(Last session, chaos reigned as kids created animations of themselves sliding across the floor and flapping imaginary wings as they saw themselves fly—using basic classic animation concepts. They weren’t just learning animation; they became animation. In this entry, Joe bursts into the classroom, grinning.)
Slaying The Storytelling Beast As A Team!
Joe reviews stick-figure storyboards with young animators
“Good morning, animated animators!”
Joe leans in. “Good news or bad news first?”
“GOOD NEWS!” the class shouts.
“Good news: animating—posing, timing, spacing—what we did last time? That’s the easy part.”
Silence. Squints. Suspicion.
“Bad news? Story! Story is hard. It’s where movies live or die. You’ve seen it streaming into your homes: movies with mind-blowing animation, epic music, and… then a total snooze-fest of a plot. Great special effects, but terrible story. That’s the bad news. No amount of spectacular production can save a bad story. And the opposite is true. We've seen stick-figure movies and flip-book animations that are wildly entertaining--with almost no money spent on them. Yet with a story and a character that is interesting you are safe.”
Heads nod. They know.
“Think about it. The smartest minds at Pixar, Disney, Netflix, Universal, YouTube—they all try, fail, and try again to crack the perfect memorable story. Most of the time they miss and nobody stays watching. So that is the bad news. Nobody can guarantee which story the audience will love. There are no guarantees.”
“There are some steps we can take to understand how stories work so we can give ourselves the best shot,”
Joe pauses.
“Knock, knock.”
“Who’s there?” several voices respond as minds shift gears.
“Anita.”
“Anita who?”
“Anita use the bathroom!”
Class groans with laughter.
“You may not realize it, but a knock knock joke is a mini story! It has three parts:
1. The Setup – ‘Knock, knock.’ The stage is set. We know what’s coming.
2. The Mystery – ‘Who’s there?’ Anita! Suspense! Who is this Anita person?Curiosity unanswered! How is this going to be twisted into a pun?
3. The Punchline or the Payoff – The unexpected twist answer. The worse the pun, the better.
This formula is everywhere: movies, YouTube, bedtime stories, advertisements, plays, etc.” Joe suggests with urgency.
“It’s called the Three-Act Story Structure:
- Act 1: The Setup: Meet the characters and set the scene.
- Act 2: Conflict: Chaos, mystery, unexpected issues—some big problem happens.
- Act 3: The big finish: Who wins, who loses, how did the problem get solved?
90% of stories follow this. The ancient Greeks knew this. The Bible writers use it. So do broadway musicals, stand-up comedians, advertising, thumbnails - they all use it."
“This is very helpful to understand. It helps us organize our thoughts.”
For instance, did you know that Pixar spent a year working on the original Toy Story "story" before they animated a single frame? A year! Dozens of people wrote, rewrote, tested, refined, threw things out, and rewrote again."
The young storytellers listen as this sinks in.
"This is good news! If we follow their lead and use this format, we have a better chance of making something worth animating.”
"What about Humpty Dumpty?" challenges a student in back.
"Perfect! We can find the 3 acts." Joe eagerly asserts.
"Act 1: Humpty, an egg, on a wall. That's the set up. Our character and setting.
Act 2: Humpty as a great fall. That's the problem. That's the drama. It wouldn't be a problem if Humpty was a basketball. But Humpty is an EGG! So BIG problem with fragility.
Act 3: The solution. All the King's Men coming to fix Humpty. Yet they can't put Humpty together again. Bummer! The answer to the problem is: Humpty is out of luck. Humpty can’t be fixed and lives out life as a clump of gooey eggshells, or worse."
Kids giggle.
"We could go through all the classic nursery rhymes and find some form of this three part idea." Joe continues.
But we have our own story to craft. The point is, many storytellers have come before us and we can learn from them." Joe twists his face into a serious gaze. "If we rush this step, this whole project might not work!”
Joe claps his hands. “Now, we need story ideas. Lots of ‘em.”
“Time for Blue Hat Lesson #1: a 15-minute story brainstorming system the Animation Chefs have worked out. Lights, camera, action!."
Teacher shows the video on the smartboard in front of the class, then Joe jumps up.
"We need you to get in the groups your teacher has assigned. Once you are in teams, pick a scribe— pick the fastest writer, not the neatest. You'll need speed."
Cue chaos. Kids scramble into groups. The scribes hold the pencils over a blank sheet of paper.
Joe smirks. “It is time for your brains to melt. We are going to come up with as many story ideas as possible in 15 minutes. The most I've ever seen was in Mrs. Garcia’s class in Yonkers New York - 54 ideas in 15 minutes. You'll understand how remarkable this is in a moment. You probably won’t get 54, but..." Joe pauses with an evil grin. '...I did bring popcorn...” Joe holds up a tote bag filled with small bags of popcorn.
Eyes widen.
“At least 20 ideas gets you 1 small bag of popcorn. Over 30 ideas = two bags.”
The energy surges. Anticipation oozes from every animator.
Joe holds up a stopwatch timer on his smartphone, "One last thing. In animation, anything is possible. So let's come up with wacky ideas! A shoe can be a main character. Mars can be the setting. So can a taxi cab. So can a dish of soap. There is no limit. We want your most bizarre combination of ideas. The more random the better. We'll tame them later. Today I want you to scare me with the originality inside those zany brains!
"Ready! Set! GO!", Joe shouts as he clicks the 15 minute timer before they've even processed what he just said.
Pencils fly. Brainstorming hits warp speed. Hyperventilating! Noise! Focused pandemonium! Writing exercises never generate this kind of atomic fission.
