Giveaway! 3 StoryFest Family Tickets and 2 of Jane’s Books

***The Giveaway is over. Congratulations to Stacy and Sharene!

We have a Giveaway! Without further ado, here are the details.

storytelling-poster-2015-1-1Coyote Tales – the Vashon Wilderness Program‘s Annual Storytelling Festival is so much fun. Fabulous tellers and a warm, welcoming community within which to enjoy the tales. As an instructor in VWP, I can tell you that storytelling is essential to our mentoring of youth in nature, and helping to deepen their connections with the natural world, each other, and themselves. Storytelling is truly what we call a core routine, and we aim to “catch” our students’ stories as often as we offer stories of our own.

The Coyote Tales Storytelling Festival is VWP’s only live event fundraiser. VWP aims to never turn any child away due to a family’s lack of funds, and to that end, has given over $95,000 in scholarships in its eight year history. Wow!

When: Sunday, Feb. 8, 2PM. Where: At the Open Space for Arts And Community, Vashon, WA. Tickets: Advance – $40/family, $20/individual. Door: $45/family, $25/individual

If you live on the island, do consider joining us at this family friendly event. Forest Halls is a proud sponsor! And do enter our drawing.

For those of you who don’t live on the island, you can still enter the Giveaway and be part of story magic fun. I’m giving away two copies of my children’s fantasy novel Because Of The Red Fox to you!  Stories (from myth and elsewhere) thread through this tale, as do magical nature ways. Be sure to note in your comments that you are entering the drawing for the book.

 Want a Chance to win a StoryFest family ticket or a copy of my book? Here’s how!

  • Read my blog post about how We (humans) are a Story People. Comment here about how you share story in your family or a special experience of when your family shared story (in any form!).

For more chances to win, leave a separate comment each time you do the following. Note in at least one comment whether you are a Vashon Islander or not:

  1. check out the description of Coyote Mentoring on the  Vashon Wilderness Program web site and tell me what you think is most compelling to you about Coyote Mentoring.
  2. blog about a Coyote Mentoring idea or about storytelling (please leave a reference link in the comment)
  3. Sign up for the Vashon Wilderness Program’s newsletter and receive their free booklet “10 Awesome Practices to Make Nature a Natural Part of Your Family Life.”
  4. Tell me about one of the “10 Awesome Practices” you’re going to introduce to your family
  5. “Like” the Vashon Wilderness Program on Facebook
  6. On Wed. Feb. 4, at 8:30am PST, Voice Of Vashon/KVSH 101.9 FM will interview VWP’s Executive Director, Stacey Hinden. Listen to this live streaming interview with Stacey about story, nature connection and children, and more, and share something you learned or found exciting from the interview in your comment.

And here are even more chances to win!

  • Sign up for Forest Hall’s ezine, Acorn To Oak. Are you already on my mailing list? Then please share something you enjoy about my ezine (newest edition will be out by Tues. 2/3) or blog.
  • Read my blog post Magical Doors, about reading aloud to children, which is another kind of story enchantment. Share here about a book you enjoyed as a kid or that you’ve enjoyed reading to kids
  • Follow Forest Halls on Twitter and tweet this Giveaway with hashtags #foresthalls #familymagicgiveaway . (Please list your Twitter ID in the comment so we can find you)
  • Post about this Giveaway on your Facebook page

Sign ups for the Giveaway end at 11:59PM PST on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015. I’ll draw the winners on Thursday, Feb. 5. There will be only one prize per family. Good luck, everyone, and thanks for entering!

***Note about the Comments capsha: Just in case it’s not clear from the instructions below, you need to click on the little images until they turn right side up.

Wondrous Summer Camps For Your Family

As you know, I instruct with the Vashon Wilderness Program. Each day with the kids is truly a magical experience. Kids develop an intimate relationship with nature that translates to deep connection to themselves, each other,  and to community through ways that feel like play and are play! You can read about our Coyote Mentoring approach here. This is the creative mentoring style that I bring to all my work, including here at Forest Halls.

