Last month we heard from the teachers we support through our creative programmes, that due to COVID restrictions various christmas activities had to be cancelled in their schools. They were worried about how to keep the festive festivities alive for the children they teach and nurture, under a backdrop that we’ve never experienced before. They asked if we could help.
It got us thinking… and it got us plotting with our great pals at @fightingwords and @fightingwordsNI. And in the blink of a Santa’s eye, the 12 Stories of Christmas was born.
Authors were contacted and told of the Christmas classroom conundrum and it snowballed (see what we did there) so quickly that in the space of a week, we had 12 amazing writers penning Christmas Story starters to spark primary school children’s imagination to write some new Christmas stories for 2020. Writers like Roddy Doyle, Louise O’Neill, Eoin Colfer, John Mc Carthy, Lisa McGee, Aine Ni Ghlinn and loads more were enthusiastic and generous with their time.
Then some fantastic well known faces including Hilary Rose, Shane Casey, Bronagh Gallagher, Kwaku Fortune and Amaya Gillespie came on board, lending their support by being filmed around the country reading gorgeous Christmas stories so that we could bring the stories to life in classrooms and in homes around the country.
Today with Fighting Words, Fightings Words NI and with support from Creative Ireland, we launch the 12 Stories of christmas.
You can watch all the story prompts as short films, download a digital story book, read the story starters and bring some festive fun to your classroom. With a range of funny, silly, scary, adventurous tales to choose from, there’s the chance for any child to be inspired by these wonderful writers.
All the info and the bits and bobs for you are here: www.graffiti.ie/fightingwords.
We’ll be releasing one a day on social media but they’re all available to view now on our website. All of the stories,
You can also do this activity at home with your families over the holidays. However you enjoy the 12 Stories of Christmas we hope it brings some festive writing fun to you this December.
Thanks to the incredible @macallateo @piquantmedia @frankandmarci, @everymanCork for their fast and fantastic work to bring this project to life in almost no time at all.
Thanks also to the @artscouncil for their ongoing support in helping us here at Graffiti to keep on helping children to realise their creative potential.
Love from team Graffiti x
