Last week of school! Well, not even the whole week… my daughter’s last day is Tuesday and I’m not sure who is more excited for the summer – me or her! Things are in full swing as we have had a few fires in the fire pit and the pool is now open! A few more cookouts and it will really start to feel like the summer has arrived!

Storytelling events for this week:

• Monday:  Bright Ideas Childcare Center @ 10:00am
• Tuesday: Bright Horizons @ 10:00/10:30am
• Wednesday: Joshua Hyde Library *Free to the Public! @ 2:00pm
• Thursday: Hancock School @ 10:00am
• Thursday: Bright Horizons @ 4:30pm

Please check the Upcoming Shows page for more information on all of these shows. The Joshua Hyde Library is open to the public to attend – so, please, come and join all the fun!

Places I will be visiting this week:

1. Plymouth
2. Nashua, NH
3. Ayer
4. Brockton
5. Braintree

This week is quite interesting. I was telling tales in Quincy at a school I have visited for the past 4 to 5 years. The principal asked me how things were and then told me that, of all the storytellers, artists, and entertainers they have visit the school, I am his favorite. That kid of stuff I take to heart – it really means a lot to me. I enjoy being able to go back year after year to visit the same children, the same staff, of schools I see annually. It means a lot, especially since I spend most of my time alone driving show to show!

Here are the friends I am visiting this week:

• Monday:  Bernazzani Elementary School @ 9:30am
• Wednesday:  Clara Macy Elementary School @ 9:00am
• Thursday: Carver Elementary Schools @ 9:00am-2:00pm
• Friday: Triumph Head Start @ 2:00pm
• Friday: Hands on the Arts Festival *Free to the Public! @ 2:30pm

Please check the Upcoming Shows page for more information on all of these shows. The Hands on the Arts Festival is an annual event that I love telling tales at! Make sure to come and enjoy the day!

Places I will be visiting this week:

1. Quincy
2. Bellingham
3. Caver
4. Taunton
5. Eastham

I approach each show a bit differently but I usually lay ground rules for storytelling.  First off, I never decide what I am going to do before hand (there are a few exceptions), instead I wait for the group to gather and read the crowd.  I feel like the show is a bit more spontaneous that way which keeps me on my toes.  Second, I want to enjoy myself – it’s a simple mantra, really, that I use to remind myself before a show.  I simply say, “alright, let’s have some fun!”

Lastly, I have been in the game so long that the final rule is to have no expectations and to keep it loose.  Be ready for anything.  Anyone who has worked with children know that this last rule is a must.  Children (the entertaining ones, anyways) are unpredictable.  You have to be ready to handle whatever they toss at you in the course of the show.  These rules have been learned from 15 years in the business and I hope they will serve me for many more!

Here are my shows for this week that I have no idea what I am telling yet:

• Tuesday:  Lil’ Munchins Preschool @ 10:00/10:30am
• Thursday: Joyful Noise Preschool @ 10:00am
• Thursday: Kids in Action @ 7:00pm
• Friday: Hertz Nursery School @ 10:00am
• Friday: Bourne Library Teddy Bear Picnic @ 12:00pm

Please check the Upcoming Shows page (which I am aware needs to be updated – slated to happen this week!) for more information on all of these shows.

Places I will be visiting this week:

1. Scituate
2. Sandwich
3. Hingham
4. Sharon
5. Bourne

As I was traveling to Newton tonight it occured to me that, some days, I spend more time traveling to a show, alone in my car, than I do actually entertaining people.  I like the travel most days – getting lost in my own head and enjoying this beautiful state we live in - but I don’t think, and hope I never, get used to traffic.  That is a beast that will never be tamed for me!

Thankfully, there isn’t too much traveling this week!  Here’s where I am going:

This week’s schedule:

• Tuesday:  Temple Shalom Preschool @ 7:00pm
• Thursday: Dolly’s Nursery School @ 4:30pm
• Friday: Wood Elementary School @ 2:00pm

Please check the Upcoming Shows page for more information on all of these shows.

Places I will be visiting this week:

1. Newton
2. Hingham
3. Fairhaven

I spent pretty much every moment I could outside this weekend. I watched my daughter and son play together which, due to their vast age difference, doesn’t happen very often. They were playing in the sandbox creating, and then destroying, sandcastles. It was a snapshot of their childhood that I consider myself very lucky to have caught. Moments like that are gone in a flash. I think this summer will be one of the best!

I will also spend my 39th birthday on Thursday doing what I love the most – traveling around and telling stories! Hopefully it will be beautiful and I can spend all day enjoying the weather, telling tales and then retreat to home for some cake. Sounds perfect to me!

Onto what is happening this week:

This week’s schedule:

• Wednesday:  Cedar School @ 10:00am & 12:30pm
• Thursday: Little Learners @ 10:00am & 12:30pm
• Thursday: State Street Early Learning Center @ 6:30pm
• Friday: Little Learners @ 10:00am & 12:30pm
• Saturday: Pine Fest @11:30am
• Sunday: International Fair at Bay Farm Montessori @10:15am

Both Saturday and Sunday’s shows are open to the public and are free to attend! So make a note to come and enjoy yourselves! Please check the Upcoming Shows page for more information on all of these shows.

