“Garbuska Workshops” at MZS No. 3
All the children in Grades 1–3 at Primary School No. 2 read many books and use the school library. The school is taking part in the social campaign “All of Poland Reads to Children”, as part of which regular meetings featuring various stories are held.
We invited Grażyna Hanaf, an author of books for children and young people, a friend of our school and a journalist for the Istotne.pl portal, who organizes workshops based on her book “Garbuska”.
It is a beautiful, wise story about the feelings and needs of children, as well as young people and adults. It is a story about dreams that we want to come true so that we can be happy. The third-grade children learned about the adventures of Matylda, Biszkopt, Karol and Robert, experiencing their tragic, sad, pleasant and happy adventures intensely.
During the workshops, the students talked with the author about the book and their impressions after reading it, drew conclusions about the events and also took the quiz “Which fairy-tale character are you?”. The children also painted feelings, learned the meanings of their names, wrote their dreams in the present tense and then enchanted them together with the author. Afterwards, they burned them safely so that they would remain their secret.
The ash from the pages on which the students had written their dreams was put into a dream jar, and they promised to help make those dreams come true. The author handed out autographs in books or on specially prepared cards and added a stamp featuring Matylda, the hunchback girl. The students happily presented her with handmade commemorative cards, thanking her for the wonderful workshop.
Monika Grzyb/MZS No. 3/Primary School No. 2
Garbuska Workshops at Your School
Dear Sir or Madam,
I will be pleased to visit your school and meet the children to conduct workshops addressing such topics as the power of parental love, the values that guide us in life, dreams and how to make them come true, and ways of expressing emotions. “Garbuska” is a fairy tale for children from first to sixth grade of primary school, but I can also organize a meeting in a different form for lower- and upper-secondary classes, because everyone likes fairy tales.The meeting lasts from 45 minutes to an hour and a half and consists of several activities. All you need to prepare for the meeting is sheets of paper and pastel crayons, a projector for showing the presentation, and an open mind for an engaging, thought-provoking meeting with a fairy tale. You can contact me at gh@istotne.pl or 792-177-320.
You are warmly invited
Grażyna Hanaf
“Garbuska Workshop” Programme
- Welcome and introduction by the author. A short presentation: “How Is a Fairy Tale Created?”
- First activity: Do You Know Your Name? The names of the fairy-tale characters were carefully chosen, so during this activity the children learn the meanings of their names. It is one of the favourite activities, not only among children.
- Second activity: “The Colours of Emotions”. On white sheets of paper, the children use coloured crayons—in the form of a spot, dot, undefined shape or mandala—to paint the colours of feelings. An example of an instruction for the children: Think about it and choose the colour that you think love has, then colour the sheet in that colour.
- Third activity: the quiz “Which fairy-tale character are you?”
- Fourth activity: A dream-writing workshop. Following the instructions, the children write their dream or wish on a sheet of paper; then we burn the sheets together under conditions compliant with health and safety rules.
- Additionally: Garbuska stamps for the hand or notebook. Autographs, signing copies of the fairy tale, and conversations and questions about the characters and the story of “Garbuska”.
Acknowledgements
Thank you for inviting me to the schools, teachers: Dorota Stanałowska and Agnieszka Bednarska from MZS No. 1 (Primary School No. 5), Monika Grzyb and Małgorzata Oleś from MZS No. 3 (Primary School No. 2), and Monika Łukszy, Jolanta Rzeźwicka and Barbara Blicharska from Primary School No. 4.
