SOON Volume 5
Seriously Optimistic Online News
‘Beware the Ides of March’ the soothsayer tells Julius Caesar. Bad news for Julius, but not so for Innovative Resources as you’ll see in this bumper new edition of SOON.
In fact, in Roman times the expression ‘Ides of March’ did not necessarily evoke a dark mood – it was simply the standard way of saying March 15. Even in Shakespeare's time, sixteen centuries later, audiences attending his play Julius Caesar wouldn't have blinked twice upon hearing the date called the Ides.
The term Ides comes from the earliest Roman calendar, which organised its months around three days, each of which served as a reference point for counting the other days. It signified the 15th day in March, May, July and October, and the 13th day in the other months.
So, what do we have for you in the March edition of SOON apart from Shakespearean trivia?
You’ll meet the cute, cuddly and slightly crazy crew of Koala Company – a soon-to-be-released card set designed to help us talk about feelings; receive some words of wisdom from artist Katharina Rapp and author of Storm in a Teacup, Chris Townsend; read why indigenous communities in the far north ‘wanna play with them cards’ and how Stones… have feelings too! has hit its mark with kids affected by domestic violence.
As always, there are plenty of thoughful quotes and an inspiring micro-story.
Embrace the Ides of March!
‘Time flies like the wind. Fruit flies like bananas.’
Groucho Marx
Coming to a gum tree near you…
Koalas might look all cute and cuddly and passive and even sleepy, but don’t be fooled; koalas have personality! Koalas have moods and feelings, too. In fact, when you get to meet the members of Koala Company you might be surprised to discover that they can be as different and diverse as people; and come with the same range of foibles and idiosyncrasies.
The characters in Koala Company portray all the individuality, the temperaments, the emotions, and the personal styles we normally associate with people. Some of the koalas are zany and quirky, some are quiet and unassuming, and others are fiery, determined and argumentative.
By taking on human characteristics and looking a little like us Koala Company holds up a mirror that reflects who we are. In this mirror we can see not only ourselves but our families, our friends, our colleagues, and lots of other people we know.
Koala Company is designed to help us talk about the complicities of feelings; to help us understand and be understood.
Designed and illustrated by Mat Jones of Mates Traits fame, these cards can be used as a communication tool, an evaluation tool or as a reflective tool. They can be used as an icebreaker, a game, a way of making a personal statement … and much more. Have fun with these koalas. Use your creativity and open yourself up to their invaluable lessons.
Koala Company
Illustrator: Mat Jones, Booklet author: Russell Deal
50 laminated full-colour cards, circular, 90mm diameter, in a round, printed tin, with a circular 48-page booklet. ISBN: 1 920945 05 9, CAT NO: 3000, AU$49.50
Stickers: 5 complete sets on A4 backing sheets, total of 250 stickers, each sticker 29mm diameter. CAT NO: 3050, AU$9.90
Click here to view and purchase this product online.
‘The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen, nor touched ... but are felt in the heart.’
Helen Keller
‘If you have a dream, consider yourself fortunate and do your utmost to follow it. At age 50 if found myself divorced, lonely, insecure and without an income. That’s when I felt I had nothing to lose by following my childhood dream of ‘becoming a famous artist’.
‘I put all the aspects of my personality which I had hitherto repressed into my paintings – that is, I became daring and flirtatious, seductive and playful. It was fun and hard work at the same time, but by now people think that I am actually made that way.
‘Take it from me – it’s never too late to change your spots!’
Katharina Rapp
Artist – Everyday Goddess
‘There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.’
Anais Nin
‘We have an hour to go. How would you like to spend it?’
‘I wanna play with them cards some more!’
Having worked with Aboriginal people in the far northern communities of Queensland for nearly 10 years, these words almost brought tears to my eyes. The cards this teacher aide was referring to were Strengths in Teams and The Bears.
I was asked to work with a small team of Indigenous teachers at a school to concentrate on setting up a great classroom environment. (I think they wanted me to work on the ‘exterior’ but I decided that the ‘interior’ would be an interesting place to start!)
We started the two-day session by talking about the strengths that each person would bring to the team. I had goose bumps when it was clear that each member was going to bring amazing strengths that could support the rest of the team in times of need. Again, I held back the tears. It was moving to see the smiles on the teacher’s faces when they realised that they were being appreciated for who they are and what they can offer.
The team decided that they were going to display their strengths by using the Strengths in Teams stickers on a wall in the shared office. They could then look at the wall when they were going through a difficult or great time to see who they could share with.
Never before in my 10 years of working with teachers had I seen so much communicated in such a short time. We even addressed all the ‘tough questions’. Unbelievable!
Thank you to the amazing team at Innovative Resources for producing, believing in and sharing the tools that allows us to develop closer relationships with those around us.
Jenni McDonald – Director and Educational Consultant
Class Act Educational Supplies, Cairns, Queensland
’The strength of the team is each individual member...the strength of each member is the team.’
