SUMMER 2012

TELLING ITS T OR I E S A N D P OE M S B Y T H E C H I L DR E N OF T E L L I NG I T C A R RO T WA Y

Telling It is a community-based program for vulnerable children and youth grades K-12 that employs innovative approaches to boost scholastic confidence by using the healing aspects of the arts in concert with evidenced-based educational and social work practices. Founded in 2002, the program’s mission is to:

1. Establish a safe and creative environment for vulnerable children and youth, 2. Stimulate creative writing and literacy skills through the creative arts to increase self-esteem and improve scholastic confidence, and3. When possible, identify and address the impediments to personal and academic success for each participant.

Now in its ninth year, Telling It works in partnership with the Univer-sity of Michigan and is run jointly by the College of Literature, Science and the Arts’ Residential College, School of Social Work, and community social service agencies in Washtenaw County.

Telling It utilizes a vast array of community resources to create arts programming that is directed entirely at meeting the particular needs of Washtenaw County’s vulnerable youth in order to help engage them in school. In 2008, Telling It was recognized by then Governor Jennifer Granholm as one of three finalists in the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Campus and Community Partnership awards. It also received recognition as one of 50 semi-finalists out of 320 nominations in the national 2008 Coming Up Taller Awards presented by the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities for exemplary programs for out-of-school youth arts and humanities education.

As we look forward to more sparks of creativity being ignited, we are hopeful that the fire that has been lit won’t go out. Thank you for attending our Telling It Celebration.

Sincerely,

Deb Gordon-Gurfinkel Telling It Founder and Program Director

WELCOME TO THE CELEBRATION OF THE CREATIVE WRITING AND ARTWORK OF THE CHILDREN OF THE TELLING IT PROGRAM AT CARROT WAY.

Family Book Club

We would also l ike to express our grat i tude toAvalon social workers Daicia and ScottCarrot Way summer camp staff Devon, Jen, Kaitlyn, Melissa, Nata-sha, Wendy and Zach

And, thank you to our communit y ar t istsStoryteller La’Ron WilliamsPhotographer Leisa Thompson

Anthology design by Alexander Lee

Photography by Leisa Thompsonlthompson@leisaphoto.com

For more information please contactDeb Gordon-GurfinkelTelling It Program Founder and Directordmgordon@umich.eduwww.TellingIt.org

Our appreciation goes out to the families and friends that support the children and youth of Telling It.

THANK YOU TO AVALON HOUSING FOR FUNDING TELLING IT AT CARROT WAY. AND ALSO TO

Telling It is a community-based program for vulnerable children and youth grades K-12 that employs innovative approaches to boost scholastic confidence by using the healing aspects of the arts in concert with evidenced-based educational and social work practices. Founded in 2002, the program’s mission is to:

1. Establish a safe and creative environment for vulnerable children and youth, 2. Stimulate creative writing and literacy skills through the creative arts to increase self-esteem and improve scholastic confidence, and3. When possible, identify and address the impediments to personal and academic success for each participant.

Now in its ninth year, Telling It works in partnership with the Univer-sity of Michigan and is run jointly by the College of Literature, Science and the Arts’ Residential College, School of Social Work, and community social service agencies in Washtenaw County.

Telling It utilizes a vast array of community resources to create arts programming that is directed entirely at meeting the particular needs of Washtenaw County’s vulnerable youth in order to help engage them in school. In 2008, Telling It was recognized by then Governor Jennifer Granholm as one of three finalists in the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Campus and Community Partnership awards. It also received recognition as one of 50 semi-finalists out of 320 nominations in the national 2008 Coming Up Taller Awards presented by the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities for exemplary programs for out-of-school youth arts and humanities education.

As we look forward to more sparks of creativity being ignited, we are hopeful that the fire that has been lit won’t go out. Thank you for attending our Telling It Celebration.

Sincerely,

Deb Gordon-Gurfinkel Telling It Founder and Program Director

THE OWL ANDTHE MONKEYThe monkey and the owl went out to play and then it was storming and then they went back inside. The monkey went inside with the owl and they played inside until it was dark time. They played with plastic horses and then the monkey’s mom called her inside. The monkey ate dinner. The monkey ate mac-n-cheese. She drank milk first and then she brushed her teeth. And then she went to bed.

SCHOOLI smell popcornI taste pizzaI hear my teacherI touch booksI see my teacherI feel happy

PHOTOGRAPHY PROJECTRadio on the bear – silly.

Bear – so soft.

Radio – it works, happy, it makes me happy when I look at it.

Melissa – I like to take pictures with Melissa.

Myself – I like taking pictures with my beary.

I like to sleep with it. I use it as a blanket and a pillow.

