Michael the Storyteller
Tells the Tales at Elementary Schools
Decades ago, as Michael R. Kasony-O’Malley was beginning his storytelling career, he met the acclaimed storyteller Brother Blue. Brother Blue held Michael’s hands in his own, met Michael’s eyes, and said, “Always entertain them…and never just entertain them.” Michael took Brother Blue’s words to heart. In every storytelling program, workshop, or performance, Michael hopes to entertain – but he always wants to do much more. Michael has never ceased being an educator.
With over 100 hours worth of stories in his repertoire, Michael brings stories to life. For over 25 years, Michael the Storyteller has been inspiring students, teachers and school communities and libraries with his storytelling performances, school-wide assemblies, family night programs, classroom workshops, professional development seminars, and one-week and two-week residencies. And now Michael integrates MINDFULNESS EXERCISES and MINDFULNESS PRACTICES into his programming.
For pricing, scheduling, or further details on Michael’s ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PROGRAMS, CONTACT US.
MICHAEL THE STORYTELLER IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. Michael is an educator. In the last 1980’s and early 1990’s he worked as a classroom teacher in grades 1st – 4th. With a Master’s Degree in Education from Wheelock College in Boston, Michael integrated storytelling into his elementary classrooms and, when he left the classroom in 1994, he set out to be a professional storyteller. He has since shared the tales with hundreds of thousands.
READING, WRITING, & LITERACY. In offering programs for elementary schools, Michael wants to energize students about stories, books, reading, and writing. One elementary principal was asked why she booked Michael’s programs year after year, she replied,
“We schedule Michael’s programs year in and year out because the focus of my school is literacy. Everything Michael does here – the Storytelling Assemblies, the Writing Workshops, the Teacher In-Services, the Family Night Programs – Every program that Michael offers inspires our students as readers and writers. Everyone of Michael’s programs promotes literacy.”
MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION. Through Fairy, Folk, and Wisdom Tales, through his Earth Mother Stories, Christmas Legends, Irish Tales, and Slovak Folk Stories, children are exposed to new perspectives and get glimpses of different cultures. Michael often combines the telling of his Folk and Family Stories with little anecdotes from his travels in the former Czechoslovakia, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Russia, Sweden, France, Germany, England, Belgium, Estonia, Ukraine, Canada, and throughout the United States – including visits to Native American Indian Reservations in over 10 states. Michael brings an appreciation on peoples and cultures to his storytelling work. Never just entertain them.
ENVIRONMENTALISM, CHARACTER BUILDING, AND MINDFULNESS. With his Earth Mother Stories, Michael encourages students to be observant of our Natural World and to be caretakers of our planet. Many Folk and Wisdom Tales are not just entertaining stories, the are teachings. They invite students to turn towards actions and ways of thinking that are compassionate and beneficial, rather than selfish and harmful. Michael also integrates MINDFULNESS PRACTICES into many of his storytelling programs, even offering talks and stories that focus on Mindfulness as a response to bullying and Mindfulness as a response to screen addiction. Never just entertain them.
BENEFITS TO PARENTS AND FAMILIES. In Michael’s Family Night Programs, he always shares a combination of family lore and folk stories. He encourages parents to share their tales, to create spaces for family and community stories to be passed on across generations. Simultaneously, Michael inspires children to open their ears and hearts to their own family stories. Michael is also an advocate for families reading aloud together. Michael the Storyteller’s Family Night Programs are always an invitation for young and old to laugh together, but it never stops there. As Brother Blue said, “Always entertain them…and never just entertain them.”
BENEFITS TO TEACHERS. For fellow educators, Michael leads Teacher In-Services encouraging and inspiring classroom teachers while providing “tried and true” tools and resources on storytelling, story reading, and story writing to aid teachers in the classroom and to add value and joy to the learning experience. Never just entertain them.
CHILDREN AS STORYTELLERS, STORY WRITERS, AND STORY LISTENERS. Michael wants children to be both storytellers and story listeners. Drawing on his decades-long work as an educator and professional storyteller, Michael offers engaging Workshops and Programs on Story Writing and Storytelling. Michael also schedules Residency Programs for elementary schools providing a full-range of programming including Storytelling Assemblies, Writing Workshops, Storytelling Workshops, “Science and Story” Workshops, Teacher in-Services, and Family Night Programs over the course of several days or weeks. Never just entertain them.
MICHAEL THE EDUCATOR. Michael is an entertainer. His programs bring joy and lightness to each elementary school he visits. At the same time, Michael’s programs add depth and richness to each school’s curriculum in multiple ways. As many principals, teachers, and parents concerned about education can attest, “Michael always entertains his elementary school audiences, but he never just entertains them.”
For pricing and scheduling details on Michael’s ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PROGRAMS, CONTACT US.
Michael also offers specialized programming especially for Middle School & Jr. High Students, as well as specific programming for Teens and High School Students.