Email Us

The right story for the right person at the right time – this could be Gael’s mission statement. And to be ready to do this she observes popular culture, interactions between people and events, and, shamelessly, eavesdrops on conversations on the train or tram or in the shopping centre. Gael then filters this through a passionate knowledge of metaphor and story and a background in libraries and adult training.

Gael creates stories and poems for performance and takes an impish pleasure in twisting traditional tales so that listeners are surprised into listening to and then thinking about the stories.

Her picture books The Biography of Gilbert Alexander Pig (illustrated by David Cox, Benchmark/ Cygnet, 1999) and Fish for Breakfast (illustrated by Anna Pignataro, A Window Hollow Book, Benchmark, 2002) began life as told stories and now live on in magnificently illustrated and written tales.

 Gael has presented papers and workshops on aspects of storytelling at conferences in Australia and overseas and has been “artist in residence” under government funded programs.

 Where?

Gael is available on select days in the east and south east of Melbourne and Gippsland.

Testimonials

Many thanks for helping to make Children’s Book Week in Traralgon a success. The children are still talking about the stories and wanting to recite your rhymes. Traralgon Primary School

We really enjoyed your storytelling. We are making story maps about Epaminondas. Thank you for coming to our school.

Liddiard Road Primary School

Programs

Pre-Schools

Primary Schools

Secondary Schools

Parent Seminars and Professional Development

Pre–Schools

3 - 5 years      30 or 45 minutes

Gael’s program is filled with songs, rhymes and stories on topics to complement educational themes including, but not limited to,

           Australian Animals

           Visiting the shops

           Going to the doctor (or hospital)

           Transport    

           Teddy Bears

           Getting along together

plus traditional tales like

The Enormous Beetroot (turnip)

Jack and the Beanstalk.

 Parent Nights.

Gael has a range of action stories that parents (especially Dads) and children can learn together.

Primary Schools

All Programs      45-60 minutes

Grades P-6                                              Stories                                              60 minutes

These themes can be adapted to any age level with more challenging tales for older children.

Fairy Tales

Fairy tales teach us essential life skills and provide the building blocks of our literature and our culture. Gael links stories with poems and songs to round out a delightful language experience.

Learn to Listen

A special program of ‘everyday’ stories and poems for P-1.

Getting along together

There are so many ways in which we can learn from each other and find our own courage and compassion through the sharing of story.

History in the Making

True tales of Ted from the 1920s and ‘30s, breaking the rules in the 1960s, and the Drive-In experience. Australian stories of real people in recent times.

Stop the Bullying

This session uses traditional stories to introduce children to the role of the bully in folk literature.

Linked with comment, it creates a space for children to explore personalities and situations.

Reconciliation

Throughout the centuries there has been a need for reconciliation as there is today in Australia.

This is a great opportunity to examine a complex issue through story.

Chamber of Horrors

Ghost stories, spooky tales, words to make your eyes as big as saucers. Living forever has consequences and uncovering secrets needs a brave heart!

Your Choice

Whatever it is you are doing (beach, mini-beasts, gold rush, space, dinosaurs, fresh water ecosystems), Gael has stories to tell. Why not ask?

Grades P-6 Author presentation    45-60 minutes

Gael is a published author and her presentation of the process of writing the text and preparing the script for the illustrator is both illuminating and highly entertaining.

Storytelling workshops

Prep – 2 60 minutes

Grades 3 - 4 75 minutes

Grades 5 - 6 90 minutes

Children discover for themselves in this workshop how to tell stories from memory.

Fabulous language experience that enhances all aspects of a child’s development. Learning to tell a story helps develop imagination, listening skills and memory.

Requires adults to assist with small group work. Workshops adjusted to Year levels.

Secondary Schools

All Year Levels      60 minutes

Secondary School Sessions tailored to year levels and focus required by teachers.

Greek myths

Atlanta, Demeter, Medusa, Orpheus, Ulysses, King Midas.

Embracing difference

Traditional tales to show how relationships can be forged between pigs and wolves, jugglers and priests, and young men and ugly women.

Safe Schools

Stories that address the issue of bullying plus a folder of follow up activities for years 7-10.

CREATIVE WRITING

Stories and exercises to enrich experience, to embroider memories, to put a soul into the words on the page.

Choose from:

1. Go to the ends of the earth: stories of journey and discovery.

2. Finding a mate: some people know what they want and how to get it

3. Personal stories

Gael relates some of her experiences and leads a discussion analysing the structure and method she has used to create the told story. Students work with a set of “facts” to create their own stories.

WORKSHOPS

How can a quilt be the universe?

Stories and exercises to give students an understanding of metaphor by moving from the concrete to the abstract.

This workshop is designed to assist students with both the development of their creative writing and with their ability to understand and respond to text.

How do I learn?

Explore three methods of learning (reading, listening and visualization) to discover which is your preferred learning style – and by the end of the session you will have a story to tell!

Stories for girls

These sessions are designed to give girls a safe place in which to explore some of the issues of growing up. The insights obtained in these sessions will also enrich personal writing styles by exploring some of the ways metaphors work in the stories we listen to and tell. Follow up work will allow an understanding of the role the “point of view” in the shaping of metaphor and the meaning we take from these stories and allow participants to begin the work of re-shaping the stories they write and hear.

Get in touch with your inner fury…but I never get angry, do I? 

Stories to stimulate discussion.

Get in touch with your inner princess:

How do I become the person I want to be?

Stories of princesses to touch your heart, to recall your childhood, to give you pause, to think, to listen, for fun...

Parent Seminars & Professional Development

Learn and tell a story in one hour                   90 mins

This workshop allows participants to explore some of the methods of learning a story and to reflect on which of the learning methods best matches his or her own style of learning.

Telling and Writing                                        2 hours

Donald Davis says that literacy is a second language - children learn to speak before they learn to write. In this workshop participants work with a traditional or personal story to explore the difference and reflect on the way working from one to another informs both processes. By the end of the session participants will have practised telling their stories, have completed a written outline and have the tools necessary to complete the work.

Storytelling for Teachers        3 hours

A combination of the two workshops outlined above, designed to show how storytelling can assist with literacy, language and listening skills, drama, socialisation etc. The focus of this session would be by arrangement.

Building Metaphors - Building Resilience  90 mins

Bullying, untidiness, forgetfulness, blended families: discover how to construct a story that will allow your child to find his or her own solution to the problem.