7:30 BELLS Guest Post by Laura McGee Kvasnosky
I am so pleased to offer this month's 7:30 BELLS Guest Post by the always kind and insightful author, the acclaimed Laura McGee Kvasnosky.
A FAMILY THAT SINGS TOGETHER RINGS TOGETHER
Nothing rings more bells than the collaborative fun of inventive play.
As we prepared for a big family holiday dinner, I found a list of clues to Christmas song titles, tucked into a book of carols. I thought the list might be the basis of a game and brought it to the table that night.
We divided into three teams. Each team gave itself a name. Then, in turn, they guessed the names of the songs as suggested by the clues. (For example, “Bleached Yule,” is the clue for “White Christmas.”) We decided to allow ten seconds to guess then moved along to next team.
Of course my singing family not only named, but started to sing the songs as well. We decided to give extra points for singing. The Reindeer Games team laid in harmonies. More points. The Silver Bells featured a solo. More points. The Unwrappers added choreography. What a show. We had lots of laughs as the competition heated up. We invented how the game worked as we went along.
I love my time alone in the flow zone, writing and illustrating. But what an added joy to create and play with my family.
Here’s the list, which I see is available several places on the internet.
Material for your own family’s creative play:
1. Bleached Yule
2. Castaneous-colored Seed Vesicated in a Conflagration
3. Singular Yearning for the Twin Anterior Incisors
4. Righteous Darkness
5. Arrival Time: 2400 hrs - Weather: Cloudless
6. Loyal Followers Advance
7. Far Off in a Feeder
8. Array the Corridor
9. Bantam Male Percussionist
10. Monarchial Triad
11. Nocturnal Noiselessness
12. Jehovah Deactivate Blithe Chevaliers
13. Red Man En Route to Borough
14. Frozen Precipitation Commence
15. Proceed and Enlighten on the Pinnacle
16. The Quadruped with the Vermillion Probiscis
17. Query Regarding Identity of Descendant
18. Delight for this Planet
19. Give Attention to the Melodious Celestial Beings
20. The Dozen Festive 24 Hour Intervals
As we prepared for a big family holiday dinner, I found a list of clues to Christmas song titles, tucked into a book of carols. I thought the list might be the basis of a game and brought it to the table that night.
We divided into three teams. Each team gave itself a name. Then, in turn, they guessed the names of the songs as suggested by the clues. (For example, “Bleached Yule,” is the clue for “White Christmas.”) We decided to allow ten seconds to guess then moved along to next team.
Of course my singing family not only named, but started to sing the songs as well. We decided to give extra points for singing. The Reindeer Games team laid in harmonies. More points. The Silver Bells featured a solo. More points. The Unwrappers added choreography. What a show. We had lots of laughs as the competition heated up. We invented how the game worked as we went along.
I love my time alone in the flow zone, writing and illustrating. But what an added joy to create and play with my family.
Here’s the list, which I see is available several places on the internet.
Material for your own family’s creative play:
1. Bleached Yule
2. Castaneous-colored Seed Vesicated in a Conflagration
3. Singular Yearning for the Twin Anterior Incisors
4. Righteous Darkness
5. Arrival Time: 2400 hrs - Weather: Cloudless
6. Loyal Followers Advance
7. Far Off in a Feeder
8. Array the Corridor
9. Bantam Male Percussionist
10. Monarchial Triad
11. Nocturnal Noiselessness
12. Jehovah Deactivate Blithe Chevaliers
13. Red Man En Route to Borough
14. Frozen Precipitation Commence
15. Proceed and Enlighten on the Pinnacle
16. The Quadruped with the Vermillion Probiscis
17. Query Regarding Identity of Descendant
18. Delight for this Planet
19. Give Attention to the Melodious Celestial Beings
20. The Dozen Festive 24 Hour Intervals
Thank you, Dia, for the opportunity to add to the tintinnabulation of your 7:30 Bells Blog.
LORE OF THE BELL
Collaborative play makes the bells ring
Thank you, Laura!
Laura McGee Kvasnosky is a general maker of things: gardens, quilts, ukulele songs – and books. She has written and illustrated 17 picture books and a middle grade novel in the last 18 years. Her books’ awards include SCBWI Kite honors for Zelda and Ivy, and the American Library Association’s 2007 Theodor Seuss Geisel award for Zelda and Ivy the Runaways. Laura is a founding instructor of the University of Washington’s Writing for Children certificate program, and taught January terms at VCFA MFAWCYA from 2001 to 2007. She earned a BA in journalism from Occidental College and has studied writing with Jane Yolen and illustration with Keith Baker. A fourth-generation Northern Californian, Laura lives in Seattle with her husband, John, and springy spaniel named Izabella. They have two grown children who live in California. www.lmkbooks.com