In The Studio - Story Play

No one else sees the world the way you do, so no one else can tell the stories you have to tell – Charles de Lint

STORY PLAY

Two to three mornings a week I prepare the space for story play. I set up small invitations throughout the room for the children to visit as they transition from our outdoor morning.

Each invitation has a few loose parts which the children use to create stories, often trading or sharing objects with a nearby classmate. This opportunity to create a personal story narrative is an important pre-cursor to story writing and a very beloved start to our indoor mornings

I begin the school year with many, many oral stories using minimal props and then leave my story play basket for the children to access during exploration.

Last year I used a wooden spool for our storytelling table, but as I observed how the children turned into powerful storytellers, I knew  that we needed a larger permanent story play area with a dedicated table and room for small story props. I included a silk fabric from Beneath The Rowan Tree, a few peg people, stacking waves from Natural Pod and a small basket of loose parts. I am really interested to see how this area develops over the next few months.

Tips:

• keep it simple
• include small objects which can be imagined as a character(s)
• introduce with modelling story play
• use open ended props
• invite the children to work with a partner
• make it a regular routine
• gradually extend the timeframe
• use beautiful materials

A few story starters:

• silk fabric, peg people, shells, stones, small pieces of driftwood
• lego pieces
• bark, driftwood, stones, a few small ocean animals
• tree blocks, green fabric, small forest animals, pine cones, bark (makes caves)
• story stones 

Thanks for stopping by