Back when books were a luxury, children were entertained by storytelling. I have discovered that storytelling is one of the key tools in my arsenal as a Stay at Home Mom.
Benefits of Storytelling:
Today so many of us (me included) rely on picture books and forget that we can tell stories with words alone. Storytelling encourages more active imagination than picture books and can also encourage more interaction between storyteller and audience. It is an excellent way to help your child develop language skills.(By no means, however, am I discouraging reading!!) You can find a good description of storytelling here.
If you are like me and prefer taking your child to live theatre and puppet shows rather than movies you can use storytelling to acquaint your child with the story before attending the theatre. The familiarity of the story means your child will enjoy the experience all the more. It is an adult misperception that we shouldn't "spoil the ending" before we see a show. (After all, we still watch Romeo and Juliet, although there is no question of how it ends.) I did this with Kiddo for Cinderella, The Frog Prince and Little Red Riding Hood.
Storytelling as Housekeeping Aid:
On a practical level -- which is why I am writing this post in the first place -- storytelling can be a great way to get things done. Sometimes I just want to wash the dishes or fold the laundry without "help" and so I tell Kiddo a story. He loves the different voices for each character, silly sound effects and joins in much more than when we are reading. And don't feel you have to make up a story yourself. I never do. I always just tell fairy tales.
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Stephanie says
I often tell Tatum the "story" of what we did that day. It's easy for me because I know what happens, and she can join in by filling in the blanks.
Jenny says
What an interesting post. I don't tell CJ stories orally like you described, and I really should. We sing a lot of songs, but not stories. That really would have come n handy during the long time we were in the car over the weekend, too. Interestingly (to me anyway!), CJ has started narrating her actions as she does them, like she's telling a story about what's she's doing at that moment in time. I need to get busy before I miss a golden opportunity with her! Thanks for this post- sorry I rambled a bit.
Evenspor says
It is an easy thing to forget to do. When Beeper was still a baby I sometimes told him about the three pigs, but then it dropped off and I didn't tell him any stories for a while. Just recently I've started telling them to him again when I remember or when he asks, and he loves them. Favorites are the three pigs, goldilocks and the billy goats gruff. I think his favorite part is the funny voices too. Sometimes he will request something specific like, "Tell me a story about monster trucks!" and I'll make up something simple and silly about how the monster trucks learned to get along. It's fun for me too, since it stretches my brain a little in a way tha reading the same picture books over and over doesn't.
Sometimes I even ask him to tell me a story. He can generally only come up with a sentence or two, of course, but I think he likes trying, and it's fun to see whats on his mind.
maryanne @ mama smiles says
Some of my best childhood memories of my dad making up silly stories while he cooked dinner! I'm on a huge "importance of storytelling" kick right now, so I loved this post!
alysastewart says
I love this idea!! I am definitely going to try this. Probably tomorrow. <-- I promise that is not procrastinating, it's just the kids are already in bed. Ha. 🙂 We tell stories every night at bedtime, and sometimes at other times, too. I admit though, I never thought of storytelling as a housekeeping aid.