Power of Storytelling
Trafford this week gave a real welcome for storytelling. The ECAT launch was buzzing. Rachael and Emma are doing a great job of organising. I hope lots of schools sign up. My previous experience with ECAT schemes is that they’re very supportive, enabling participants to focus on things that really matter – like oral storytelling! It opens up ways of talking with children, gets away from their fear of giving ‘incorrect’ responses, reaches out to parents too and, for everyone who take up the challenge, makes stories the fun they really should be.Great enthusiasm at the workshops on Thursday evening and Friday morning!
I demonstrated my Start-up chant and showed some imagination aerobics like the Cloth Game.
I told Mrs Wiggle and Mrs Waggle (everyone’s favourite) and also my Two Frogs story.
Feedback sheets were a joy to my heart. ‘How children can be such a big part of storytime rather than just be listeners’; ‘power of stories without books’; ‘new skills to engage children’ – the comments were brilliant. I wish everyone luck with taking it on. And maybe hear from people about how it works out.
P.S. Interesting story about the taxi driver who took me from Trafford to Stockport yesterday afternoon. At first he seemed baffled about storytelling. But as soon as I mentioned my dad telling me stories when I was young, he came alive with recollections of a man who used to tell stories in the little village where he grew up in Pakistan. There were 40 or 50 households in the village at that time. Everyone knew each other. The old man who told stories was known as Uncle. He earned his living from making and selling samosas and every day he’d take samosas to the High School where my taxi driver became a pupil. So all the boys at the High School knew him too. At night he’d turn up at someone’s house in the village and people would gather in the yard outside. He’d tell stories all evening and sometimes he’d go on until the early hours. The stories he told were ‘Once upon a time…’ stories – ‘Once upon a time there was a king.’ Or he’d tell about Sinbad the Sailor. Story-stories. ‘And he always said it so nicely,’ said my taxi-driver. For my part, I loved hearing about it and when we got to Stockport, we both agreed it had been ‘a very interesting journey’.
May 13th, 2010 at 3:52 pm
i had such fun on this course and it took me back to my childhood, my headmaster at my primary school always told us stories in morning assemblies. they were always fun and unique. he even told fairytales but with his own modern twist.
i have told the story of mrs wiggle and mrs waggle to my own children and the children at my preschool and though i got a little muddled the children loved it.
i have yet to try the chants but i will be doing very soon i just know the children will love them and i know it will get their imaginations working overtime
thanks very much for such a great course. it wasnt what i was expecting, but it was so much more.