January 2025 Director's Corner:
Exploring Stories
Why should we encourage children to explore stories? People learn, grow, and build relationships by telling and listening to stories. We typically begin with books because inquiry with books helps children notice the key features of stories that matter to those who love them, as well as to begin linking cause and effect within the social contexts represented in both fiction and non-fiction narratives. With young children, the primary goal is NOT to teach reading directly, but rather to foster a love of stories that motivates a lifetime of engagement with text. Most children who have many opportunities to explore books with capable readers who encourage their inquiries and applaud their efforts will naturally develop strong reading skills.
One of my favorite times with my daughter decades ago and now with my granddaughters is reading aloud and discussing stories. We started with small “board books” or books made of cloth, both of which encourage very young children to independently manipulate the texts so that they can explore them with their hands and mouth while learning to physically orient the book correctly and manage the page turning. Toddlers already delight in choosing a book themselves and then initiating an interaction with interested readers by handing one of them a book and raising their arms to be drawn into a comfortable reading position. Of course, early reading is teaching many new words, but the cooperative exchanges related to the story and illustrations promote many aspects of communication. The book topics help teach children of all ages about science, math, social studies, etc., and reading sessions involve exploration of varying voices to represent different characters and emotions, as well as to distinguish narratives that are serious vs. silly. Reading stories again and again helps children identify the texts’ rhythms and patterns, as well as experience a variety of ways to creatively tell the same story, particularly when we are exploring the same topics in the real world, such as reading about daily life indoors and outdoors.
As with all explorations, Children’s School educators extend what families have begun by utilizing varied strategies on the teaching continuum to engage preschoolers and kindergartners with stories in ever deepening ways. While reading books related to our themes, we explicitly teach the meaning of author, illustrator, fiction, non-fiction, etc., and we engage children in discussions of each story’s characters, setting, and plot (starting with simple statements of the beginning, middle, and end). Families can often see how we model story reading because the children typically imitate it when they “play school” at home. All of our classrooms have “library corners” where children can independently choose books to “read” by themselves and where adults will read books that the children choose from our rotating options. Our 6,000+ book collection at the Children’s School has a wide range of titles available so that the children can explore books related to their unique interests and so that teachers can select ones that will help the group consider issues that are arising in the classroom or in their lives.
During February, we will be extending our explorations through our Whole School “Stories and Storytelling” Unit. We will have opportunities to experiment with different types of stories, such as anecdotes, legends, fairy tales, fables, etc. We will also experiment with stories in a variety of forms, beginning with books but progressing to songs, puppet plays, dramatic retellings, etc. Along the way, children will be encouraged to create their own versions of stories, such as our Preschool 4’s recently did with the “Five Little Monkeys” song/story. Dictating stories, such as “boo-boo stories”, and writing collaborative stories are fun ways for young children to explore their role as authors and then illustrators of their own original books.
Families can begin these explorations by sharing favorites and visiting the public library to discover new stories that might become favorites. Winter is a wonderful opportunity for everyone to enjoy cozy reading together, to explore different authors’ and illustrators’ versions of stories, and to discuss the meaning of stories in our lives. We look forward to the children sharing their learning with us so that we might explore all kinds of stories together.