ALEXIS

Family Book Club

We would also l ike to express our grat i tude toAvalon social workers Daicia and ScottCarrot Way summer camp staff Devon, Jen, Kaitlyn, Melissa, Nata-sha, Wendy and Zach

And, thank you to our communit y ar t istsStoryteller La’Ron WilliamsPhotographer Leisa Thompson

Anthology design by Alexander Lee

Photography by Leisa Thompsonlthompson@leisaphoto.com

For more information please contactDeb Gordon-GurfinkelTelling It Program Founder and Directordmgordon@umich.eduwww.TellingIt.org

Our appreciation goes out to the families and friends that support the children and youth of Telling It.

THE BEST FRIEND LESSONThere once was an owl and a monkey. They very didn’t like each other. One day they bumped into each other and the owl said move out of my way and then the monkey said move out of my way too. The monkey said you better move out of my way. Then the owl said move out of my way first. Then the monkey said fine I’ll move outta your way. And the next day the owl and the monkey were at a tree. And then they bumped into each other again. The owl said stop following me. Then the monkey said I’m not following you. And then the owl said where are you going? The monkey said I’m going to the dead tree. The owl said that’s where I’m going and the monkey said let’s go together. After that they started talking about what their favorite color is and how old are you? Then the monkey and the owl turned out to be best friends forever.

The End

ZOOI smell fresh air.I taste my drink.I hear birds.I touch elephant nail.I see animals.I feel happy.

ALIVIA

KEON

HOW THE MONKEY AND THE OWL GOT FOUNDToday we went on an adventure and we hid a monkey and an owl and we split into teams. I was on the owl team, we hid the owl and then we had to find the monkey and it was by the pond. It was fun. Then we had to walk around the pond and the find the monkey. We bumped into each other and monkey said, “do you want to be my friend?” and owl said “yeah, sure but why because I don’t have any friends they say I am weird.” “ Why? “said owl. “I don’t know.”

RESTAURANTI smell bacon.I taste food.I hear cooking.I touch silverware.I see my food.I feel hungry.

THE CHARACTER THAT WEARS THIS HATHis name is Avi.He is cool.He is blonde.He is white.He has freckles.He is 11.He likes to write.He plays tag.He runs.He lives with his mom.He plays video games.

PHOTOGRAPHY PROJECTTwo soccer nets.

One picture of a pond.

One picture of jumping off the swing.

One picture of me and Kaitlyn.

I was walking through the soccer field and we stopped at the big park and took two pictures of the pond and then a picture of me and Kaitlyn and then I jumped off the swing and landed and then we walked back to the center.

LABRONTHE OWL ANDTHE MONKEYThere is a monkey and an owl. The monkey wants to play with the owl. The owl is sleeping but he thought that the owl wasn’t sleeping. At nighttime the owl was awake but the monkey wasn’t awake.

HOMEI smell cake.I taste chicken.I hear cars.I touch toys.I see doors.(Try this)I feel good.

THE CHARACTER THAT WEARS THIS HATHis name is Skull.He is 11 feet tall.He is a pirate.He has a sword.He sleeps in a ship.It is as big as the playground.His bed is as big as the play structure.It floats on the ocean.He has a family.He has a brother.His brother is a pirate.Their dad fell off the ship and got ate by a shark.

PHOTOGRAPHY PROJECTThe Butterfly at the bottom of the board.

Water in the sewer.End of the board.Middle of the board.

The butterfly under the board.He flew over the middle of the board and off the end he flew.Over the water and into the sewer.

THE OWL AND THE MONKEYOn June 27th 2012, we went on an adventure where we hide and find the owl and the monkey. There were 8 people named THE VOLTRON FORCE!! We hid the monkey near the swamp. Then, we started to find the owl. In the middle of finding the owl, Zach caught me and I joined the owl team. Then we started looking for the monkey. But we were stumped. We went back inside and I decided to combine in one whole group. All of us put our arms in. One of them said it was by the swamp. Alivia was the first to find. I was the second. And finally found the monkey.(the monkey was in the 90o temp)

THE CHARACTER THAT WEARS THIS HATHis name is Rogver1. One of the 12 legendary warriors2. He’s a scorpion.3. He wears a helmet because he saves people from fires by using a spell called “Ice storm.”4. When he’s in battle, he wears his legendary helmet.5. His first set of armor is rugged.6. His second set of armor is rare.7. His third setoff armor is epic.8. His original armor is legendary.9. He lives in a game called “Juggernaut.” 10. He eats meat.11. He gets his armor by buying it.12. He has a tough hammer.

PokeBonus #7. He has a Pokemon named, Pikachu

MICHIGANCARROT WAYI smell food, drinks and air.I taste spaghetti, milk and juices.I hear people, traffic, Zach.I see a camera, shock and like….WHHHHHAAAAAAA!

PHOTOGRAPHY PROJECTPok-e- list1. Pok-e-ball2. Pikachu, the Pok-e-mon3. PB with Pikachu, the Pem4. US map5 & 6 Zach and me

Pok-e-bonusI pokeballed –capturePIKACHU

Poke-e-sheet - #1 -#90,000

LIAM

THE OWL AND THE MONKEYOne day an owl and a monkey bumped into each other they said hi and they went home.