Phil Jackson (Chicago Bulls Coach)
– The making of a poem
In the February edition of SOON we gave you a sneak preview of Storm In a Teacup, Innovative Resources’ upcoming foray into the world of illustrated poetry. In a recent interview, author Chris Townsend was asked about his motivation for writing the poem. This is his remarkable response:
I never really intended to write this poem. It started out as an assignment for an environmental studies project years ago. The task was to articulate aspects and relationships of a natural cycle in some form of dramatic style. In the two years leading up to that time, I had been travelling around the world and having increasingly intense dreams that some people might describe as ‘out of body dreams’. These dreams were initially disturbing, but after finally embracing them I had an almighty one while travelling alone in Southern India that culminated in a familiar figure (my late Grandfather) walking forever towards me with his distinctive gait and smiling warmly in approval of my life direction. Coming to me when it did, this dream helped me see my physical journey as something of an initiation.
My Grandfather had died when I was four. I could never forget, as I was with him when he died and held him. For hours I watched relatives arrive and fall apart in grief and disbelief and put the experience somewhere deep inside. Then, so many years later as I sat down to embellish an idea I had carried for years about tears and water, I focused on that dream. The whole poem literally poured out of me in one flow. Many people I have shared this poem with have been moved in some way and urged me to share it with as many people as I can.
‘The world is round and the place which may seem like the end may also be the beginning.’
Ivy Baker Priest
By Anne McCrea and Lyn Browne
Hunter Child Protection & Family Counselling, Newcastle, NSW
Stones …have feelings too! is a deck of fifty-two colourful laminated cards. Each card features a stone cartoon character representing an emotion. On the reverse side of each card are three suggested emotions the stone might depict. There are no words on the front of the card, so the user can interpret the picture freely. Stones comes with a booklet of suggested uses, which encourages flexible and creative thinking rather than prescriptive use. The cards can be used to explore individual feelings, mapping of family feelings, family ‘sculpture’ work, or to explore group developmental stages.
Initially, we had some concern that many of the illustrations seem obscure. Part of the problem is that the facial expressions, postures, gestures, and setting of the stones are sometimes ambiguous. But the ambiguity of the cards turned out to be their strength, because the children could use them to describe idiosyncratic or ambivalent feelings. It also helps the counsellor avoid assumptions and prescriptions.
Children may describe many cards as ‘happy’ or ‘sad’ because they focus on the perceptible smile or frown on the stone. Also, some symbolic thinking is required to understand, for example, that a stone with a hole in it suggests feeling ‘hollow’, ‘empty’, or ‘drained’. However, in our individual work with children, we found they readily made their own interpretation of the cards. They enjoyed the activity and described the cards as: ‘cute’, ‘fun’, ‘a funny puzzle’, ‘hard [to work out] but fun’, ‘really cool’, and ‘something different’.
We used the cards to good effect in a domestic violence group for children 7–11 years of age. Each child was asked to choose a card that represented their feelings about the group closing, and then to describe their feelings. The cards suited the various personalities in the group, and the children freely expressed what they saw in the cards and were not distracted by the words on the back.
Stones may be more appealing to men and boys because they are not as ‘cute’ as The Bears. They might also be better suited to upper primary children, adolescents, and adults; clients who have a reasonable vocabulary of feelings and some abstract thinking ability.
St Luke’s have taken the concept a step further by producing a set of stone figures. A Pocket of Stones is a set of twelve hand-crafted, ceramic heads, each one with a different shape and a different facial expression. This adds a three-dimensional tactile element that appeals to children and adults alike.
Stones … have feelings too! click here to view online
52 laminated, full-colour cards, 150 x 100mm, 2-part cardboard box, 44-page booklet
ISBN: 0 9578231 9 3, CAT NO: 3900, AU$49.50
Stickers: 5 complete sets on A4 backing sheets, total of 260 stickers, each sticker 50 x 30mm , CAT NO: 3950, AU$16.95
'Our feelings are our most genuine paths to knowledge.'
Audre Lorde
This month’s micro-story shows that sometimes the greatest wisdom can be found in the words and actions of children.
An Awkward Silence
By Glynn Sharpe
I watched her draw while the dust from the country road billowed around the passenger seat window. She held the red felt-tipped pen in her slight hand like it was an extension of her self. Small squares of yellow memo pad paper were scattered in her lap. It was all I could scrounge up in hopes of keeping a four year old sufficiently occupied for the drive to her grandmother's house. Red suns, smiling faces and sunflowers bobbed gently with the moving car. Her face was somber and serious. I continued to drive on, glancing periodically at her as she sketched and ripped and arranged her tiny canvasses of art. Not a word was said and I was beginning to feel uncomfortable with the silence. I felt it was my obligation to entertain her somehow and tried to engage her in conversation.
‘So tell me sweetie,’ I asked, ‘what's your favourite colour?’
‘I love all the colours,’ she said, not taking her eyes from her work.
‘Okay. What's your favourite food then?’
‘I love all the food,’ she replied.
I was intrigued and pressed on.
‘What's your favourite day?’
She stopped for a moment and looked at me. Her eyes were clear green skies surrounded by flecks of yellow.
‘I love every day,’ she said and returned to her work. I watched her as she put the final strokes on what looked like a dog or cow.
I let her draw, uninterrupted, and listened to the lyrical ping of pebbles resonate off the underbelly of my car.
© Glynn Sharpe 2005
‘All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he/she grows up.’
Pablo Picasso
SOON welcomes your feedback – stories about your experiences using Innovative Resources’ publications, letters, micro-stories and other creative gems. Send your contributions to john @ innovativeresources.org (remove spaces)
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