Program Planning Form

Andalusia: The Home of Flannery O’Connor

Program Name: Fables with Flannery

Proposed dates/times: Late Fall/Spring time during the school year. Should be nice enough to sit
around outside in the proposed amphitheater setting.

In-person or virtual program?: In-person.

Name of program developer: Haley Stodart

PROGRAM BASICS

Brief Program Description: Introducing Flannery O’Connor to young learners, this program
allows them to follow in the footsteps of the iconic southern author by creating their own story.
Flannery herself was influenced by the setting of Andalusia, and these students will be
encouraged to create a fun story with the same surroundings. This can be done collaboratively or
on their own, and the students can be as creative as they wish.

Educational Objective: Encourage collaboration, dialogue, and creative writing/literacy skills

with young learners. Following the Georgia State Standards, students will have the opportunity
to engage with historical buildings and stories, and understand the ideas of setting, narrative
based writing, and dialogue.

Connection to current exhibits, collections, and programs: This will be offered once the new
visitors center opens up, and space will be provided to allow them to sit in an amphitheater
setting and read/interact with their stories. This will also connect with the outbuildings on the
property, which are currently underutilized in education.

Relationship to the Department of Historic Museums strategic plan: Two of the key goals of the
Department of Historic Museums at Georgia College are: 1) expand the educational and
academic impact of the museums through technology and innovative programming and other
uses of the spaces, and 2) create a consistent level of programming, curation and patron
experience across all museum properties. This plan will not only create educational opportunities
within new spaces of the museum (aka the amphitheatre of the Visitor’s Center) but it will
expand the educational opportunities of the site for a younger audience, which is outside our
traditional visitors to Andalusia.
 AUDIENCE AND MARKETING

Target audience: Grades K-5 and Georgia College students. Though this program is geared more
towards a younger audience, it is always beneficial for older students to have the opportunity to
engage in free-writing. They can assess the stories of Flannery O’Connor in a more analytical
way, and create more developed narratives.

Marketing strategies: This will be advertised on the Andalusia website, social media pages, and
can be sent to local businesses (such as Visit Milledgeville) for help in spreading the word. It can
also be advertised on Front Page, and sent along to professors and teachers through email.

Projected attendance: This program should be kept to 30 students or less. Due to the size of tour
groups possibilities and amphitheatre/visitor center accommodations, this will allow the students
to have a meaningful experience and the educator to have a manageable group.

BUDGET

Anticipated costs (provide budget):

- Education Staff paid normal salaries for the day
- Marketing and Advertising for Event: $20
- Program materials (writing paper, pencils, colored pencils): $50

Funding and partnership possibilities (include both cash and in-kind contributions): N/A

Earned income expected (include admission fee information): Andalusia can charge each student
$3.00 (which is only $1.00 more than the tour price). If the projected number of students attends,
then the earned income expected should be ~$90.00.
 PROGRAM DETAILS

Detailed program narrative: Offered by appointment, this program will combine museum time
and an activity that allows students to create their own stories, just as Flannery O’Connor did.
The students will be split into two groups, with one starting with a house tour and the other
starting on the grounds. Each tour will focus on Flannery as an author, highlighting the aspects of
the property/her life that influenced her writing. Once they are done with their respective tours,
they will switch to ensure each group gets the full Andalusia experience and information. When
the tours are complete, the groups will head to the visitor’s center.

Once they arrive, they will go to the amphitheater and have a quick discussion before the activity
that breaks down the importance of environment and creativity within stories. Students will
discuss not only what they learned about Flannery’s life and the history of Andalusia, but also
how authors often draw influence from their own life and/or interest when creating stories.
- Questions (for K-8) such as: Flannery loved her pet birds and they appeared in some of
her stories. Do you have any pets? Have you ever heard stories focused on pets or animals? Can
you name a few? If you were to pick an animal as a main character, what kind of animal would it
be and why? If your story was going to take place in one of the buildings you viewed today,
which would it be and why? Would you use more than one? Do any of them remind you of
buildings you have seen in your own life (Does your house look like Flannery's? Do you have a
garage or somewhere to store machines, such as cars or lawn mowers?) What type of characters
would you expect to find in these environments? Flannery was inspired by her mother, and you
often found strong women in charge but also very involved in their daughter’s life. Do you have
anyone in your life that you look up to?
- Questions (for 9-College) such as: Flannery was inspired by settings and characters
within her own life. Her mother, a strong woman in charge who was very involved in her
daughter’s life, is a character type you often find within her stories. Do you have anyone in your
life that inspires you? If your story was going to take place in one of the buildings you viewed
today, which would it be and why? Would you use more than one? Do any of them remind you
of buildings you have seen in your own life (Does your house look like Flannery's? Do you have
a garage or somewhere to store machines, such as cars or lawn mowers?) What type of
characters would you expect to find in these environments? If you were to add complexity to a
character on a farm, how would the character act? What would they believe in?
After these questions are asked and ideas are beginning to churn for the students, then they will
proceed into the activity, which will highlight those questions even further.

Activity: Students will be given the “Fables with Flannery Story Sheet,” which includes a
drawing and written portion, along with colored pencils and a regular pencil. Taking the
questions above into consideration, students will be asked to create their own short story. If they
are writing it, the story should consist of 4 paragraphs, have at least two characters, and an
exchange between them. They will need to describe the setting within their story, and then later
explain what inspired them to choose the setting, characters, and/or storyline that they did. If the
students are drawing their story, they need to depict one scene in detail or draw several scenes in
a graphic novel type nature. If they choose to do one, they need to explain the rest of the scenes
that would revolve around this one that makes up the story. In the end, they also need to share
what inspired them to choose the setting, characters, and/or storyline that they did. If they would
like to work in pairs, they may do so as well.

Once complete, volunteers can share some of their stories if they wish to do so and then the
explanations laid out above about their inspiration(s) behind the story. By 12:00, students will
begin packing up their stories and prepare to leave the site, hopefully after having a positive
experience.

Program Schedule:
- 9:00am: Set-up, meeting, and amphitheater preparation
- 9:40am: Meet the school students as they arrive
- 10:00am: Start the program with the tours
- 11:00pm: Go to the amphitheater to begin the activity portion of the program
- 12:00pm: Finish program and lead students to their bus/respective modes of
transportation.
OR
- 12:00pm: Set-up, meeting, and amphitheater preparation
- 12:40pm: Meet the school students as they arrive
- 1:00pm: Start the program with the tours
- 2:00pm: Go to the amphitheater to begin the activity portion of the program
- 3:00pm: Finish program and lead students to their bus/respective modes of transportation

Program set-up (include technology for virtual programs): Aside from ensuring that all materials
are printed for the program, the most important set-up for this is going to preparation and
planning. There should be a meeting beforehand to discuss how the educator/docents are going
to split up the group (depending on size) and who will be where and when. This will ensure that
the program not only runs smoothly, but that the students get an appropriate amount of
time/experience both in the house and on the grounds.

Number and type of Staff Needed (Include Planning and Production/Day of Event): There should
be one Educator and one/two docents for this program. The docent(s)/educator should help lead
the tours together, including guiding the groups not in the house around the grounds to get the
whole experience for the students. The docent(s) will also help the Educator with set-up,
organization, and more.

Any other program logistics