special luncheons, multi-generational audiences at schools, and many more venues.
Just sit back and enjoy folk tales, personal tales, seasonal tales, and more. Often a story I share stirs a memory or two. Tidbits about holidays, celebrations, and the authors are shared. Do you enjoy music? One or two oldies but goodies, such as "Oh My Darlin' Clementine" or "You Are My Sunshine", can be added to the program.
Just sit back and enjoy folk tales, personal tales, seasonal tales, and more. Often a story I share stirs a memory or two. Tidbits about holidays, celebrations, and the authors are shared. Do you enjoy music? One or two oldies but goodies, such as "Oh My Darlin' Clementine" or "You Are My Sunshine", can be added to the program.
Correlations to Ohio's Learning Standards can be provided upon request.
