Children’s Discovery Centre

Heather Butler

I have taught for nearly 30 years in UK primary classrooms and I am passionate about children’s writing. My first children’s story book was published in 1996. Since then over 20 other titles have followed – short stories, children’s novels, assemblies, plays and teachers’ resource material.

Now teaching part time, I lead a varied life running school workshops, inset training and writing. I work with adults leading adult story writing courses.

Currently I am working on a book about circuses.

I am also involved with charities working with children in Croatia and Latin America.

My family include a husband called Derek, 2 sons called Tom and Toby and a daughter-in-law called Sarah.My hobbies are reading, watching films, eating meals with friends and dreaming up quirky ideas whilst lying next to a swimming pool with palm trees swaying gently in the breeze…

School Visits

Because I keep being invited back to schools I have various days such as…

PROFESSOR PRAGUE creates settings and characters

CIRCUS STORIES looks at settings, characters and making good word choices

DICING WITH DRAGONS is about generating ideas to write about

CHARACTER CAFÉ focuses on characters and non-fiction

TALKING OF ELEPHANTS features speaking and listening

FAIRY STORIES explores rewriting well known narratives using different genre

PIRATE POEMS Encourages children to write poetry

HERE’S WHAT HAPPENS…

The whole school comes off curriculum for the day. Before I come we work out a time table for the day. None of the days demand vast amounts of preparation and provide enough ideas for at least 2 days work.

Each of them start with a 45 (30 for KS1) minute presentation with everyone in the hall. At the end of this the children know what to do (eg create settings or characters) when they return to their classes.

I then take class workshops - however many can be fitted in before the end of the day (usually between 5 and 6) when we meet up again in the hall to celebrate what the children have achieved.

What schools have said…

“Just excellent, particularly appreciated by less able year 6 boys. Loads of ideas. Such a novel presentation. Many thanks.”

Kingsfield Primary School, Chatteris, Cambridgeshire

“What else was going to come out of the box? The children loved it, so did we and the work my class produced afterwards was brilliant. Thank you.”

Manor Farm Community Junior School, Hazlemere

I also run RE AND SPIRITUALITY DAYS

Linked to literacy, these days follow the same pattern as the story writing workshops. Following an assembly when the theme for the day is introduced, children work on role plays or create presentations exploring what makes them the people they are.

These are shared with the whole school at the end of the day.

Recent days have included…

WHAT MAKES ME ME? - what is really important to me?

PRICELESS PARABLES – working with what Jesus’ parables mean today.

OLD TESTAMENT TIMELINE - exploring key stories of the Old Testament

PROVERBS – how could following them help the school community?

INSET TRAINING

Inset initially grew out of the story writing days. Since the publication in 2006 and 2007 of 2 books in the series ‘They can Write, they just need a bit of help’ (published by Educational Printing Services) and ‘REActive’ (also EPS) it has mushroomed.

Recent inset titles for individual schools or school networking communities has included…

Write, let’s be creative – being creative with the curriculum

whilst encouraging children to write more

How do we help children write more?

Story writing – they can do it

Writing – Before, During, After – for Foundation stage to year 2

RE – it can be both interactive and interesting

I like to work with the school to create a day that fits your needs.

Feedback

“Just excellent, particularly appreciated by less able year 6 boys. Loads of ideas. Such a novel presentation. Many thanks.”

Kingsfield Primary School, Chatteris, Cambridgeshire

“What else was going to come out of the box? The children loved it, so did we and the work my class produced afterwards was brilliant. Thank you.”

Manor Farm Community Junior School, Hazlemere

Books

The Grumpy Shepherd and other Christmas Plays SU 1996

Pirate Party Roller Coaster series SU 1998

Child inserts for The Bible for Families Care/Hodder 2002

Creative Assemblies SU 2002

Story Teller Roller Coaster series SU 2002

Out of the Toybox Barnabas 2002

Story and Story Telling in RE Stapleford 2004

Adam and the Tattoed Angel SU 2004

Ellie and the Clown Crisis SU 2004

BBC jam - 2005

What Makes Me Me? EPS 2006

They Can Write, they just need a bit of help (to write more) – 2 books in the series - EPS 2006 and 2007

REActive Learning EPS 2007

Friends and Heroes – lesson plans and worksheets to accompany programmes for CBBC – 2007

The Complete Stories to Make you Think Barnabas 2008

10 Must know Stories SU 2008

What you can do with Water and Buildings EPS 2008