Are you looking for an activity for your budding space explorer to do during this Friday’s PD day? Sign them up for our out-of-this-world PD Day drop in!

On Friday, February 12 we’ll be hosting a PD Day, Storymaker Remix Edition from 10am-12pm. Students will be working on developing a story together as a shared challenge. The children will work on different characters in dynamic settings, and then they will work together to move the characters through different plot twists.

The event runs form 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Email Noorin at
noorin@sp004.dev.contextstaging.ca to find out more and sign up!

It’s FUNraising February!
Once upon a time there a place called Story Planet. It was a place full of imagination, laughter, and creativity. Both the tall people of the planet and the shorter people of Story Planet worked together to create wondrous stories that became legends in the universe! But there was an evil force that lurked in the shadows, threatening all that Story Planet was. That force was the Monster Of Nasty Evil Yearning, also known as M.O.N.E.Y! Please help us keep our story in the present tense with a donation, whatever you can do, big or small, we thank you!

Story Planet Afterlight Book Club Treats
Last week, our Story Planet Afterlight Book Club discussed the book Frog Music by Emma Donoghue. So, naturally, one of our readers prepared yummy book-themed frog leg snacks for everyone.

If you missed our last meeting, click here to find out about the our next Meetup event on Wednesday, March 2. Everyone is welcome. We just ask that you contribute on a PWYC basis to help cover the Meetup costs.

Happy first of February, friends! We’ve got lots of exciting events coming up this month, including a PD Day workshop on Friday, February 12 and a “Love, Colouring, Chocolate and Wine” event on February 14. If you’d like to help out, email Michelle at volunteer@sp004.dev.contextstaging.ca to apply!

Story Planet Afterlight Book Club

This week, our Story Planet Afterlight Book Club will be meeting to discuss Frog Music by Emma Donoghue, a story set during a heat wave and smallpox epidemic during the 19^th century.

If you haven’t had a chance to read the book, follow this link to find out more about the book we’re reading for March, Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel.

The Afterlight Book Club is a book club for anyone interested in reading and discussing novels in a fun and relaxed atmosphere. We meet the first Wednesday evening of the month at Story Planet (1165 Bloor St.).

We encourage a PWYC system to cover the Meetup costs. Any additional proceeds go towards Story Planet’s charitable creative arts programming for local underserved youth.

Interested in volunteering with Story Planet creative arts programming? Join us for a fun, informative, out-of-this-world orientation on Monday, February 1st at 5:30 pm. The orientation will take place at Story Planet (1165 Bloor Street West). Before confirming attendance, we do ask that interested volunteers fill out a volunteer application on our website www.storyplanet.ca. This is a great way for us to learn more about you and your experiences and can get in contact with your 3 references. Finally, because we work with children on a daily basis, we do require an updated police check for all volunteers. All forms will be provided at Story Planet but we do ask that participants bring $20 for the processing fee. If you are interested, contact Michelle and Sally at volunteer@sp004.dev.contextstaging.ca.

Please note we will check your references before inviting you to the orientation. If you miss the deadline, email us anyway so we can invite you to our next orientation event!

Our Adult Colouring and Wine nights are getting popular! Merci, ICI Radio-Canada!

These events help fund awesome arts and literacy programming for kids and teens like our Lift Off after school program, which focuses on arts-based literacy and homework support for students.

If you’d like to join in on the fun, click here to get tickets for our next event is on Friday, January 29 before they sell out!

Parent-Child Mother Goose
Our Parent-Child Mother Goose Program is officially in motion, and it’s a soaring success! Participants are having fun singing songs, learning, sharing favourite rhymes, and reminiscing about their childhoods. We’d like to extend a big thank you to all the adults and of course, our fun loving babies who made this program a great success! The Parent-Child Mother Goose Program is currently at capacity, but if you would like to be added to the waiting list, contact Michelle at volunteer@sp004.dev.contextstaging.ca.

Our Story Planet Afterlight Book Club is officially one year old this month! Since starting out, we’ve read all kinds of books from non-fiction explorations of psychopaths and Scientology to a weird, trippy sci-fi book about vociferous flora. As a fun addition, we’ve established a strong thematic snack game, creating dishes, and treats that fit the book we’re discussing. So, basically, it’s the most fun ever. All are welcome (even if you don’t finish the book!).

During our next meeting on Wednesday, February 6 at 6:30 p.m., We’ll be talking about Frog Music by Emma Donoghue. Click here to find out more about the book and RSVP on our Meetup page!

Our Lift Off after school program is going back into orbit next week with a whole new day added on! Starting Wednesday, January 27, we’ll be providing free after school homework help to students in grades 2-6 on Wednesdays too, from the time school finishes for the day until 5:30 p.m.