This year VWP is offering truly wondrous summer camps. If you are on the island, have connections to our island, or want an excuse to pass a week (or more!) on our beautiful, relaxing island, do check out the camp descriptions and see which ones may be a fit for your kids or for the special child in your life. We even have a camp this year for kids and their special grown-up!

I’m super-excited  to be teaching in three of the camps (listed below). And I am delighted to be teaching within an incredible team. All of the instructors with VWP are top-notch, and each one is caring, skilled, and possesses their own unique magic which they love to share. Read all about VWP’s instructors here. You can read about me as an instructor too :-).

All of the camps promise to be fun and fabulous, and woven with story–the stories threaded into the themes of the camp, the stories that we create together, and the inner story that each participant uncovers for themselves by just being who they are in nature and with one another. Again, check out the info on the full offering of summer camps, as well as for more info on the camps in which I’ll be teaching.

Want some glimpses of camp adventures? Here are two posts I wrote about teaching the 4-6 year old camp last year:

Magic By The Pond – A post about our day, plus a fun challenge/opportunity that you and your kids can engage with together.

Magical Forest Music – This post starts with activities you can do with your family, and concludes with a snippet of how we (kids and instructors) co-created musical magic with the forest.

Note that enrollment opens on Feb. 1, and is first-come, first-served!

Woodland Ways: Faeries and Elves Nature CampIMG_0097

Ages 4-6; July 6-10, 9am-1pm

We will learn the quiet, mysterious ways of the forest fairies and elves to become invisible, follow the hidden trails of our animal friends, create forest feasts, construct ephemeral shelters, and more.

Cedars and Saplings: Forest Family Adventure Camp MG_5476

Ages 4-6 and their Special Grown-up; July 13-17, 9am-1pm

Nature is home to many families of creatures, including yours! Bring your mom, dad, aunt, uncle, grandparent, or other special grown-up for this unique week of nature connection – together!. Magic, mystery, and adventure await as we uncover our special relationship with the birds, plants, animals, and each other through gentle nature wanders, sensory awareness games, stories, songs, nature art art and more. Price includes one camper and adult family member.

Secrets of the Greenwood: Herbal Magic Camp for Girlssummer 2014

Ages 7-10; July 27-31, 9am-3pm

The plants have special messages for you, and the trees speak of a mysterious mission. Come enter the hidden world of the greenwood! In this farm and forest adventure we’ll learn the secret language of plants and discover their healing power. We’ll make fairy feasts, forest folk remedies, flower essences, and more.  We’ll make friends with plants and each other, play super-fun nature games, share stories, sing, follow mysteries, journal, adventure in the greenwood, and so much more. Come discover the magic of the herbal world around us and our unique relationship with these green beings!

In this camp we are pleased to spend part of most days at Sister Sage Herb Farm. This farm is where Sister Sage sustainably grows and nourishes the medicinal herbs used in their hand-crafted remedies sold at Pikes Place Market and online.

Once again, enrollment opens Feb. 1 and is first come, first served. Visit the Vashon Wilderness Program website to find out more about the above camps and more!

January Art Show! Winter Tales

So delighted to be presenting my art once more at Vashon Intuitive Arts. Five of my pieces were included in the Day Of The Dead show in October. I’m honored that the good folks of VIA liked my work so much that they invited me to do a whole show of my own!

Here are the details:

Earth And Heaven - art by Jane Valencia
Earth And Heaven – art by Jane Valencia

Winter Tales:  Art  by Jane Valencia

Friday, January 9, 2015, – 6-9PM. First Friday Gallery Tour Opening. VIA – Vashon Intuitive Arts, 177331 Vashon Highway SW, Vashon, WA, 206-463-0025. Enter an enchanted realm in this showing of reflective and magical art in watercolor and colored pencil drawings and fanciful photographs. Show exhibits throughout the month.

An artist who is also a harper, storyteller, and nature teacher, Jane  draws upon her love of imagination, music, folklore, and the natural world in her creative expressions. She has authored a children’s fantasy novel set on an island very much like Vashon, and has written and illustrated a children’s herbal comic that ran for two years in the acclaimed herbal journal, Plant Healer Magazine.