Since my so-called creative efforts have gone very stale, I thought I'd add a list of favorite links. This seems to be something I can find time to do:
Topics:
Susan is a fictional character whose age depends on the story being told. She came into existence one day when my daughter asked me to "Read a book, Daddy!" in the dark. I realized two things. 1) If we turned on the light, Daddy would never get to bed, and 2) that she had never been introduced to the art of live story telling. Up to that point we had always told stories read from books.
As I started to concoct a story worthy of her first ever "just invented" story, I realized that most of her "children's books" seem to emphasize conditioning children to social norms or exposing them to conventional vocabulary and concepts. I hoped to do something different. I wanted to present her with a role model and to present lessons in creative problem solving.
I asked myself what problems seem impossible to small children, aged 2 to 5. The problems of being substantially smaller, weaker and less coordinated than everyone else came to mind immediately. So the first story started with a very BIG, HEAVY rock in the middle of the road. As I thought about ways to move the rock and processes for discovering these techniques, an engineer whom I've known for years came to mind. I have no idea if she ever had to move a BIG rock, to coax an elephant to move out of the way, to lift a playhouse off the ground or to rescue a sailboat from a deep lake-side pit. I can't even testify as to whether she would have succeeded in solving such complicated problems at such a tender age.
Nonetheless, she came to mind, and my daughter began to learn "Stories about Susan, who moves Big things."
Now, whenever my daughter tells me she can't do something, I ask her what Susan would do. Usually, she digs right in and starts trying to solve the problem. Sometimes she says, "Susan asked her Mommy/Daddy to help." Well that's a realistic solution, so if it seems appropriate,
Susan is a fictional character whose age depends on the story being told. She came into existence one day when my daughter asked me to "Read a book, Daddy!" in the dark. I realized two things. 1) If we turned on the light, Daddy would never get to bed, and 2) that she had never been introduced to the art of live story telling. Up to that point we had always told stories read from books.
As I started to concoct a story worthy of her first ever "just invented" story, I realized that most of her "children's books" seem to emphasize conditioning children to social norms or exposing them to conventional vocabulary and concepts. I hoped to do something different. I wanted to present her with a role model and to present lessons in creative problem solving.
I asked myself what problems seem impossible to small children, aged 2 to 5. The problems of being substantially smaller, weaker and less coordinated than everyone else came to mind immediately. So the first story started with a very BIG, HEAVY rock in the middle of the road. As I thought about ways to move the rock and processes for discovering these techniques, an engineer whom I've known for years came to mind. I have no idea if she ever had to move a BIG rock, to coax an elephant to move out of the way, to lift a playhouse off the ground or to rescue a sailboat from a deep lake-side pit. I can't even testify as to whether she would have succeeded in solving such complicated problems at such a tender age.
Nonetheless, she came to mind, and my daughter began to learn "Stories about Susan, who moves Big things."
Now, whenever my daughter tells me she can't do something, I ask her what Susan would do. Usually, she digs right in and starts trying to solve the problem. Sometimes she says, "Susan asked her Mommy/Daddy to help." Well that's a realistic solution, so if it seems appropriate, we invite her to ask us to help. If she does, then we work through the problem with her until she can do it herself. Tying a bow in a shoe string still requires parental intervention, removing all the cushions from the sofa is now achieved independently. Moving the 150 lbs sofa around the room is something she can accomplish on her own, but she asks for a parental safety team. My daughter is not quite 3 years old.
Someday I hope to compile and publish one or more books based on "Stories about Susan, who moves Big things." The material presented on this web site will probably become part of this effort; thus, it is my intent to declare copyright on all the material relating to "Stories about Susan, who moves Big things" that I create and present here and elsewhere. However, I invite anyone to verbally recount any of these stories as presented or modified to any child as long as such story telling isn't done for financial gain.
I hope that people who visit this site will be inspired to send me ideas and critical thinking about the stories. I will certainly try to credit anyone who is a regular contributor. However, be forewarned, I will consider such contribution a gift to me, unless otherwise negotiated. The only return that may result is that you may see your ideas incorporated in the stories.
Here are some guidelines I try to follow in telling these stories.
I try to avoid gender bias. As a bona fide member of our
society who grew up as a ( and still participates as a) male, I actually
am biased in so many ways I can't even recognize them all.
If you see me showing a consistent bias, call me on it. I won't
destroy a story to make it gender neutral, but so far that has never been
necessary.
( Of course, there is some natural bias in the fact that Susan is female,
but so is my daughter. )
I have made no effort to be distinct about race at all. If ever we get some art, it is possible/probable that race based bias will start to become apparent. If anyone notices, call me on it.
I try to present unusual problems that are simple in nature, even if the solution is not. I try to select problems that can be solved either by some simple creative application of knowledge and insight ,or by learning some basic principle of our universe. I prefer presenting aggressive, creative problem solving strategies for finding solutions over useful or realistic solutions. In these stories, attempting to solve a problem in a new way is never criticized, even when it seems apparent from an adult point of view that the solution could never work.
© Copyright Notice
First copyright year: 2000
Last updated: 05/20/2001 -- by R. Mackie