Hyena-inspired learning

Montessori Arts and Sciences students turn book by local author into play

By reporter | reporter@tlnews.net

Alex Freedman, 8, of Oceanside, and 8-year-old Emily Sturges, of Carlsbad, performed in the Montessori Arts and Sciences School adaptation of Janell Cannon’s children’s book “Pinduli.� Christina Chomut | christina@tlnews.net

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

This tale begins with a story of a striped hyena named Pinduli. Inspired by a visit to the San Diego Zoo, children’s book author Janell Cannon, of Carlsbad, took her interactions with a charming, recluse and aging female striped hyena and turned them into a book.

One of my trademarks is to write about animals that are unpopular, Cannon said. I started with bats in Stellaluna and Verdi is a snake. Ive written about cockroaches and all kinds of mysterious, strange creatures. With Pinduli, I wanted to take the opportunity to illustrate another species that was not as well known and might have been misconstrued or misunderstood.

In addition to writing and illustrating all of her books, Cannon includes special informational sections after each story that provide the reader with additional information about the animal represented. Each book takes about six to nine months to complete and is based on a specific life lesson, according to Cannon.

In the spring, Cannon was invited to read her book to Carlsbad-based Montessori Arts and Sciences School students.

The children saw a lot of the humor in the story, Cannon said. They recognized the theme of the story and associated times in their lives when someone may have spoken harshly to them like Pinduli experienced in the book and therefore could relate to the story line itself.

Founded by Jan Taylor, of Carlsbad, in 2005, the Montessori Arts and Science School lends itself to the Montessori method of education, emphasizing learning through all five senses. According to www.montessori.edu, children in Montessori classes learn at their own pace and according to their own choices of activities from hundreds of possibilities.

Staying in line with Montessori learning methods, Cannon showed the students her technique of storyboarding, a filmmaker’s approach to creating a movie, but adapted to a storybook outline.

The kids caught on immediately and within a short time everybody in the class had written and illustrated a short story, Cannon said.

Looking to further inspire her students, Taylor brought the project to a new level and turned it into a summer play, which was performed Friday at the school.

Kids are very inspired and have really great ideas, but it takes time and wherewithal to make those ideas a reality, Taylor said.

It was a challenge, but during the summer we found we had the time to put our efforts into this project so the kids could enjoy their work and see the fruits of their labor.

Assisted by music teacher Rebecca Korbelak and choreographer and dancer Morgan Matayoshi, Taylor adapted Cannons Pinduli into a 20-minute long play with song, dance and costumes.

We integrated the play with the science and biology of the animals, their habitat, their movements and coordinated these aspects with music, dance and the theme of the literature, Taylor said. Everyone pulled it all together in three weeks; it was an intensive and special sort of a project.

Attributing much of the projects success to her students, Taylor said, I am so proud of them. The fact that they grasped the concepts of the story and created original and unique ideas of their own is amazing. This form of communication is what Montessori is all about.

A previous student of Taylors at the Casa Montessori de Vista, Matayoshi was excited to give back to the system that helped her become an individual with a strong foundation and passions in life.

I have always wanted to teach kids, so this was the perfect opportunity to apply my talent and help these children create something special, Matayoshi said.

To 8-year-old Alex Freedman, of Oceanside, and Emily Sturges, of Carlsbad, the opportunity to create and act in a play was awesome.

Reach reporter Christina Chomut at 760.752.6756.