Self-guided activity: Animal, insect, bird stories

What will you need?

• A place where you can sit comfortably and draw or write, and a table or flat surface to draw or write against.
• A piece of paper and a pen or pencil.

Step by step

Start by sitting somewhere where you are comfortable and have a clean, flat surface to draw against. Have your paper and pen or pencil ready.

Note!
In this activity you will be asked to imagine that there are different animals in your household. This is just for fun and to spark your creativity and you are welcome to imagine any kind of animal you want.

1. Start by closing your eyes and remembering something that you have done today.
   It can be a regular thing, like washing your face, or something different or unusual. You don’t have to write or draw anything yet, just try to remember what happened.
2. Now imagine there was a bird above you at that moment, looking down from above at you and anyone else who was there. What would the bird see or hear? What would you, and your household look like from above? What would the bird think was happening? How would the bird feel?
   Write the story of what happened as if you were the bird. You can start with the words, “As I flew around the room, I looked down from the ceiling and saw…” Continue the bird’s story for as long as you wish.
3. Now imagine there was a small insect below you, walking on the floor at that same moment. What would the insect see or hear? What would you, and your household look like from the floor? What would the insect think was happening? How would the insect feel?
   Write the story of what happened as if you were the insect. You can start with the words, “As I crawled around the floor, I looked up and saw…” Continue the insect’s story for as long as you wish.
4. Now imagine there was an animal that was seeing the room from almost the same level as you. For example, it could be a cat, a dog or another animal that was sitting and watching from a window. What would the animal see or hear? What would you, and your household look like from the animal’s perspective? What would the animal think was happening? How would the animal feel?
   Write the story of what happened as if you were the animal. You can start with the words, “As I sat outside the window looking into the room, I saw…” Continue the animal’s story for as long as you wish.

Create more

• Keep adding to your stories for as long as you want, adding other things that the bird, insect and animal might see if they continued to observe your household at that moment.
• Create an imaginary story where the bird, insect and animal meet and talk with each other, or with you. What would happen next? What would they talk about? How would their feelings influence what they might talk about?
• Create an audio recording or a video, reading and retelling your three stories in the voices of the bird, insect and animal. You can also tell the stories to your people from your household instead of recording it.
• Draw three pictures, each showing what the moment would look like from the perspectives of the bird flying above, the insect on the floor, and the animal at the window.

Share

Online:

• Send a photo of your drawing, the recording of your stories, or anything else you created with the chat group. Keep an eye out for your friends’ and peers’ stories, and anything else they created!
• Look for more messages from the chat group to see what your friends and peers ask and say about the activity. Participate in the chat!

Everyone (online and offline):

• Keep your stories somewhere where you can read it again if you want, for example in a notebook or on the wall.
• You can share your story with other people in your household. Invite them to read it or read it aloud in a small performance. Explain your story or drawing to them, invite them to tell you what they learn about your days as they listen, or ask you questions.
• Do not feel that you must share if you don’t want to.
  Invite your household to write about what they do every day from an animal’s
  perspective.