Story time lets children visit Fairy Wood every day
WHILE much has been made of primary and secondary schools closing and the subsequent travails of parents around the county, there has also been a huge void created in the young lives of pre-schoolers.
Some of those toddlers had been attending Erika’s Fairy Wood, a Montessori and after-school centre in Gorey, until it was instructed to close its doors on March 12, leaving both children and parents bereft.
But rather than leave her beloved students in the lurch, owner of the centre Erika Chambers decided to keep in touch in her own inimitable way.
Thus began a series of videos which has seen Erika become a regular fixture in homes all over the globe and an interviewee on news channels in both the United States and Canada.
Beginning with household favourite The Gruffalo, Erika has been filming storytime sessions for her little ones, short videos uploaded directly to Facebook for the entertainment of those no longer able to attend Fairy Wood.
‘One of the teachers phoned me up and suggested I put a story up to keep the kids entertained. We’ve been filming them partly on a phone and partly on my son’s digital camera,’ Erika explained.
‘I didn’t have any experience in front of the camera beforehand and I didn’t really practise. I’m better off when I don’t practise. Obviously
I plan them in advance, but I know what the kids want,’ she said.
And what the kids want are the classic stories we all know and love: The Three Billy Goats Gruff, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and Little Red Riding Hood.
Ably assisted by her teaching colleagues, Erika doesn’t just tell these stories, she re-enacts each scene, complete with goats, bears, gruffalo and the rest.
‘ The reaction has been fantastic,’ she said. ‘I’ve been getting letters in the post, people rolling down their windows and telling me to keep making them because their kids love them. I’m trying to make them in different rooms now, try and mix it up a little bit.’
In addition to her regular storytime videos, Erika has uploaded videos designed to interact with the children, to get them out of their seats and singing. She has also made a video explaining how her regular audience is being joined by viewers from all over world.
‘I’ve been featured on an Australian educational programme, and on Storyful. I’ve had people watching the videos from all over the world; America, Doha, Turkey, China, Taiwan, England, Scotland.
‘People have been sending me pics of children watching me, had a guy from Los Angeles message me saying how much his child enjoyed it. One parent told me this is her child’s homework he has each day. It’s helping to keep them entertained and focused.’