Caroline and Danny

 

What do a Southern rock and roll guy and a Broadway Baby, who was too tall to dance (all the boys came up to her navel) have in common?

 

They have the humor, creativity, energy and talent that it takes to motivate, invigorate, and educate your participants during keynotes, breakout sessions, and workshops.  Although he might speak with a drawl y’all and she might speak with rounded tones, they both know how to communicate to meet your goals and get your message across.

 

 Caroline Figiel and Danny Jones combine their life stories and professional experiences as parents, educators, writers and entertainers to speak about such topics as disability awareness, early childhood and elementary education, childhood obesity, bully prevention, music, storytelling and communication. Whether it's a keynote or workshop, Caroline and Danny's interactive and edu-taining style gets audiences involved, inspired and informed!   

 

 

 

Past topics have included…

 

  Differentiated Instruction: Experienced Learning

  This motivational and interactive keynote will be about real people, real situations, real  

  strategies and real successes that will inspire teachers to implement differentiated instruction

  into their classrooms.  Using storytelling, music, a strong educational foundation, and multi   

  media presentation, participants will examine their influence over a child's academic, cognitive

  and social/emotional development.  This keynote will examine what teachers think they are

  teaching and ask the question what are students actually learning. 

 

  Food For Thought: What Are You Serving?

  This opening session presents a buffet of fun, energetic music, motivational stories

  and nutritional knowledge.   With a dab of entertainment and a dash of education, it's

  guaranteed to treat and inspire participants.  A great first course pack with nutritional value to

  feed the soul!

Tourism with a Technical Twist: how to use marketing that edu-tains 

In these tough economic times, utilizing your dollars to get the most “bang for your buck” is more important than ever!   In this session we will reveal how to:

• Explore opportunities to increase revenue, web traffic and attandance to your area
  
• Develop a product that will “edu-tain” your visitors with an interactive  experience
  
• Discover your city’s story regardless of whether you work for a large CVB or a small one
• Utilize digital storytelling to reach your visitors through nontraditional methods
• Brainstorm cooperative spending to get the job done!
  

      

  Telling Stories That Teach-A Portal to Interactive Learning:

  (early childhood, elementary, middle, high school, special needs, guidance, librarians, after school providers)

 

  Participants learn how to design story telling to achieve curriculum goals using

  props, songs, movement and other methods.  Technique will be discussed as participants learn

  to make a story “jump off the page”  

 

  Old Stories-New Twist (a workshop for 5th grade students and up)

  Students become peer tellers/peer  leaders by learning multiple storytelling techniques

  and attention grabbing strategies that allow them to present character building stories

  that teach important lessons to younger students and open up communication about    

  tough topics either through discussion or follow up activities.  (This workshop

  incorporates elements of language arts as well.)

 

 

  Integrating Character Education into the Classroom:

   (early childhood, elementary, guidance, special needs, after school providers)

 

  Learn how to tell interactive stories, sing entertaining songs and use creative, sound

  educational activities, to integrate character topics such as:

• helpfulness
• Lempathy
• LBullying
• Teasing
• LResponsibility and Respect

    into your existing curriculum.  Whether it’s center and circle times for early childhood

    or the core subject areas in elementary school, participants will learn how to make

    age- old values relevant to a child’s life. 

 

     Caroline and Danny's Teachers' Toolbox: Building a Positive Learning Experience

     (early childhood, special needs, librarians and music educators)

 

     Learn to create a positive learning environment by using interactive music and

     movement as a teaching tool. This session is designed to help teachers understand

     the importance of children's ability to predict and understand their surroundings as

     well as their need to possess a verbal or signed vocabulary to express their feelings. 

     Promoting an emotionally healthy child makes them receptive to learning.    

     Participants will learn kid friendly songs and extension activities to make transitions
     easier in the class, teach and reinforce early childhood concepts such as language acquisition,
    social/emotional development, health, nutrition, fitness and safety.

 

      Sense-sational Teaching: A multisensory approach to teaching

      (early childhood, special needs)

 

      Explore thematic units using the 5 senses.  This session incorporates:

• music
• art
• social skills
• literacy
• math
• science
• safety

       Learn how different children’s sensory issues influence their learning styles and

       learn strategies to adapt to this so that no child is truly left behind.

     

       Shake and Bake: building the foundations of health, nutrition and fitness

       (early childhood, elementary, nutritionist, special needs)

 

       In this workshop educators continue to foster the whole child with thought

       provoking and exciting strategies to get kids active, eating  right and  staying healthy

       while building the foundations for good health and social/emotional  habits.                                                          
 

       Integrating Character Education through Music

      (music educators)

 

        This workshop will introduce various song leading and storytelling methods along

       with sound education activities that can be easily implemented.  Participants will

       learn how to use music to creatively incorporate character education outside of the

       music class and into their school’s existing curriculum while still teaching basic

       musical elements such as:

• Form
• Harmony
• Melody
• Rhythm
  

 

      Techno Teaching (No computer experience required)

         (elementary, middle, high school music educators)

 

       Using practical computer programs for recording, composing, and arranging music,

       this workshop will expose participants to recording their keyboard onto the

       computer and playing it back as most any instrument, at any tempo and key along

       with mixing and editing music.  This is a great “hands on” way to learn about using

       technology to teach basic musical elements, arranging and composing in an

       interesting way.

