Slow and Steady Wins the Race: Stor e Telling April May 2010

Tortoise and the Hare
from Childhood Favorites
and Fairy Tales
1909

I have penned the Stor E Telling column since January of 2002 and the articles from 2002-2006 are the publications page of my website found here http://tinyurl.com/llnn47y. I will be adding the columns from 2007 to 2012 to that page as well. However, I am in the process of checking what link URL's have changed or are now defunct. It is a time consuming process so I am taking the “slow and steady” approach via Aesop and will post the individual columns on my blog for now.

I will not be adding current columns until the following year, so if you want immediate access to the newest websites, consider becoming a member of the National Storytelling Network.

Please feel free to comment on the blog and let me know if you find this useful.

April/May 2010                                            

April is National Frog Month so get let’s get hopping with these tales from around the globe!

Allaboutfrogs.org - Sixteen fables and parables about frogs.
http://tinyurl.com/36fjtg

The Armadillo's Song – Bolivia
http://tinyurl.com/yzwl3lq

Brer Fox Catches Old Man Tarrypin – USA
http://tinyurl.com/ybds94o

Frog Kings – Fourteen folktales from around the world.
http://tinyurl.com/28ukyj

Why the Stork Eats Frogs and The Wolf Hunts Sheep - Ukrainian Folktale
http://www.4to40.com/folktales/index.asp?p=Why_The_Stork_Eats_Frogs_And_The_Wolf_Hunts_Sheep

How Frog Went to Heaven A Tale of Angola – retold by Aaron Shepard 

http://tinyurl.com/yk8cdjh

Story-lovers.com – A virtual pond filled with Folktales, Folklore, Fairy Tales, Legends, Myths,
History, and more.

http://www.story-lovers.com/listsfrogstories.html

The Two Frogs – Japan 
http://tinyurl.com/y9ngkky

Additional facts and information to complement your program of frog tales or use in the classroom.

A Frog’s Life – Lots of information to share with your audiences from the American Museum of Natural History

http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/current-exhibitions/frogs-a-chorus-of-colors/a-frog-s-life

Suite 101.com – Information on the mythology and folklore associated with frogs. http://tinyurl.com/y93hchv

Jump into April, the month of fools with tales of tricks and laughter!

Native American Trickster Tales

http://www.native-languages.org/trickster.htm

Tales of Laughter from 1908. A collection tales from Ireland, Spain, France, Russia and other countries from around the globe. They are sure to have you smiling with delight!

http://tinyurl.com/3mzd7pr

April 27 is Tell a Story day so I offer you some public domain books to download for free. Expand your repertoire with a few clicks of the keys!

Folklore and Legends – England and Scotland by Charles J. Tibbets, 1894. 

http://tinyurl.com/yhjapjv

The Laughing Prince: A Book of Jugoslav Fairy Tales and Folk Tales, by Parker Fillmore, 1921. Fourteen tales to add a smile to your day. 

http://tinyurl.com/yceb8wc

Bengal Fairy Tales by F.B. Bradley-Brit, 1920 – Brahmins, jackals, riddles and more. http://tinyurl.com/ycnx46c

The Pearl Fountain and Other Fairy Tales by Bridget and Julia Kavanaugh, 1876.  Eleven fairytales from long ago.

http://tinyurl.com/7zdexk

Irish Fairy Tales by Edward Leamy, 1890.

http://tinyurl.com/yzakh5j

The national Summer Reading Program theme in the USA is Make a Splash at Your Library. Here are some tales and information to help you make a splash!

The Boat That Went on Land and Water - France

http://tinyurl.com/yceg3hr

The Dance for Water or Rabbits Triumph – Africa

http://tinyurl.com/y99ccfx

Koobor the Koala and Water – Australia

http://tinyurl.com/yzpg37k

The Water Fairies – Micmac Legendhttp://tinyurl.com/y9rct48

Water Spirit Legends – Eleven tales collected by D. L. Ashliman.

http://tinyurl.com/ylgdk3g

Why the Hippopotamus Lives in the Water – Africa

http://tinyurl.com/ybpth7x

Water Mythology by S.M. Enzler MSc – Background information on myths and legends on water and water creatures.

http://tinyurl.com/ykm7cza

Since the next magazine issue won’t be published until June, here is a site to give you a head start on the 4^th of July celebration in the United States.

Myths and Legends of Our Own Land by Charles M. Skinner, 1896
http://tinyurl.com/ya9ko3n

And if you missed any of the previous “Slow and Steady…” blog posts here are the links to the series so far.

2007

January February 2007

http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/06/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e.html
March April 2007
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/06/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e_30.html
May June 2007
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/07/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e.html
July August 2007
http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/07/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e_15.html
September October 2007
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/07/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e_20.html
November December 2007
http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/07/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e_29.html

2008

January February 2008
http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/08/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e.html
March April 2008
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/08/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e_11.html
May June 2008
http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/08/slow-and-steady-wins-race-may-june-2008.html
Summer 2008
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/08/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e_25.html
Fall 2008
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/09/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e.html

2009

January February 2009
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/09/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e_10.html
May June 2009
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/09/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e_14.html
July August 2009
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/09/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e_21.html
September October 2009
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/09/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e_29.html
November December 2009
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/10/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e.html

2010

January February 2010
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/10/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e_13.html

Karen Chace 2013 ©
This blog post was researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of course, if you wish to link to my blog via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I greatly appreciate your support and personal integrity.

