Educational programs archive
Once upon a Millwheel..., February 2004
The programme was part of the activities sponsored by the Ministry of Culture to help integrate Greek Gypsies into the cultural life of the country.
It was organized in two cycles, in the context of the exhibition: ‘In the mills of Macedonia and Thrace: Watermills, sawmills, cloth finishing waterfalls and fulling mills in the traditional community'.
1. for school groups: with pre-narrative and post-narrative activities, led by the educator-storyteller Ioanna Antoniadou
1.1 for children aged 6-8
1.2 for children aged 9-12
Implementation: daily
Location: Folklife and Ethnological Museum of Macedonia-Thrace
Purpose: acquainting the children with aspects and values of our traditional culture and making them more aware of their cultural heritage
Objective: familiarizing children with Greek folk tales about millers and mills, and thereby assisting their understanding of key features of pre-industrial technology involved in the grinding of wheat to make bread - the staple item in man's diet
A few words about the programme: By listening to a storyteller accompanied by music, involving the language and idioms associated with the original versions of the folk tales ‘The princess and miller's wife' and ‘The Miller's wife', and through activities before and after the storytelling, such as songs, painting, movement, mime, creation of their own tales using key words and phrases, the children enter the world of the folk tale and learn about the life of the miller and the world of the mill.
From the programmes used with the various school groups we have acquired a wealth of material which can be used in many different ways.
2. for children and adults: by the storyteller Agni Stroumbouli
Implementation: Saturday and Sunday, twice a day
Duration: 1 hour each performance
Purpose: presentation to children and adults of features of traditional society and pre-industrial technology, through the magical atmosphere of the folk tale and live narration
A few words about the programme: Eight tales about millers and mills, narrated by the storyteller Agni Stroumbouli to an audience of young and old - just the way they were told in traditional society. The tales gave children and adults the chance to experience magical moments and also to understand the importance of the mill and the miller in traditional communities in pre-industrial times.
The mill was a meeting place for people, a machine for turning wheat into flour (technology processing raw materials), a structure located outside the village in a natural setting with running water and greenery - all features which inspired the imagination of the miller. A distinguished and special character in the traditional community, the miller would often exploit the ‘power' which came with his position …
Implementation: Agni Stroubouli, Ioanna Antoniadou
Planning: Foteini Oikonomidou, Rena Botsiou