Story Play In Kindergarten

I attended a excellent and inspiring workshop facilitated by a SD38 Reggio teacher who had gone with her team to the Opal School in Portland. Using loose parts and setting up provocations this routine helps students develop oral language, a sense of story as well as those important self regulation, decision making, working with a partner and planning skills that all students work on. 
We do Story Play 2-3 times a week as we transition into the classroom from our outdoor program. The Story Play areas are set up to attract and inspire the children to create and collaborate on stories. Sometimes we partner with our buddy class, which the children love, and they tell stories together.

Story Play Baskets accessible by children during exploration

The photo above is the story play platform. I usually have a provocation and two adjacent shelves with props for the children to use if they like. This well used centre is a popular choice in the afternoons. My newest purchase if the cave from Dilly Dally Kids in Vancouver and the ceramic leaves my daughter shared with me from her classroom. To reduce my workload and storage, I share story play with my friend Alex, who is our grade 2 buddy class. This way I only need about five story play baskets which are used freely by the children during exploration and writing workshop as well as Story Play. Then for a Story Play whole class day I borrow five of her baskets.
This framework is very similar to the other frameworks used during our Kindergarten day.
The two children confer, then choose a Story Play basket. They collaborate on the story asking lots of questions and then when they are ready they may tell me the story. I walk around with my iPad and clip board doing observations. If they are ready to tell me their story then I just use the iPad so that I can refer to it later. Sometimes I take photos of the children as they create their story to share with them later. 
I try to have a range of baskets and vary the loose parts. I just collect loose parts as I travel, from garage sales and use a lot from my counting jar/loose parts classroom collection such as stones, gems, rims, cubes. I add scarves, silk, fabric, felt squares. fleece squares and sometimes even play mobile, duplo, rubber animals and peg people. I love working with my friend Alex and her collections as she has a very playful eye when shopping with her family and often finds small treasures like beautiful stones, door handles and little worry dolls (they are very loved!!!)
I have a drawer in the classroom where extra story play resources are kept. They are sorted into categories; characters, fabric and props.
Here are a few of the Story Play baskets that the children enjoyed this week:

I hope that this post inspires you as the workshop inspired me.