The Golden Greeks: Myths, Fables and Folktales

The Olympian Gods
by Monsiau 1754-1837 

The Summer Olympic Games are here and so I decided to do a bit of research to refresh my memory on the ancient beginnings of the games. It has been wonderful watching one of my favorite sports, swimming, so you will also find folktales connected to the water, and of course, Greek myths and fables.

Whichever country you are cheering on, I hope you will find something interesting, fun and useful below.

Originally, the Olympic Games were held in Olympia, Greece beginning in the 8^th century B.C. The Ancient Olympic Games were a series of competitions held between representatives of several city-states and kingdoms in Ancient Greece. These games featured mainly athletic but also combat and chariot racing events.

At the start of the Olympic Games, the Greeks would ignite a cauldron of flames upon Hera's altar. They lit the flame using a hollow disc or mirror called a skaphia, which focused the sun's rays into a single point to light the flame. The flame would burn throughout the Games as a sign of purity, reason, and peace. During the games, all conflicts among the participating city-states were postponed until the games were finished.

The origin of these Olympics is a mystery but some myths identify Heracles and his father Zeus as the progenitors of the Games.The Ancient Games featured running events, a pentathlon (consisting of a jumping event, discus and javelin throws, a foot race, and wrestling), boxing, wrestling, pankration, and equestrian events.


The Olympics were of religious importance, featuring sporting events alongside ritual sacrifices honoring both Zeus and Pelops, divine hero and mythical king of Olympia.


While there is exact date as to when the Games officially ended, the most commonly held date is 393 A.D. In 1896 Baron Pierre de Coubertin, tried to revive the games. He initially planned to hold the games in France, but was convinced that Greece was the appropriate country to host the first modern Olympics. Thirteen countries competed in nines sports: cycling, fencing, gymnastics, lawn tennis, shooting, swimming, track and field, weight lifting and wrestling.

Information from the following websites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Games

http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/olympic-torch1.htm

GREEK MYTHS AND FABLES 

Aesop Fables – No post about Greece would be complete without sharing some Aesop Fables.

http://www.mythfolklore.net/aesopica/

Greek Mythology for Kids – This site offers myths but also activities and lesson plans connected to Greece. http://greece.mrdonn.org/myths.html

  

STORIES

Since one of the most popular sports in the modern day Olympic Games is swimming here are some stories connected to water.

Bear Lake Monster - United States

http://americanfolklore.net/folklore/2010/07/the_bear_lake_monster.html
The Good Ferryman and the Water Nymphs - Poland

http://worldoftales.com/European_folktales/Polish_folktale_5.html 

The King of the Sharks – Hawaii
http://americanfolklore.net/folklore/2010/08/the_king_of_sharks.html

The Golden Fish - Russia

http://russian-crafts.com/tales/gold_fish.html

The Heart of the Monkey - Africa

http://www.english-for-students.com/Heart-of-The-Monkey.html
The Seal’s Skin – Iceland 
http://www.vikingrune.com/selkies-folktale/

Sam-Chung and the Water Demon - China

http://worldoftales.com/Asian_folktales/Asian_Folktale_16.html
Water Faeries - Scotland
http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/sfft/sfft36.htm
Why Dogs Wag Their Tails - Philippines
http://asiarecipe.com/phitales3.html
Wild Goose Island – United States
http://americanfolklore.net/folklore/2008/09/goose_island.html

SOMETHING EXTRA

Two previous blog posts with stories of the sea!

Siren’s of the Sea 

http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2010/02/mermaids-sirens-of-sea.html

Water, Water Everywhere! 

http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2012/03/water-water-everywhere.html

CRAFTS

Kaboose.com -  Make your own Olympic torch. Easy for ages 4 and up.

http://crafts.kaboose.com/olympic-torch.html

Activity Village – More crafts connected to the Olympics; medals, Olympic Rings and other patriotic crafts.

http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/olympic_crafts_for_kids.htm

CURRICULUM

A-Z Teacher Stuff – Seventeen lesson plans connected to the Olympics from grades K-12.

http://www.atozteacherstuff.com/Themes/Olympics/

History for Kids.org – Learn about the ancient Greeks; religion, mythology, ancient life and more.

http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/

RECIPES

Kid Friendly Olympic Recipes 

http://www.sj-r.com/blogs/community/justforkids/x383254025/Kid-Friendly-Olympic-Recipes

If you find this information and the links helpful in your work please consider taking a moment to leave a comment at the end of the blog. I love hearing from you!

Karen Chace 2012 ©

This blog post was researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of course, if you wish to link to my blog via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I greatly appreciate your support and personal integrity.