Registration is determined by a needs-based lottery system. Email noorin@sp004.dev.contextstaging.ca for more information and to sign up!

Saturday Storytelling Workshop

Starting January 23, kids in grades 4-6 are invited to join storyteller Sage Tyrtle in twisting their favourite folktales into original stories that they’ll eventually perform in front of an audience. Through fun and high-energy games and lessons on storytelling and editing, students will learn a whole new approach to storytelling and connecting with their audience.

This workshop will run every Saturday from January 23 to March 5, 2015 from 10:00-11:30 a.m. Cost of registration is pay-what-you-can. Contact Sage at sagetyrtle@gmail.com to sign up!

In case you missed it… Our Lift Off After School Program will be on pause until January 12, 2016, but there are still lots of events and programs to sign up for in the meantime. We hope you’re enjoying your winter holidays!

Parent-Child Mother Goose Program

We’re hosting a Parent-Child Mother Goose Program to help parents, relatives, and caregivers bond with the babies in their lives using rhymes, songs, and stories. Participants gain the skills and confidence to use rhythm and oral storytelling to help interact with and soothe their babies and forge strong bonds. If you’ve got some of your own, you’re welcome to share traditional rhymes and stories with the group.

This FREE program runs Monday mornings from 9:30-10:30 a.m. from Monday, January 11th to Monday, March 7.
Doors open at 9:15am.
The program is open for adults and babies (newborn to 18 months old).
Email Michelle at volunteer@sp004.dev.contextstaging.ca to sign up.

We hope to see you there!

Thanks to your support, ALL of our upcoming Adult Colouring and Wine events are SOLD OUT.

These events help us raise money to support our awesome literacy programs for kids like our Lift Off After School Program, so we’re over-the-moon grateful to everyone who’s been coming out to draw and place bids on our silent auction items. If you haven’t managed to get a ticket in time for one of our past events, don’t worry! We’ll host more similar events in the new year. Keep checking back to our blog, Twitter, and Facebook page for announcements!

Play in a Day Workshop with Judith Thompson
Judith Thompson is coming by this Tuesday, December 22 to write a play in a day with students in grades 3-7. Participants will write an entire play and find out what it takes to put on such a production!

The workshop will run from 10-4 p.m. on December 22. We can’t wait to see what the students come up with!

Our Next Story Planet Afterlight Book Club Meeting
Looking for a last-minute holiday gift for the reader on your list? The Quick by Lauren Owen is the gift that keeps on giving. The book is a great read AND it comes with a sweet hangout with the Story Planet Afterlight Book Club crew!

Our next meeting is on Wednesday, January 6 at 6:30 p.m. Click here to find out more about the book and to RSVP on our Meetup event page!

Space travellers, don’t forget! Starting next week, our Lift Off! after-school programming will be pausing for scheduled maintenance over the holidays. We’ll get back on course on Tuesday, January 12, 2016!

Adult Colouring and Wine
Are you a creative type looking for a different night out? Come to our upcoming Adult Colouring and Wine event on January 15, 2016, and let loose with some colour therapy! We’ll have art supplies for you to use, and there will be wine, beer, coffee, and lots of snacks available at the Intergalactic Travel Authority. Take a load off, mingle, colour, and support our awesome children’s programming all at the same time!

This fundraiser starts at 7:30 p.m. The cost of admission is $11. Follow this link to get your tickets before they sell out!

Twisting the Folktale with Sage Tyrtle
Starting Saturday, January 23rd, kids in grades 4-6 are invited to get creative and twist their favourite folktales into their very own stories! With the help of storyteller, Sage Tyrtle, students will learn a whole new approach to storytelling by using high-energy activities to help spark their imagination. At the end of the program, participants will have the opportunity to perform their original stories in front of an audience. The workshop runs every Saturday starting from Saturday, January 23rd until Saturday, March 5th from 10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. The cost of the event is pay-what-you-can. Contact Sage at sagetyrtle@gmail.com to sign up!

Hey space travellers, thank you so much for supporting our Adult Colouring and Wine fundraisers! Our first two events were a blast and the tickets for the next three are already sold out.

We’ll keep you posted on future events. If you can’t come but want to donate to Story Planet, follow this link to send an online donation.

Play in a Day Workshop with Judith Thompson
Judith Thompson will be coming by our space on Tuesday, December 22 to lead a playwriting workshop for students in grades 3-7. Spend the day writing a play from start to finish with an award-winning Canadian playwright and find out what it takes to put on such a production!

The workshop will run from 10-4 p.m. on December 22. Click here to sign up!