Inktober Fun

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the Earth  seeking the successive autumns."

-George Eliot

As the autumn season progresses, colors become more vibrant and picture-perfect. I, like many others, are lured by the beauty of an autumn day. Whether its a red and gold day or a grey one, I watch earth change its fashionable attire and capture the sight. Below you will find my October sightings that I turned into my Inktober/Poemtober offerings. 

Inktober Day 21 - treasure

Blog post-Autumn Treasure

Today was one of those special autumn days that stayed warm all the way into nighttime. The following quote states what I felt as I decorated the house for the Halloween party I am having tomorrow night.

"I was drinking in the surroundings: air so crisp you could snap it with your fingers and greens in every shade imaginable by autumnal flashes of red and yellow."

-Wendy Delsol Stork

I am pausing for a moment to listen to Autumn in New York
with Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong

Other Inktober/Poemtober poems I had fun creating with a Halloweenish flair can be found at my Buncee dashboard. They are all examples of animated digital storytelling.

Howl Chant was created for Poemtomber. I intend to share it with my little granddaughter because she enjoys sing-song chants. 

Monster Fear is an animated story poem that I submitted to Michelle H. Barnes for her October Ditty created by Rebecca Herzog and for Poemtober. My blog post can be accessed here. 

Ghost Night Out! is my newest animated story poem for Inktober day 22/Poemtober.

October has been a busy night noticing, wondering, and creating and it is not over yet. As I mentioned at the beginning of this blog post, I am not the only one capturing a glorious autumn photograph. The host of this week's Poetry Friday, Karen Edmisten, also snapped a photo of a beautiful autumn tree in full color followed by a Helen Hunt Jackson poem, October. I am heading over to Karen's blog to link up.

If anyone has an offering for my Abundant Autumn Gallery, please send it to me via Twitter at #AbundantAutumn or to my Gmail address. Thank you. 

Creative Expression via Digital Storytelling

Halloween is such a fun occasion to share a spooky story with little ones. Imagine a darkened room with background music filtering through. Creaky sounds and crackling noises set the stage as children sit in anticipation. The reader dressed in costume invites children to listen and imagine as the read aloud opens. Stories come alive as little eyes pop with excitement. 

Now, switch this scene from my 1990's schoolwide, Harvest House elementary reading room to a 21st-century, technology-infused classroom. Children sit watching the words of an engrossing story projected on a Smartboard, laptops, or iPads. Some are enjoying independent reading time. Others are listening to an audio version or rereading a story to their partner. Those who have already engaged in reading are now trying to write their own version of the story using background scenes from the Buncee platform demonstrated below or other digital platforms. The teacher is the guide on this reading and writing journey where digital storytelling and creativity come alive in many classrooms around the globe. 

For interested teachers, each month, ditty writing challenges can be found at Michelle H. Barnes' website. This month's ditty challenge, Monster Fears, by poet friends Michelle Barnes and Rebecca Herzog, is right up my writing alley. The prompt is: "Most everyone is afraid of monsters, but what are most monsters afraid of?" I started my writing yesterday on NCTE's National Day on Writing, along with decorating the house for Halloween. 

Today, as I prepare for #NYEDChat's convo on improving student learning through creative expression, I am letting my creative juices flow. Are you ready for a ditty treat?  Click on background sounds here. Then, sit back to view my tale for children, Monster Fear, created on the Buncee platform. (I am still in editing mode, but you can take a look.)

Thanks Rebecca Herzog for the inspiration.

Thanks Michelle H. Barnes for the following fun advertisement

about my little ditty storytelling poem.

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Just for fun, I am adding in these songs. 

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I hope to greet many educators, parents, and students tonight at #NYEDChat for a collective conversation on creative expression.

 Have a happy day filled with creativity.