The Down to Earth Dad®

...That’ll Get Your Parents Directly Involved – Once and For All!...

You’d LOVE to see your parents and families get “Truly Involved” at your PARENT NIGHT or FAMILY NIGHT events, right?  But, nothing you try gets them “super-energized.”  They’re not “jazzed up” about your events – and that’s putting it mildly.

 

The fact is – they don’t participate much, correct?

 

Here’s the thing – you plan events, you invite the parents… but the events turn out to be only “lackluster” – or worse, they’re pretty much a “total flop.”  (Or, the event itself is good, but HARDLY ANY parents show up!)  And that’s frustrating, isn’t it?

à  One of two things usually happens:  1) Parents don’t show up in sufficient numbers (low turnout), or 2) they show up and they’re not “energized” to be there – so they don’t actively participate.  Sound familiar?

Or, perhaps you’ve had “okay” turnout or even “good” participation in the past.  But you know you need something NEW and “fresh” to keep their interest.  (You know you’ve gotta stay on the cutting edge of “FUN,” frankly, to keep them coming back for more.)

Even if you get decent turnout and participation at your events, things could be a LOT more engaging and exciting.  And more FUN.  Wouldn’t you agree? 

The fact is, you MUST provide real “substance” too – or you’ll lose their attention.  (Then their attendance will slack off again.) 

You know that some way, somehow, you NEED to get (and keep) your parents involved – to MAXIMIZE the “educational benefits” of the “parent – school – partnership” for the children’s sake.

Frankly, it’s time to jazz things up!  And ENERGIZE your parents, and MOTIVATE them to get involved — once and for all.   Do you agree?  The fact is… you CAN have the BEST event EVER.  And I’m going to show you EXACTLY HOW TO DO IT!

Here’s My OFFER:

Invite me to lead a Family Storytelling Night® event in person on-site at your program or school,

So, who Am I and Why Should You Listen to Me?

I’m Patrick Mitchell, and 8 years ago, I conducted my first Family Storytelling Night®.  Since then, I’ve done OVER 100 such events.  Put it this way -- I’ve ‘GOTTEN’ the kinks out.  I KNOW how to do “Family Storytelling Night” RIGHT!

It’s for SCHOOLS and PROGRAMS wanting to get parents involved and it also enhances literacy (and gives parents tools to teach “family” and “community” history, heritage, and culture along the way.)

Family Storytelling Night®  events are unique to each school and program; however, they all have ONE thing in common:  They’re a SMASHING SUCCESS!

I promise you this – your families will leave Family Storytelling Night® with a “new-found passion” to TELL the TRUE STORIES of their childhood at home and in your classrooms as volunteers – throughout the school year!

…And in the process, they’ll be enhancing LITERACY!  Because, after all, Oral Language is the FOUNDATION of literacy. 

 

Storytelling has everything to do with oral language and literacy enhancement.  Here's a quote from an oral language specialist whom I interviewed.  She explains the storytelling/literacy connection perfectly:

 

“Oral language is the foundation of literacy.  I can draw a parallel for you from virtually every aspect of oral language to some aspect of literacy.  Your ability to read the words off a page in front of you is highly correlated with your ability to produce speech sounds and recognize them.  Difficulties in oral language, to some extent, predicate difficulties with written language.  So, the more we read to our kids, and the more we talk to our kids, and the more we code the world in knowledge for them through language, the richer their knowledge base is.  Oral language is a bridge to literacy.”

 

—Lydia Soifer, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, and faculty member in the the Early Intervention Training Institute at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine

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Your families will also learn to share family history, heritage, culture (and possibly a “second language”) along the way – and they’ll learn to build SOLID, enduring BONDS with their kids, too — all through oral storytelling.

“Family Storytelling Night® Gets Parents INVOLVED ENHANCING LITERACY — at school and home — All Year Long!”

The fact is, Family Storytelling Night® will be (by far!!!) THE best family event night you’ve EVER had – hands down!

How do I know this?  Because I’ve done it for most of a decade!  Over 100 times in fact – with schools and programs and parents.   And in college classes, lectures, and keynotes.  Even on national television in front of MILLIONS of viewers —and for educators and parents across America and in Micronesia, too.  (Ask me about my stop-over in JAPAN sometime!)

 I KNOW my methods work, and so do others...

"Parents and staff commented they never knew storytelling could be so easy!  Telling stories about the experiences of our childhood is fun and children love hearing about us when we were young. Your approach promotes many questions from children and is a way for generations to connect with one another.  It also expanded our ideas for working with dads."

—Sally Black, Parent Education Coordinator

Lewis County Head Start, Lowville, New York 

 

 

"The family storytelling was very useful and it was good for preservation of family histories.  It was oral history in the making that can be used for generations to come, because the kids are going to be passing those stories down.  It was relaxing, and it was suspenseful.  We use your storytelling method at our Powwow and for our annual community events every summer now, and we do it in a traditional setting to set the tone for the storytelling as oral tradition and history.  The storytelling method that you taught us is so good for literacy and vocabulary-building in the preschool classroom as well."

—Robert Fox, Education Manager, Fort Belknap Head Start, Fort Belkap Indian Reservation, North Central Montana

PLEASE NOTE:  I Cannot Fulfill All Speaking Requests…

I need to tell you this (before you read any further)…  I have VASTLY trimmed back the number of speaking engagements—Family Storytelling Nights® included—that I do for national, state, regional, and “local-level” programs and schools (and for school s and school - systems internationally), BUT I still occasionally do “some” FAMILY STORYTELLING NIGHTS® in-person, on-site when the dates line up perfectly.

Long story short… I’m more selective about WHEN I can visit.  Don’t get me wrong – as I said, I positively LOVE doing Family Storytelling Nights in person.  It’s just that the “timing” needs to be “just right” for me these days.

 Some details…

 

       FOOD:    You supply the food (and yes, food is a MUST) for the families.  Food is like a Great Magnet to MEN.  (And if the dads are showing up, the moms will come too!)

      WHO ATTENDS:     Whomever you want to invite!  Consider limiting the event to your immediate school-or-program families if you want , though, just because the more your group has in common, the more apt they’ll be to get “involved,” and stay involved after the event.  But in general, the more the merrier!

         COST:     The normal cost for Down To Earth Dad® Family Storytelling Night® events (when facilitated by me, in person) is $2,800.00 – plus expenses (air, ground, hotel, meals, and materials).  This can also include an additional Down To Earth Dad® father-involvement "Staff Training" under certain conditions, at no additional charge.

Call 1-877-282-3237 to invite Patrick Mitchell to conduct a Family Storytelling Night® on-site at you program, or send email to patrick@downtoearthdad.org.

 Sincerely,

 Patrick M. Mitchell

 P.S.    This letter is about inviting me to visit “In-Person” to conduct a  Family Storytelling Night® event for you.  HOWEVER, you may prefer to just Get the Storytelling KIT instead. ß (If so, “click” the link!)