'Your
coming really set our Bookweek off to a good start. All the children
really enjoyed your presentation, from the reception classes to
year six. They loved your poetry and all your books have sold.
The writing workshops were exceptional and the children's response
was answer to your success.' Bridport Primary School
Hopefully, that about
sums me up!
As a Primary school
teacher, and a member of the National Association of Writers in
Education, I visit KS1 and KS2 schools to entertain, to inspire,
and to help improve writing skills.
Sadly, I'm not one of
those writers who started making up stories whilst still in the
pram! I really struggled at writing during my schooldays. But,
in a way, that's one of my strengths, because I know only too
well the fear of the empty page, and my aim is to relieve children
of that fear. That little boy who hated having a pencil in his
hand now enjoys writing, particularly poetry.
I've had poems published
in well over a hundred anthologies for children, and my collection
The Ghost of my Pussycat's Bottom seems to be very popular.
'Don't
be misled by the title: these excellent animal poems, from the
widely anthologised Jubb, has its fair share of fun, but also
include poems with real depth and resonance. Birds, bugs and beasts
of all shapes and sizes are brought vividly to life, and although
themed collections from a single author often fail to sustain
interest, this lively mix of free verse and rhymed poems is one
exception.' Carousel
I also created and
co-wrote Little Big Mouth, which was a 7-part comedy/drama
for children's itv, starring the voice of Jane Horrocks. I've
written one picture book, some reading scheme books and a set
of books on creative writing for teachers, A Poetry Teacher's
Toolkit. Every writing success is still a thrill. If only
my old teachers could see me now... trying to give that same thrill
of success to boys and girls like me!
Many of my poems, and
therefore my performances, are (allegedly) funny, but I do slip
in one or two more thoughtful pieces when the kids aren't looking!
Above all, I try to make the English language fun... using rhyme,
rhythm, wordplay, and other tricks of the writing trade.
After performances,
I try to take many of those elements into the classroom... devising
writing workshops in which all participants can succeed, and be
proud of their achievement.
Mike offers:
Performances and writing workshops for KS1,
KS2 and Preparatory schools.
INSET
Flexibility, to accomodate the school's needs.
I aim to arrive by 08.30, squeeze in as many
performances and workshops as I can, and stay until
thrown out.
Response
to Mike's visits to schools:
'Mike
Jubb came to work with a group of gifted and talented young writers
from our cluster of schools in summer 2006. The students had a
fantastic day, coming back to school the following day bubbling
over with enthusiasm and desperately wanting to show and share
their work with both school staff and their peers. The sheer amount,
together with the quality of work, had to be seen to be believed.
A member of our school staff was lucky enough to attend the day
with our youngsters. She was also full of enthusiasm and amazed
at what they had achieved on what must have been one of the hottest
days of the year. Following the day, all schools were asked to
complete feedback forms from both students and staff - this was
without fail extremely positive. Many schools were able to take
the opportunity to send teaching staff to Mike's sessions as a
professional development opportunity. On a purely personal level,
Mike was very quick and efficient at organising the day. He had
many ideas that school staff were able to discuss at meetings
prior to deciding on the theme. He then sent a clear plan for
the day together with objectives for each session that could be
distributed among the participating schools. Altogether we had
a great day and I would whole heartedly recommend Mike to colleagues
to lead a similar day.' Cathy Williams, Cambridgeshire
