TELLING TALL TALES
‘W ell Mum, as I was going up the stairs to clean my room I saw a ginormous red ant who was following a spider and they went behind my room door, so I looked behind the door and there was a whole city of red ants and spiders….’ and so the story goes on. This is the response I get from my daughter when I ask her to clean her room. Or if I were to ask my son who ate the chocolates he would start ‘ Mum, I never did! I just picked it up and it accidentally fell out of the window and before I could rescue it a crow came and flew away with it’ He says wide eyed with chocolate all over his face. As you can see my life is filled with tales of mystery, intrigue, deception and maybe an insecticide problem. I can never get a straight answer from either child and I am sure this is a common problem that all parents must face. We just want the truth!
Does your child come up with ridiculously fantastical tales that leave you questioning whether you are dreaming or awake. Well do not pull out the books on child psychology just yet; telling tales is apparently a good thing! By being able to tell stories and tales children are not only improving their speaking skills they are also using their imagination and honing in on their ability to story tell. Story telling is an art form by itself for to be a good storyteller you have to have an extensive vocabulary, imagination and dramatic ability which all in successful combination should be able to hook the audience and keep them entertained. By encouraging your children to tell stories you are developing their academic as well as social skills which in turn will benefit them in numerous ways.
Benefits of
Story Telling
By story telling, kids can acquire several new skills. The most obvious of course is the practise it gives them in speaking in public and fine tuning their language skills. Comprehension and analysis of the story at hand is further analysed and it teaches the child to use transition words such as ‘first’, ‘then’, ‘next’ and ‘finally’ become part of their vocabulary and they learn how to put events into a sequence. Before the story is told, children have to learn to put the order of events in their heads before it is conveyed to others. This teaches the child to spend time thinking and processing the story which are important everyday skills to have. Story telling fails miserably if one says it is a monotone style of voice, so therefore even if we are telling a tale ‘on brushing our teeth’ if the tale is said in a dramatic style, with an inflection of the voice then the audience is captivated and enthralled. Therefore when a child tells stories we are able to gauge their dramatic ability and it gives them the ability to live vicariously through their characters. This is very important for their emotional intelligence and gives the necessary release to let their imagination take flight.
Help your Children to tell tales
As parents it is our responsibility to recognize the importance of teaching our children story telling skills. We can do so in the following ways:
If your child is a bit shy of telling a story, provide them with some puppets that they can hide behind. This helps them get over the big hurdle of their shyness which will soon vanish once they have got their heart and soul into telling the story.
When getting your child to tell a story encourage them to talk about a topic that they like, in this way they will be focused and enthusiastic since their interest is captured. For example my son loves talking about trains and many a visitor to our house have listened to his fantastical stories of crashing trains and flying trains. If it helps the story supply some props whenever possible. For the most enthusiastic of story tellers this will be treat for now they have material to work with and their stories will even more juicy, so expect a classic.
Also whenever possible record the stories that your children have told. They will be happy to hear and see themselves once you play it back to them. Also you can keep records for prosperity, they grow up so fast but you can still hold on to the days that they told you tales of dragons, castles and princesses.
Always make sure you give your child your full attention during a story telling session, switch of the phones, turn the t.v down and let the moment belong to your child. A distracted you results in a frustrated child, who decides to act up. By getting your little ones to entertain you with their stories you are opening the window into their hearts and minds. So don’t send your child to elocution, just get them to tell a story. Now how to get rid of those fiery red ants and ginarmous spiders behind the cupboard….. await the second part of the Tall Tale!