Places I will be visiting this week:

1. Hanover
2. Billerica
3. Quincy
4. Plymouth
5. Duxbury

Hope all the Mothers out there enjoyed their day this past Sunday! As you can tell by the inactivity on this site I had have non-stop stories to tell! I was all over the map last week going from Walpole to Falmouth – then to Bridgewater and to Dartmouth! Like I said, I was all over the place! I did enjoy a bit of down time this weekend, mostly spent with my family as we enjoyed the beautiful weather we were having. Even more so, I was out birding almost every day and catching a peek at all the summer birds returning from their winter homes.

Now that I have a moment to spend in my office, here is a peek at what is happening this week:

This week’s schedule:

• Monday: Bright Horizons @ 10:00/10:30am
• Wednesday:  CNK @ 10:00am & 1:00pm
• Thursday: CNK @ 10:00am
• Friday: Wachusett Community College Child Care @ 10:00am
• Friday: Triumph Head Start @ 2:00pm

Please check the Upcoming Shows page for more information on all of these shows.

Places I will be visiting this week:

1. Bedford, NH
2. Pembroke
3. Gardner
4. Taunton

I am not sure how anything can top last week!  While telling stories in Norwell at the Science Center I spotted a pileated woodpecker – one of the largest woodpeckers has to offer!  I will post pics later, but I also saw Age of Ultron and thought it was incredible!  The whole family then took a trip to NJ to visit family and for me to have a chance to work at Zapp Comics for one of my best friends in the world during Free Comic Book Day.  If that weren’t enough I met Mike Mills of R.E.M. (Check pic of the week this week!) on the way home!  It was too much to handle!

But, it’s back to work now – and I have a few schools to visit this week!

Here is this week’s schedule:

• Wednesday: The Learning Ladder @ 10:00am
• Thursday: Lil’ Munchkins Preschool @ 10:00am & 10:30am
• Thursday: Wooded Acres Preschool @ 10:00am

Please check the Upcoming Shows page for more information on all of these shows.

Places I will be visiting this week:

1. Hanover
2. Scituate
3. Kingston

Kids are headed back to school today and I am hanging out with the littest one here at home.  Antone and I are enjoying a lazy Monday at home!  I am going to the Science Center this week in Norwell and it’s one of the many schools I visit annually.  I also get a special treat of entertaining the children that head to Carver’s Kindergarten this fall!  Alexandra attended this event last year – and now we get to see the new crop of students as Lex heads to the first grade!

And, let’s get real here: Avengers 2 comes out Friday! How can anyone think of anything else?  Avengers: Age of Ultron is out this week!

Here is this week’s schedule:

• Wednesday: Science Center Preschool @ 10:00am
• Thursday: Science Center Preschool @ 10:00am & 1:00pm
• Thursday: Carver Elementary School @ 6:00pm

Please check the Upcoming Shows page for more information on all of these shows.

Places I will be visiting this week:

1. Norwell
2. Carver

As a first time parent that is experiencing April vacation for the first time I am curious on what to expect.  My daughter enjoys school so much I have a feeling she is going to ask me if it’s time to go back to school about a hundred times.  I will have to disappoint her a hundred times by telling her, “No, you get to spend another day with me!”

This week continues to keep me moving with teacher trainings and library shows!  Make sure to check the schedule so you can make it to one… or ALL!  If anyone is crazy enough to meet me at every show I will promise a new show each time!

By the way, thank you to all who came out for the Week of the Young Child Fair!  Those of you who approached me and told me that you were there just to see me – well, that made my whole day, so thank you!

Here is this week’s schedule:

• Monday: YMCA Teacher Training @ 11:00am – 3:00pm
• Tuesday: Ventress Memorial Library @ 1:00pm
• Thursday: Hingham Public Library @ 2:00pm
• Friday: West Falmouth Library @ 11:00am

Please check the Upcoming Shows page for more information on all of these shows.  All the library shows are open to the public and should be a whole bucket of win – so come to a show or two – even if it’s beautiful!

Places I will be visiting this week:

1. Hanover
2. Marshfield
3. Hingham
4. West Falmouth

Just as I thought – last week lived up to all expectations!  I was so happy to see old friends and catch up with all of the people I see annually who is part of the Bridgewater Schools.  I can’t tell you how nice it was to not only see everyone but also to notice how happy everyone was.  Not sure if you out there heard but the George Mitchell school suffered a roof collapse with all the snow piling on it’s roof this winter.  Everyone I talked to said how impressed they were on how the superintendent handled the transition to the middle school.  It was like clockwork – and made as easy as possible.

As for me, I am beginning another super busy week full of shows!  I even see some spring weather ahead for the week so I am all that more excited to be out and about!

Here is this week’s schedule:

• Monday: Little People’s Country Day Care @ 10:00am
• Monday: Technology Fair @ PCIS @ 4:30pm
• Tuesday: Rainbow Preschool @ 10:00am
• Tuesday: Cottage Schools @ 12:45 and 1:30pm
• Wednesday: Rainbow Preschool @ 10:00am
• Thursday: Tender Years Preschool @ 10:00am
• Thursday: East Elementary @ 1:00 and 1:45pm
• Friday: WORD Inc. Childcare @ 10:00am
• Friday: Triumph Head Start @ 2:00pm
• Saturday: Week of the Young Child Fair at VOC @ 12:00pm

Please check the Upcoming Shows page for more information on all of these shows.  My only public show is the Saturday Fair in New Bedford – but it should be amazingly fun so please come on out!

Places I will be visiting this week:

1. Kingston
2. Plymouth
3. Sagamore Beach
4. Sharon
5. Falmouth
6. Taunton
7. New Bedford