Friday, April 3, 2015

C is for Cats



Most of my life I have been owned by or at least influenced by a cat or two.  At present there is a small black cat who shares my abode.  She keeps me company and complains when I've been gone while ignoring me most of the time I am home.

One of the earliest stories I remember is Millions of Cats written and illustrated by Wanda Gág.  So it wasn’t surprising to me that I learned to tell Millions of Cats early on in my storytelling career.  I was teaching second grade and used my storytelling skills to enhance my teaching and to keep the children engaged while we had to wait – for lunch, for P.E., for recess, for library.  Right away they learned the refrain, “Hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions and billions and trillions of cats.”  And chanted with me each time I used the refrain.  Sometimes we enacted the story with the children being the cats trailing behind me as we “went over the sunny hills and through the cool valleys.”  For a Summer Reading program, where a craft was expected to go along with the stories, I came up with the idea of paper bag cat puppets.  The story has grown and changed through the years, but it is still one of my favorites to tell.

Other cat stories that come to mind are Puss in Boots, The Cat Who Went to Heaven, The White Cat, and, of course, the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland.


Here is a link to a great cat blog.  

8 comments:

Lila Henry said...

Love cat stories! Millions of Cats was one of my first children's books. : )

Tara Tyler said...

i'm liking your stories behind the letters - i didn't know about april fools, but i did know about blogs - and yay for puss in boots! cats are major characters!

happy c day!

Pearson Report said...

You are passionate in your teaching - that comes through in this post. What a treasure you would have been to your students.

I'm sure they remember your teachings, and love of it, well.

Jenny, Pearson Report
2015 A to Z Challenge Ambassador
@PearsonReport

loverofwords said...

I remember that book. It is so important that children are read to, so many are not, television and now the IPad are the
entertainment. You fill that gap for your students.

Stories by Julie said...

When I took a woodworking class at the local high school after retiring, the teacher who was a friend of mine would ask the students if they remembered me. Those who did remembered the stories, not the lessons in the use of the library.
C could also be for Conversation and storytelling is right behind conversation for increasing students' vocabulary.

J Lenni Dorner said...

J here, stopping by from the #atozchallenge - where I am part of the A to Z Ambassador Team! (I'm a minion/volunteer under Arlee.)
Great post. I'm looking forward to more. Let me know if I can help you in any blogging way this month. I've followed you on GFC.
@JLenniDorner
I love cats!!

A Tarkabarka Hölgy said...

I recently saw a new collection of cat-related folktales on Goodreads. I put it on my list somewhere...

@TarkabarkaHolgy from
Multicolored Diary - Epics from A to Z
MopDog - 26 Ways to Die in Medieval Hungary

Stories by Julie said...

There are a lot of cat lovers out there! Csenge Zalka thanks. If you find the title, please let me know.
J, I may have some questions later. Right now I think I'm doing ok. Thanks for the offer.

View my website at:
www.StoriesByJulie.com