Oak Lake School students enjoyed a “magical week” through Artists in the Schools, a Manitoba Arts Council program. Leigh-Anne Kehler, a professional storyteller,
actor and playwright was a hit last year. She returned for a week of work with students K - Grade 8.
Travelling storyteller Kehler is at home in the classroom. “I do this all around the world,” she explained, describing a two-year stay in Japan and visits to Thailand, and other more remote schools. “Travel is almost a necessity for being a storyteller.”
Kehler has a Bachelor of Education degree which she uses to serve the artistic side of herself and others. “I’m a professional storyteller, first and foremost.” She started out as an actress and
moved into playwriting.
“I was introduced to a storyteller who showed me the unique characteristics of that art form. It meshed with who I am.” Now Kehler has over 160 stories that she can tell. Stories that are
rooted in culture. “Very often I am asked to tell prairie stories because I am from a very small Mennonite village and my dad was the local keeper of the lore.”
Her home, Neubergthal, near Altona, is becoming a centre for artists. She laughs, “I didn’t see that coming.” Kehler likes to maximize the creative energy, openness and the playfulness of students. She places more importance upon the process rather than the end product in these week-long sessions, as she teaches others to become storytellers too.
Students tell tree tales
Through this intense week the students created their own tales. “The project in Oak Lake School is very unique because (Community Schools Connector) Kimorie Lees was planting trees with the
kids in fall. I’ve never seen so many trees put in a playground, put in all in one stint. It’s going to be beautiful.”
Trees often feature in storytelling in many cultures. “I have a lot of stories that focus on trees; so the kids learned about personifying nature. They took to that very quickly.”
Each class chose one type of tree.
The youngest grade noticed one of the pincherry trees didn’t make it through the winter, so their story is about trees dealing with winter loss. Grade 2-3 chose the silky white willow, who sent the eagle to get fur from the polar bear to brighten up her leaves. It was a story about being boastful and losing your friends.
Grade 4-5 told aboutthe blue spruce becoming sad when an old lady who loved it died and was buried beneath it.
Eventually it turned blue.
Grade 6-7 chose the maple tree, interested in the helicopter seedlings and how the tree spread across Canada. Grade 7-8 chose the linden little-leaf tree with leaves that cluster on its branches. One of the boys stated that it “looked like the feudal system,” (from their social studies class).
The tree is the lord and the leaves are the serfs.
The leaves decided to drink acid rain. The tree was near death when it admitted it needed the leaves.
“The kids here are really smart,” commented the artist. “You only have to teach them once and they go for it.”
The closing number was one of Kehler’s own stories, incorporating student participation. Drama and surprise brought laughter to round out the hour presentation.
“The theme for this year was trees,” said Principal Brenda Masson, acknowledging Ms. Kehler, the students and the audience. “We had a scientist in the classroom come and talk to us aboutagro-forestry. To extend that, Leigh-Anne Kehler has worked with all the students to share stories of her own and create new stories.
