Hearing stories helps preschoolers easily learn new ideas and digest information in an engaging way. Listening to stories entertains while stimulating the imagination and developing communication skills. In this post, we’ll explore why telling short stories is an important tool for kids to learn, and how Noddy by Elizabeth’s international British nursery curriculum incorporates storytelling in its approach.
Storytelling is the act of narrating with words, sometimes accompanied by visuals or actions, to share information, experiences, and ideas. There are various ways to tell stories to young children, like reading aloud from books with engaging and colourful pictures to stimulate their interest.
Stories can be based on a variety of subjects that discuss familiar subjects or introduce children to new topics. They can be about historical or cultural stories, personal experiences, fictional characters, or classic fables and fairytales. During a storytelling session, children are often encouraged to participate by answering questions, making predictions, or acting out parts of the story.
Stories told through nursery rhymes and songs teach children new words and enhance musical skills. Props and puppets may be used to bring characters in the story to life and encourage role-playing. Visual aids like pictures and posters help children understand new concepts.
Benefits of Storytelling
Storytelling presents a far-reaching range of benefits for young children. Hearing stories can equip children with skills they’ll use as they grow up, including:
Language Benefits
It’s an effective method of supporting young children’s language development because it introduces new vocabulary and improves comprehension. Engaging children with stories will help them recognise language patterns and grammatical cues and teach them new words and sounds they can practice, which helps develop their communication skills.
Cognitive Benefits
Children learn to listen attentively to follow the story plotlines and gain an understanding of the characters. The narrative structure of stories also enhances memory as children remember details and use their imagination and creativity to immerse themselves in the stories. Listening to stories also helps children develop critical thinking skills and learn about cause and consequence.
Emotional Benefits
By listening to the stories of characters in varying situations, children can gain insights into different kinds of people, places, events, and experiences. This helps develop their emotional intelligence and teaches them empathy for others as children learn about characters who feel sad, happy, scared, or angry and how to express them. Stories with moral lessons, for instance, introduce concepts of honesty, fairness, and kindness in a relatable way that children can understand and apply.
Storytelling at Home with Preschool Children
Aside from school, parents can help their children reap the benefits of storytelling at home as well.
Choose age-appropriate stories that capture children’s interests. For young kids, you can pick short storybooks with more pictures, less text, and simple storylines. Better yet, let them help choose the story books for storytime.
Use voices and props to catch their attention. When possible, stimulate children’s imagination by using different voices for characters, gestures, and props. These can be simple puppets or toy figures representing a character in the story or a makeshift backdrop for the story setting.
Be more interactive with your storytelling. While reading, you can make it more engaging by pausing and asking questions about the story, like “Why do you think the character did that?”, “What do you think will happen next?”, or “How do you think they feel?” to make sure your child is following the story and can understand what’s happening.
Use repetition and pauses while telling the story. Using repetitive phrases, descriptions, and rhymes can help young children learn and remember the important parts or ideas of the story. Making dramatic pauses when telling the story can build the suspense and help young listeners stay engaged.
Do a story-related activity. After telling the short story, you can let the children do an arts and crafts project about the story, like drawing a picture of their favourite character or making a clay model of the scene. This helps to reinforce the ideas in the story in a fun way.
Share your own stories. You don’t always have to read from books—children love hearing stories about their parents. You can share stories about your childhood, favourite experiences, family history, and even what you do at work. Establish a regular storytelling time, such as before bed or after dinner. Sharing stories is a great bonding activity that helps strengthen your connection with your child and gives them opportunities to tell their own stories as well.
Storytelling at Noddy by Elizabeth
Storytelling is an important part of our educational activities at Noddy by Elizabeth. It’s integrated into our international British Early Years Foundation Stage programme, and our teachers are experienced in using various methods and tools appropriate for young children to learn in a fun and engaging way. Find out about our free-flow, play-based approach to learning. Schedule a school tour today.
Source:
https://www.essentialresources.co.nz/2023/05/benefits-storytelling-early-childhood
https://raisingchildren.net.au/babies/play-learning/literacy-reading-stories/reading-storytelling
Elizabeth Prinyarnussorn founded Noddy by Elizabeth Playgroup in 1978, driven by a passion for creating a nurturing environment for children aged 18 months to 6 years. With her UK nursing background, she introduced the British “learn through play” approach to Bangkok, setting a high standard for early education. Over 40 years of dedication, she continues to inspire the school’s mission.