MICHIGANI smell jelly beans.I taste jelly beans.I hear jelly beans jumping on the ground.I touch the jelly beans.I see jelly beans.I feel jelly beans. Happy.

PHOTOGRAPHY PROJECTWendy and Marlon at the center.A tree trunk, a carrot.I feel excited.

THE CHARACTER THAT WEARS THIS HAT1. Avi wears a crown and is King.2. Maya wears a crown and is queen.3. Kings and Queens love each other.4. They love their crowns and almost like to wear them all the time.5. They make them as pictures.6. They know a lot about crowns.7. They are in charge of food.8. They keep crowns on their heads. 9. Crowns make them happy.10. They get dressed up. Girls put on dresses, boys put on church clothes.11. They are crazy.

MARLON

THE OWL AND THE MONKEYOn June 27th 2012, we went on an adventure where we hide and find the owl and the monkey. There were 8 people named THE VOLTRON FORCE!! We hid the monkey near the swamp. Then, we started to find the owl. In the middle of finding the owl, Zach caught me and I joined the owl team. Then we started looking for the monkey. But we were stumped. We went back inside and I decided to combine in one whole group. All of us put our arms in. One of them said it was by the swamp. Alivia was the first to find. I was the second. And finally found the monkey.(the monkey was in the 90o temp)

THE CHARACTER THAT WEARS THIS HATHis name is Rogver1. One of the 12 legendary warriors2. He’s a scorpion.3. He wears a helmet because he saves people from fires by using a spell called “Ice storm.”4. When he’s in battle, he wears his legendary helmet.5. His first set of armor is rugged.6. His second set of armor is rare.7. His third setoff armor is epic.8. His original armor is legendary.9. He lives in a game called “Juggernaut.” 10. He eats meat.11. He gets his armor by buying it.12. He has a tough hammer.

PokeBonus #7. He has a Pokemon named, Pikachu

THE OWL AND THE MONKEYToday at the summer program we had an adventure. One group had to find a monkey and the other group had to find the owl. Our group hid the monkey across the street over by the pond.

CEDAR POINTI smell fresh air.I taste french fries with chilli, cheese and ketchup.I hear people screaming.I touch holding onto the bar.I see lots of rides.I feel excited.

PHOTOGRAPHY PROJECT1. Green pepper2. Green tomatoes3. Rosemary4. Girls Rule.5. Vegetables

At Carrot way there is a vegetable garden. In the garden we took pictures of a big, green peeper, two green tomatoes, and rosemary. My favorite thing in the garden is the vegetables I like to eat. Last week Girls Ruled the garden.

MICHIGANCARROT WAYI smell food, drinks and air.I taste spaghetti, milk and juices.I hear people, traffic, Zach.I see a camera, shock and like….WHHHHHAAAAAAA!

PHOTOGRAPHY PROJECTPok-e- list1. Pok-e-ball2. Pikachu, the Pok-e-mon3. PB with Pikachu, the Pem4. US map5 & 6 Zach and me

Pok-e-bonusI pokeballed –capturePIKACHU

Poke-e-sheet - #1 -#90,000

TIARATHE CHARACTER THAT WEARS THIS HATThe person that wears these fancy pink glasses is a superstar singer. She wears dresses and sneakers. Her house is big. She has her own plane that she flies to New York to put on a concert. After her concert she flies back to Florida to have a pool party with Selena Gomez and Katy Perry. Her favorite food is pizza with pepperoni and cheese and chocolate brownies. She also has a miniature dog named Pinky.

THE CHARACTER THAT WEARS THIS HATHis name is Mich.He’s a Michigan fan.He likes football.He is in college.He likes to play video games.He likes to work by himself.He wants to be football player.He has a lit tle brother.He likes to help out.He has a lot of friends.Mich is a vegetarian.He’s a good friend.Mich had a head injury by a football. He wants to be a baseball player too.He is a straight A student.Mich is a boy.He is 9 ft. 11 inches.He is really fast. TYLER

THE OWL AND THE MONKEYToday at the summer program we had an adventure. One group had to find a monkey and the other group had to find the owl. Our group hid the monkey across the street over by the pond.

CEDAR POINTI smell fresh air.I taste french fries with chilli, cheese and ketchup.I hear people screaming.I touch holding onto the bar.I see lots of rides.I feel excited.

PHOTOGRAPHY PROJECT1. Green pepper2. Green tomatoes3. Rosemary4. Girls Rule.5. Vegetables

At Carrot way there is a vegetable garden. In the garden we took pictures of a big, green peeper, two green tomatoes, and rosemary. My favorite thing in the garden is the vegetables I like to eat. Last week Girls Ruled the garden.

THE CHARACTER THAT WEARS THIS HATThe person that wears these fancy pink glasses is a superstar singer. She wears dresses and sneakers. Her house is big. She has her own plane that she flies to New York to put on a concert. After her concert she flies back to Florida to have a pool party with Selena Gomez and Katy Perry. Her favorite food is pizza with pepperoni and cheese and chocolate brownies. She also has a miniature dog named Pinky.

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