      

Your powerful messages can have a lasting impact, far reach, and a profound effect
on youth in any culture or demographic…
Leslieann Noe/National Grant Manager for MADD

Caroline and Danny's opening session performance was not only a lively
audience participation event, but also a very effective way of demonstrating
the power we have as school counselors to "teach tolerance" to children as a
contra-positive method of allaying the negative effects of bigotry and violence..
Jim Bergin/Georgia School Counselor Association president

The songs are upbeat and teach the importance of being a responsible and
caring individual who values themselves, others and the environment. This
program is an enjoyable way for educators to instill a strong sense of values

while meeting the expectations of the academic curriculum…
”The Recorder” A Journal of the Ontario, Canada Music Association

Caroline and Danny provide a timely role model for children and adults.
Something so unique to their work is an ability to maintain the bigger picture
of a universal vision of fairness and integrity in teaching children about
relationships, while touching people as individuals in special needs as well
as typical populations...
Donnie Kanter Winokur Chair, FASD Advisory Committee, Atlanta Alliance on Developmental Disabilities (AADD) Board of Directors, (AADD)

Your keynote and sessions were outstanding as indicated by the number of
educators, administrators and teachers who attended as well as the evaluations
filled out by our participants...
Karen Gazith, Director of Education Bronfman Education-Montreal

Caroline and Danny provide professional development/training for both early
childhood and school-age teachers that aid professionals in establishing positive
social and emotional practices in their classrooms. Their energetic child development
and theory-based workshop sessions help teachers create a classroom environment
that is both neurologically friendly and conducive to promoting positive mental health development in children. Anyone who touches the lives of a children can benefit from

• the special teaching they have to share…

Holly Higgins Wilcher/Early Childhood Mental Health Educator-Colorado

“Caroline and Danny’s Teachers’ Toolbox” CD offers a top notch performance to
teach early childhood skills. A great choice for library collections!”
School Library Journal/May 2005

Caroline Figiel and Danny Jones are outstanding storytellers, musicians,
entertainers, educators and performers who delight audiences of all ages.
Children are entranced with their high energy and interactive performances.
Values, character, and just plain old fun are the themes that keep their attention.
But this pair is equally talented at capturing the imagination and memory of
adult audiences, giving them an unforgettable experience…
Dotty Etris, Roswell Magnolia Storytelling Festival.

It was a pleasure and a privilege to host Caroline and Danny as workshop presenters
for the In-service training for Children's Librarians for the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System. They were informative, insightful and energetic. We look forward to working with again and again...
Kellye Carter/Manager, Central Library Children's Department

You will be impressed by the selection of music, verse, and movement which makes personal communication links to each member of the audience - regardless of age or language. These artists demonstrate the ease of integrating positive character
development into all curriculum content areas. Large group presentation, teacher professional development, or multiple workshop settings are appropriate for this
creative instructional program…
David S.Butts, PhD, General Administration Consultant, Cobb County School
District, Marietta, Georgia

The students and teachers thoroughly enjoyed your visit. As I walked the halls and
visited with the students at lunch, they were talking about your songs. One class
used points from your Person of Peace song as they problem-solved an issue
which occurred in gym class later that day. As promised, you did engage the
children for the full 45 minutes!
Catherine Wang/ Principal South School-Glencoe, Illinois

The program was a total success! The teachers and children said the performers
were great. They had so much energy and worked so well with the children. One
teacher said her class learned all of the songs on the CD and pretend to be
Caroline and Danny. When are they coming back…Nayda Santiago Newark
Public Library

I like the way you updated the language and used terms and situations that
today’s kids will understand…
Jackie Silberg (Miss Jackie)/ Parents Council award winner

I think what you are doing for children is wonderful. I am happy to endorse what
you are doing…
Archbishop John Donoghue

The counselors in my school believe your songs represent the values and ethics
that we are attempting to teach children…
John Anderson/ principle at Ocee Elementary/ GA

The program was a pure delight. I've rarely seen an audience of youngsters so
captivated. Over a hundred children from at least five different classes and there
was no fussing or complaining.
Even the teachers got into the spirit of the program and participated and couldn't
thank us enough for inviting them…
Paula Baratta, Supervising Librarian/Branch Manager North End Branch
The Newark Public Library

Caroline Figiel and Danny Jones make timeless stories timely. They understand
children as well as values and they bring them together perfectly with integrity and joy…
Jan Katzew/National Director of Education URJ/NY

A wonderful tool for children’s education…Dan Bowen/ WSTR-FM program director

The presentation at NAEYC was so acclaimed we just had to bring Caroline and
Danny to East Tennessee State University…
Sheila Smith/ Conference Program Director/ TN

At last a way to teach children values and entertain them at the same time…
Marilyn Thompson/ teacher in Fulton County/ GA

Catchy and hip songs to help spur much needed value lessons in the classroom
or at home…
Judy Caplin Ginsburgh/ Parent’s Choice award winning recording artist and
national educator

The concert of stories and songs was outstanding and very appropriate for character education...
Anne Marie/ Scotland Elementary-Ridgefield, CT

“No matter where you go, there you are! ”