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Even family dog Dipster enjoys the story bird! |
First session:
What makes a story good |
| Working with children brings about such a huge number of opportunities to tell stories, but often times we find ourselves a bit too busy with all of life's other stuff! Reading books is great, but what about telling stories that we know by heart? How do leap off the book and into our amazing minds to simply tell a story to our children? What makes a story good? |
1. That we love it
You can't just like a story you want to tell, you gotta love it full on! Cause when we love a story, so will the children. |
2. That it's exciting
Let's face it, most children don't want to hear about how to change a tire…..or do they? What if you told a story about changing a tire, that wasn't simply about the tire, but about the time you got a flat tire while driving through the Australian outback, about what it would be like to get a flat when we were away from civilization as we call it…..about changing a flat when we didn't have the tools to fix it! About how if we didn't come up with something soon, we would grow very hungry and thirsty and hot (or cold!) very soon!! You can tell a story about pretty much ANYTHING, just make sure it's exciting! |
3. That it involves appropriate language and themes
Ok, changing a tire is pretty mild, but some children get scared by certain themes. Ghost stories are good once the children get to about 7-9 years, depending on the child and cultural/religious background. Make sure language and themes are appropriate. |
4. That we can remember it
Choose something that's easy to remember, especially when you're starting out! If you choose something that is long and tricky, you'll stop before you get started, so stick to something simple. Sometimes telling a story we already know... the best are often our favourite childhood stories. Perhaps it's a fairytale, folktale, or even a story someone close to you told about their lives. Children love to hear stories from their parents and teachers childhoods. |
Coming up next month: Remembering the Story |
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Singapore Mum Deb transforms into storyteller |
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