We've been exploring telling stories to young children. This is the third week on this topic; time to reflect on how it is going. It's a good idea when we are trying something new or tweeking the way we do something to take time and consider whether it is working for us. Teachers learn to plan what to teach, teach and then evaluate the teaching. Parents are engaged in educating children and this template of planning, doing and then evaluating is an important life skill besides being for teachers. Even if the reflections are done in ten minutes before going to sleep at night (which may be the only available time),it is a good practice to strive for.
Remember Rahima Baldwin's book (that I mentioned in the last blog)called You Are Your Child's First Teacher? It's a valuable resource book. When I met Rahima at an Early Childhood Conference last summer, I found out that she was opening a home child care program with her daughter last fall. I was glad to have the opportunity to talk with her about opening a child care business as well as about early childhood education overall.
Back to reflecting about storytelling (rather than a trip to New Hampshire and interesting conversations last summer), and seeking a balance between actions and their inward component, reflections.
Here are some questions to ponder.
What kind of stories do you remember hearing during your childhood? What memories do you have of listening to stories?
Have you tried making up stories for your child, stories from everyday life, stories from your childhood and stories about your child? They can be short - even a few sentences long.
Does this feel different than reading a story from a book?
Is it easier or harder than you expected?
What was your child's reaction?
Reflect on some of your discoveries and successes.
Loving human contact is important for a child's well-being. How is this a component of storytelling? (Although this may seem obvious, conscious awareness about why we are doing something can inspire us to keep it up).
