Braveheart Storytellers: A million things to like

I spent an hour that went way too fast earlier this month with a troupe of pint-sized storytellers and their mentor, retired teacher Lynette Harris.

When the time was up, I didn't want to leave. I don't think they did either.

Our setting was a classroom in the Arts Academy at Bella Vista, a Clovis elementary school. For an hour or so every week, Harris collects her five first-grade storytellers from their regular classrooms and whisks them away for a session filled with language, laughter, and love.

Allow me to introduce you to the members of the Braveheart Storytellers (in alphabetical order, because they are all my favorites and this seems only fair): Marvin Bah, Angel Garban, Gabriel Hernandez, Reagan Neace, and Josslyn Sanders.

Angel and Gabriel are 6 years old. The other three have all turned 7. If there are prizes awarded for being charming and personable, I'll need five of each.

Pure joy

I first met their intrepid leader Lynette Harris about 20 years ago when she was a second-grade teacher at what was then the Lincoln-Jackson Arts Academy in Clovis.

She'd already been a passionate and mesmerizing storyteller herself for at least a decade at that point.

Harris describes her storytelling journey as "30 years of pure joy."

It shows.

She began teaching in 1977 in Carlsbad and also taught in the Fort Worth area for a while before returning to New Mexico and a position at the Floyd schools. Her career led her to Clovis where she was at Parkview Elementary, Lincoln-Jackson, and Bella Vista before retiring in 2012.

Since retirement she continued to voluntarily coach the Braveheart Storytellers until they were shut down by Covid in 2020.

A dream come true

Last fall, at the request of a teacher with a student who needed a creative outlet, Harris knew it was time to start again. Enter Marvin, Angel, Gabriel, Reagan, and Josslyn, all students selected by their teachers as being ideal candidates for this creative and fun-loving group.

Josslyn says being a Braveheart Storyteller is "like a dream come true for me.

"There's a million things I like about it," she said.

"The thing I love ... absolutely LOVE ... is the fact that we have fun stories ... and warm-up activities ... and a thing I also love is that we get to have snacks and a celebration."

The Braveheart Storytellers pick their own stories - which is an absolute must as far as Harris is concerned.

"Choice is huge," she said. "I'm not ever going to make a child learn a story they don't love."

Angel said her favorite tale was one that was introduced at one of the first meetings of the group.

"I loved reading 'Mr. Wiggle and Mr. Waggle,'" Angel said.

Harris reminded her that she didn't read it ... but rather heard it and then learned to retell it, and has even told it on "the big stage" for their school. That's an important part of being a Braveheart Storyteller - public performance.

It's a good time

The Bravehearts are all devoted readers as well.

"One thousand percent we love to read!" Reagan said. "I love to read so much that I'm the superhero reader in my class right now."

Talking is – not surprisingly – another favorite pastime for these kiddos.

"We talk more than anything," Josslyn said, and Reagan chimed in, "You could leave us in a room for seven hours and we'd be talking."

They warm up each time they meet with an exercise that begins with a singsong, "Tell me something good about you," and allows each participant to answer.

Angel said she'd lost a tooth recently, Marvin recalled listening to Michael Jackson songs over spring break, and Reagan said she'd made it around the block on a bicycle all by herself.

I asked what they love most about storytelling.

Marvin said, "We get to do a lot of fun things. We get to perform on stage. We get to experience a lot more things, go places and celebrate."

"I just like Mrs. Harris," Gabriel said, "and all of the students who help me learn."

He turned to the others and added, "I like y'all all as a friend."

"They boost each other up and encourage each other," Harris told me later. "It's a good time. We help each other."

Countless benefits

Harris said she was first led to storytelling herself as a classroom tool inspired by a grant offered through the Center for Teaching Excellence at Eastern New Mexico University.

"I thought about how a few years earlier, I had seen a storyteller at the Portales Public Library and had been so taken with her story and the concept of bringing a story to life just using words," she said. "As I read the grant, I began to realize how storytelling could impact literacy in the classroom."

She wrote the grant and was awarded funding to attend a storytelling festival where, she said, "I was hooked immediately and forever."

Once she introduced it to her classroom, Harris said she found that the benefits were countless.

Besides the obvious pluses like learning to speak comfortably in public, students gain speaking and listening skills, reading skills, and life skills like memory, self-confidence, and a sense of humor.

"I love watching students learn and grow," she said. "I love seeing when they relate to characters and events in stories. I love watching them succeed."

You are invited

Harris and the Braveheart Storytellers are scheduled to be in the meeting room at the Portales Public Library at 11:30 a.m. Thursday to tell some stories (and possibly some jokes, they tell me) to anyone who would like to listen.

They'll take the stage immediately following a brief meeting of the Friends of the Portales Public Library - which I can personally promise will be quick and painless.

Good news, Marvin, Angel, Gabriel, Reagan, and Josslyn: We WILL be celebrating with lunch afterward. Because we all love happy endings.

Betty Williamson's socks were charmed clear off her feet by the Braveheart Storytellers. Reach her at: [email protected]