Why do we tell our stories? We tell them to claim our role as the author of our own lives. Author is the root word of "authority" which has all kinds of connotations that might be incompatible with the simple idea of authoring our own lives but that is what I am talking about here.
Empowering ourselves and others to gain authority in our lives is the intent of telling stories and it is also the intent of this blog. Whatever you discover here is meant to be something you can experiment with or try on for size. See if it suits you and if it does, use it but if it doesn't ring true for you, let it go. You might find that you revisit it at another time or it is something you grapple with ongoingly. But clearly, these entries are not meant to be mandates because that would not further the intent of increasing the authority in parents so they can consciously author their own lives and then pass on this authority to their children when the child is ready to receive it.
Let's talk a little bit more about stories for young children. When is your child old enough for stories? Obviously it takes a certain maturity of language development for a child to listen to a story as well as the ability to sit still for a period of time. Until that time, children are still totally immersed in experiencing the things themselves. Take your cues from your child, and start with very short stories about your child's life, about the day, about animals or even your own childhood experiences. Then you can gradually work toward longer ones with repetition (which makes them easier to remember for the storyteller and children delight in them), and then into simple fairy tales.
The beauty of telling stories rather than reading them is that you can watch your child's response to the words as you are saying them. It also allows the child to create his/her own pictures from the story rather than the ones offered by the book's illustrator. It's not necessary to exagerrate the emotional content of the story but rather to tell it in a straghtforward sort of way with pauses (sometimes while you are thinking of the next thing to say). Be sure that if you make up characters, you remember the names, ages and other characteristics you give them because your children definitely will.
Suggestions for Stories to tell Young Children
Before the age of 3
Nursery rhymes sung and told (the rhythmical quality suits the young child)
simple repetitive stories
finger plays
nature stories
Stories you make up
Stories about the immediate environment
Three Year Olds
Sweet Porridge (Grimm)
The Turnip (Russian)
The Bun (Russian)
The Old Woman and the Pig (Volland Classic)
The Cat and the Mouse (Volland Classic)
Little Red Hen (Volland Classic)
Little Tuppens (Volland Classic)
My Household (Grimm)
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Billy Goats Gruff
To read more about storytelling with children, refer to Rahima Baldwin's book, You Are Your Child's First Teacher (a book one for every parents' shelf), pages 173 - 175"The Value of Telling Stories" in the section called "Nourishing Your Child's Imagination".
