- Download a Boogie Mites 'tap a word' song, videos and suggestions for associated activities for free here
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF STORYTELLING IN THE EARLY YEARS?
- Storytelling helps children develop empathy.
- Stories help encourage creativity and imagination.
- Storytelling fosters a sense of belonging to the world.
- It can help children learn about themselves and others in different cultures, times, places or situations.
- Sharing stories with other people can be an enjoyable pastime that unites us.
DO YOU KNOW CHILDREN WHO FIND IT CHALLENGING TO SIT STILL AT STORYTIME?
Listening at storytime is something that some children find easier than others. Do you use music to enliven storytime, increase attention span and derive additional developmental benefits?
The brain processes imagination in the same way as reality. Good stories include details and expressive words that make you not only understand where the characters are but how they feel. A good story is full of detail, metaphors and expressive characters that make our brain feel as if we ourselves are in the same situation as the character. This builds empathy and supports self-regulation skills.
Combining music with storytime can extend the attention span of young children, making the activity more engaging so that all of the benefits for social cohesion, language, empathy and emotional regulation can be maximised.
HOW DOES MUSICAL STORYTIME PROVIDE A SENSE OF BELONGING?
We know that group music experiences encourage bonding from our own experiences of singing at celebration events (gigs, choirs, church, sporting events). The release of dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin and endorphins makes us feel happy, secure, loving and bonds us with the group.
Musical storytelling sparks the imagination as we become involved in the characters and their journey. What's more, being immersed in a musical story experience stimulates memory.
Hearing a song and/or a story can change the way children develop and see the world, and themselves in it. Combining the two activities provides a very powerful learning tool for the classroom.
ACTIVITY IDEAS
Get started with an action song to get the brain ready for a focused storytime. An action song can work as a brain gym to wake up the brain and tire the body ready for sitting and listening time.
Plan storytime to use voice, body and/or junk percussion sounds and actions using props/instruments made from recycled materials.
What you need – rubbish: a cardboard box, plastic bag, paper, cardboard tubes, food packaging, foil… look for anything that would make an interesting sound. Parents could perhaps make this a rubbish treasure hunt.
What to do – empty all the rubbish collected onto the floor. Let the children explore it – some may mimic sounds, use it for role play, others may start folding, stacking or packing things away. See how they interact with it. Give them wooden spoon ‘beaters’ to tap the materials.
Pick a favourite song with the children and encourage them to keep the beat. For example, I Hear Thunder using an upside-down shoebox and hitting it like a drum, with a drum roll for the thunder and light pitter-patter for the rain.
Now ask the children to describe the sounds they are making: loud, soft, scrunchy, scratchy, high, low, etc. What animals do they sound like? Could crunchy paper be the sound of the sea or rustling leaves, mice or snakes in the grass? Ask them to help find ways to incorporate the junk percussion into your story.
Telling the story – choose a story that lends itself to sounds and actions. Run through the characters and events before you tell it and consider how you can make that sound with the props you have.
If there is a dinosaur, include stomping noises on a box. For a butterfly, rustle paper for fluttering wings. Or use voice sounds for a train, a boat, a car. Use cardboard tubes for pirates’ telescopes, and marching feet for soldiers…
The children can then join in with the story using actions and their props as sound-makers as the characters or events appear.
Follow up– later, follow up the story with a group Let's Tap A Word (LTAW) session. Ask the children to think of words from the story to include in the song. This will encourage them to use memory recall and support their listening, attention and syllabic awareness.
You can download Boogie Mites’ LTAW song and video training by signing up here: https://bit.ly/3w4cWL9.
BOOGIE MITES CORE MUSIC PROGRAMMES
- School Ready Programme (3–5 years): https://www.boogiemites.co.uk/shop/school-ready-training-package
- Minis Programme (2–3 years): https://www.boogiemites.co.uk/shop/minis-music-training-package
- Teenies Programme (crawling to 2 years): https://www.boogiemites.co.uk/shop/teenies-music-training-package
Nursery World readers can claim a 20% discount on Boogie Mites programmes for the duration of this series, from July to December 2022. Use BMNW20% discount at the checkout. Contact sue@boogiemites.co.uk for further information.