Storytelling-
Each child has the opportunity to tell a story while I transcribe it. In addition, each child has the opportunity to practice listening to others' stories. It has been interesting to see how it has changed with our growing number of kids in the Greenhouse. Instead of starting with new material, most of the time, the kids re-work elements from each others' stories. I have noticed that the younger ones in the group who participate tend to look around the room for a visual cue or spark with which to start their stories, whereas the older ones seem more comfortable verbalizing from their imagination or from memory.
This is a story from one of the younger kids who is very interested in participating in storytime and selects his content from his visual world:
"This is a story about a paint." (while looking at the red paint cup near the easel)
This same kid is very interested in my transcribing the stories. He is the only one that pays attention to the paper and pen when I pull out at storytime.
This story started a theme:
"Once there was a swordfish and then a shark came and he hided under a big rock and then he got him and he started to eat the baby swordfish."
More on the fish theme:
"My story is about a baby swordfish that eat a clam. Clam saw a baby swordfish. The baby swordfish hid under a big rock. Came out and got the clam and started to eat it and then the baby swordfish got lost. And then Diego came and tried to take the baby swordfish home to his mom and dad."
(This child reused the theme of finding mom and dad.)
Another fish story:
"I had a baby swordfish that disappeared into the water at home."
Another fish story:
"The little blue fish went with his mom and daddy in the ocean finding his mom and dadda. I want to add a paint cup."
I snickered to myself with this story because I have a habit of asking each child, "Do you want to add anything to that?" when they seem to be finished with a part of the story. This child was jumping ahead and adding things to his own story. He added "a paint cup," which was a mysterious, misunderstood story that a different kid had previously told and all of the kids were very interested in knowing more about it.
If you are interested in this process, you should check out Teacher Tom's blog and do a search for storytelling.
