The craft of storytelling is an ancient one that is present in all cultures. Stories are powerful vehicles for children to reflect on a different way of being and to imagine worlds beyond the world that they are immediately familiar with.
In this way, oral or told stories support children to make sense of their world and their place in this world – they mark pathways towards personal belonging and wellbeing.
On April 11 Jessica Horne-Kennedy, a Gowrie NSW consultant, will be leading a workshop ‘Can you catch me a story? Exploring the art of storytelling in the early childhood setting.’
During this workshop participants will be introduced to practical ideas for using storytelling in the early childhood setting. Participants will have the opportunity to create a resource to use for storytelling with children at their centre.
“This workshop gives participants an opportunity to explore and play with different ways of using oral storytelling in their work with children.
“The workshop will examine examples of centres that have used storytelling and show the benefits of this. It is a great opportunity to explore and try out some different methods of how to tell a story – there will be lots of fun and hands-on creative activities!” Jessica said.
Participants who attend this workshop will return to their workplace ‘inspired’ with new practical tools for creating connections and for supporting the children in different aspects of their learning, wellbeing and sense of belonging.
“Stories are a powerful way to create a sense of calmness in the day and participants will be able to reflect on how they can integrate stories into the spontaneous moments of their busy days to create a moment of calm connection,” Jessica said.
“Exploring oral storytelling and finding a meaningful way to integrate it into the educators practice will have the added benefit of enhancing and supporting the language experience in the early childhood program,” she added.