With popcorn on the line, and a record number of story ideas to hit, they give it their best, full speed ahead. The scribes barely recognize their own handwriting as they scratch out each story concept at light speed.
Fifteen minutes later every group, exhausted, has dozens of story possibilities splayed all over the their brainstorming pages in barely legible chicken scratch.
Joe grins. “This? This thing we just did? This is how movies start. If we can get a seed of an idea that looks like it might grow up into a movie, we may have a chance to entertain our audience, even if our animation is not that great.
Joe walks around handing out bags of popcorn.
"Next step? Picking out which of these dozens of story seedlings to water and fertilize. As you chomp down on popcorn, take 10 minutes and pick your 3 favorite story ideas." Joe challenges. "When you've agreed on your three best ideas, chose a spokesmodel for your group and we'll share your three favorites with the room.”
Joe holds still until the class is settled a bit.
“Then we do our first test screening. We are going to ask the other groups to vote on which of your ideas might make the best movie. Raw responses to your story concept can teach us a lot."
For the next 15 minutes, each group's spokesmodel stands, and offers their 3 best story ideas.
"Now you know which ideas created giggles amongst your classmates. Some of you know which idea is already generating interest. Some, it was hard to tell which ones the class liked most. So do this. Choose YOUR favorite. Select the ONE idea your group agrees might make the best movie. This takes compromise, negotiation, and cooperation. Just like any other team based project, in school or in life.”
“It's time to decide.” Joe says dramatically.
Each group huddles for a few minutes and selects their best idea. Then, one by one, each group announces which story idea they are going to produce.
"This is fantastic. When I came into today, we had no idea what we were going to make our movies about. And now, not only have we decided, but we did so with great peer feedback. Amazing!” Joe exclaims.
“When we meet next time, we'll create the instruction book for this movie. A blueprint you can follow to engineer it, build it, animate it, bring it to life. It is called a storyboard. We will create a 10 scene plan that will force your character to solve it’s problem"
Joe sobers up.
"I have total confidence you can do this as a team. As we move forward to make this movie, you'll be using everything you've ever learned in school. plus about 43 other skills. I've seen this happen thousands of times with classes just like yours. This is going to be hard work, but it is going to be a BLAST!"
“So DONE. We’ve made the executive decision as to what story idea we are going with. That was the big thing today.” Joe salutes the young film makers.
Joe exits while the class processes the possibilities and excitement, and dread that lay ahead.
Who is this Joe fellow?
The Storyteller Who Makes Classrooms Cinematic
Joe Summerhays is the creative force behind Animating Kids, the globally adopted media literacy platform that turns schools into movie studios and students into visual storytellers. With over 25,000 kids and educators trained across 20+ countries, Joe has redefined what it means to be literate in the 21st century — reimagining stop motion animation, storytelling, and digital production with sound and motion into a foundational skill set for the next generation.
A creative executive in software, TV, publishing, and advertising, Joe brings a seasoned eye and playful spirit to the consolidation of powerful media principles used in the real world down into primary education. Through his signature Animation Chefs colored Hat Levels (inspired by karate belts), students and teachers alike progress from storytelling and animation basics to full-on film production — all while hitting ISTE, AASL, and P21 standards for digital fluency and creative communication.
Animating Kids isn’t just a curriculum — it’s a movement. A toolkit for schools. A legacy for media coaches and tech specialists. And it all flows from Joe’s belief:
Visual media literacy is the new reading and writing.
More Testimonials:
"I am impressed by...these programs, providing young people with the skills to become creative and critical thinkers...this shares my dedication to nurturing the next generation of filmmakers and visual storytellers." — Steven Spielberg - Referencing the work of Joe Summerhays“
"Joe (Animating Kids Founder) has turned the art of movie making for kids into a science.” — Jonathan Demme - Academy Award-Winning Director
“I absolutely love Animating Kids...you have no idea how amazing it is for a span of K-9. I’ve got the whole building covered and my planning was done for me. The kids LOVE the Animation Chefs. Win, win!!” — J. Tuttle - Media Specialist
"When I found Animating Kids it changed everything. Small and not so small humans became masters of sound and motion on any subject via small group PBL dynamics." — Rachel - Tech Coach - Quebec
“Animating Kids has changed everything! Fun, relevant media-making lessons for kids, and total P.D. for my non-film making teachers. A complete solution!!” — Principal - Bronx NY
"Animating Kids really helps focus our students during remote sessions…it keeps them so engaged. Your secret recipes are a life saver." — Marisol - Sacramento Ca
"The kids love the demonstrations and it is P.D. for me as I tee it all up. Animating Kids makes me the coolest educator in their lives!" — Charlotte - London UK
"This is the most important skills-based content for today’s kids. I don't think primary educators get how impactful this approach can be. It respects media content creation as the basic literacy it is for today’s kids. — Monique - White Plains NY
“We went through the entire process (PD workshop) of learning animated filmmaking with our tablets and smartphones. We could barely keep up. In the end we came away exhilarated rather than exhausted.” — Cathy S. - Librarian“
"My head was spinning. It involved: math, writing, science, team building, art, language arts, engineering, improvisation, innovation, acting, etc. Along with another dozen areas I can’t recall. Sneaky comprehensive. Mind blown. Can’t wait to use it in class.” — Marcia - 4th Grade Teacher
“Animation Chefs have created a really inspired program! My test group of (hardened gang members) like to laugh at the videos, and they love the simple clear explanations. They just have a blast...”
— G. Zucker Austin TX
"Thank you SO much for sharing your wealth of information and opening this world to every kid! I first learned about you when my husband introduced our daughter to you. Now I am bringing it into my after school program. I’m so psyched!" — Joy H. Retail After School Specialist
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