As we’ve seen children drawing at the art table, or placing pattern blocks together at the small parts table, we’ve heard children telling magnificent tales about their work. “The orange pieces are making a rocket ship! It’s blasting off to space! They’re going to see aliens!” “These princesses all have flower crowns and a mean lady is coming to take their stuff.”
“Oral storytelling helps all children develop their imagination, language and creates human connection. The stories told often have life lessons and values that a child can remember because they are actively using their minds to process the information in another way than a visual story does.” (https://www.pbs.org/parents/thrive/ways-children-learn-through-storytelling-traditions)
As we see the kid’s develop a greater interest in storytelling, we’ve introduced a ‘storyboard’ into the classroom. This board has felt pieces that allow the storyteller to visually manipulate their story as they go along.
We began by telling the children the tales of ‘Cinderella’ and ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears.’ This helped to familiarize children with the structure of using the storyboard. We then set the kids loose to tell stories together!
After spring break, we hope to work with the kids to write down their stories, and work on the sequencing skills of first, next, and last.
Questions to Ask Your Ball House Kid
1. What did Kim talk about when she visited the Brown Room?
2. Who had a birthday party in class this week?
3. What stories could you tell with the Storyboard?
