Are you sitting comfortably?

Then we shall begin!

Once upon a time.....................

How familiar are these words to all of us involved with children?

Story telling is an ancient tradition, revered still today in many cultures, that has stood the test of modern times and is something all of us still continue today!

With all the modern, visual electronics present in our homes today that bombard us with images, story telling is the perfect way to escape! No educationalist, child development expert or Mom would dispute the benefits of reading to and with children.

It develops their imaginations, enhances their ability to think creatively, increases their vocabulary, can encourage problem solving and questioning skills, teaches comprehension and understanding of the written and spoken word (such an important life skill), encourages the recognition of pattern through rhyming and prediction and above all is a fun, warm, caring and relaxing activity.

Dependent on your day, age of children etc, story telling may be short or long and may vary.

Do not be scared, however, of doing something different to just reading from a book! Change up story time by changing location in your day home, using puppets, incorporating actions, involving the children in making sounds, if appropriate, acting stories out or even just making one up from your head!

If you are looking for inspiration with story telling then check out the 'story station' section on www.preschoolexpress.com, it has some great tips, new stories and ideas for making story time a great experience for the kids in your day home!

Below are some of the tips mentioned on the website;

GENERAL STORY TELLING TIPS

•  If the story you want to read to preschoolers is a little too involved, don’t hesitate to skip over parts of the story and make up your own transitions from one part of the story to another.

• Preschoolers love rhyme stories because they can anticipate what the words at the end of the sentences will be.  Children especially love to have you leave off the last word of a four line stanza, in a rhyme story for them to shout out.

• Preschoolers like stories that are repetitive in nature.  Stories like the “Three Little Pigs” or the “Three Billy Goats Gruff,” enable children to learn the repeated phrases and repeat them with you as they come up in the story.

• Preschoolers love hearing the same story over and over.  They like to be able to know what will happen ahead of time.

• Complex stories are not good for young children.  Some people say that you should have no more characters in a story than the age of the child (or children).

• You can also help children remember the different characters in the story by introducing them to the characters before you start reading.  You can have cutouts of the characters placed on a felt board, dolls or puppets to represent them.

•  Short stories are best for young children.  Most story books are written for first and second grade students and may be too complex for the average Preschooler.  This is why short fables, folktales and picture books are the best for this age.