Telling children stories...help!!! Please!?

Question

I am trying to come up with story ideas, or stories where I have the children close their eyes while I tell them a story. It is a lot more like a journey than a story. But I need help comming up with visualization techniques. Things that would really help them feel like they are in the story. If you have any stories or ideas, please help. Thank you.

Answer 1

Retell a story about something you have experienced together.

It doesn't have to be flashy in fact maybe the more real it is the more likely the children can imagine themselves within the situation.

You could take them for a walk around the garden pointing out and discussing the sounds and sensations and smells etc. Then return inside and describe the walk using the words you and the children used outside. That will reinforce the experience. It will give them a shared experience they can all draw on and belong to and it will help with sequencing events and memory.

I do this sort of thing quite often when I am teaching but I also do it with my nephew and he enjoys telling the story then back to me or to someone eles.

Its really quite a rich language and visualisation experience - even if there are no flying fairies or purple monsters.

The reality of the story helps the children connect to it and draw on their range of experiences to make the visualisation very rich and fun.

It is also easier to tell if you know the story and sequence well. That way you are able to guide it along better by focusing on your delivery better - voice volume/tone/speed etc and you also have the opportunity to watch the responses the children are having, rather then being distracted with trying to think really fast on your feet of the next bit of your epic adventure story!

Have fun! :)

Answer 2

1.) Tell them stories about picnics. Tell them to close their eyes and  imagine that they are at a picnic with there parents, and they are eating all their favorite foods.

2.) Give them a name of a popular cartoon character. Tell them to go on a adventure with that character. Give names of a few animals and say that those animals where all their to greet you and that character.

Good luck

~Sanah~

Answer 3

First of all, I just want to complement you on your approach.  Imagination is a skill that should be nurtured more often in small children.

Start by trying to imagine yourself as a small child!  Children love to experience SOUNDS, TASTES, SMELLS, and sometimes exciting COLORS.  Try to incorporate each of these into you story.  

To draw the children INTO the story, I like to use a technique  called "spouting."  This is a relaxation technique that is often used on adults but will also work on young children.  Start by  telling the children to imagine a small spout located on their belly button.  *Some kids may giggle at this suggestion, but try to keep them focused.*  Next, tell them to imagine all of their cares and worries pouring out of this spout.  

At this point, they should be entirely relaxed.  Now, talk to them in a soft, beckoning, voice and they should be drawn right in.  

Happy storytelling!

Answer 4

There was this storyteller at the Children's museum I use to work at.  His technique was to personalize his stories. For example, instead of having a bunch of characters that the children tried to relate to, he had them as a character (instead of > "Carla crept up the stairs veeeeery slowly as to not wake the giant...."  (you say) "You need to walk veeeeery slowly so that you don't wake the giant....." (just an example perhaps no giant?)  These pronouns helped the children actually own the story and it was amazing. Gerald McDermott wrote some amazing tales that you could easily transpose a "you" into.  Most of these are told in a first person narrative style.  Make this your own ......you've got this one!!

Answer 5

Try the books Moonbeam, Starbright and Earthlight, by Maureen  Garth - available on Amazon.

Maureen Garth's popular meditations for children were born out of the author's desire to help her three–year–old daughter sleep soundly. Developing 'the gentle art of going within', her delightful stories helped her child – and many others around the world – to feel secure and to sleep peacefully. In Moonbeam, Garth invites her readers to accompany her on journeys into an imaginative world of animals, people and places. She shows parents how to use these imaginings with their children, helping them deal with their anxieties, develop their concentration and enhance their creativity.

Answer 6

Say your walking on a beach and make woshing sounds or buy C.D.s or somthin. It will be fun.

Answer 7

One way that really works out for me is to have 1 large picture (One of our walls has a mural that I often use to start the story).  I say, "Today, we are going to imagine that we are going to pick flowers and explore in a forest.  Look at our wall at the trees and sky and grass.  Now imagine you are in that picture.  Ok, now close your eyes...  "

Once I did this and it was so successful that I started finding other "starting point" pictures to use for story time!  

Also, other things to remember and use to encourage them are their senses (hearing, smelling, touching, seeing and tasting) For example, say "What do you smell in the forest?" or "Can you hear anything in the aquarium?"  Young children rely heavily on learning through exploration and experiences, so try to think of things they have experiences and relate it to the story.

Hope this helps!

Answer 8

Greetings!  There are lots of ways to build props to support your stories, but the success of GREAT storytelling is in your second sentence.

You complain that your story telling is more like a journey than a story...that's exactly the trait you want to be an oral storyteller.  Find ways of spellbinding your children to your story and you will find the story is being played out in their heads.  

Just remember with preschool children, you need your stories to be short.  Unless you are really, REALLY good, or you are working with a highly advanced group of children, you need to limit your presentation to fifteen minutes.  You start to lose their interest otherwise.

Hope this helps.  Take care.