Storytelling Basket
Clever Fox http://mamadrool.blogspot.ca/2016/02/clever-fox-storytelling.html turned out to be very well received last week, so we continued with the Storytelling theme by creating a prompt basket similar to The Imagination Tree http://theimaginationtree.com/2013/05/fairytale-storytelling-basket.html
Adding to the intrigue, I covered the tray with a blue silk, which ended up being used as ocean water.
We included Small World Toys, such as finger puppets, Animalz, felted rocks, wooden stumps & mushroom as well as felt cakes.
O asked if I would start the story. The first character I picked up (the squirrel), naturally became the main character. He saw a magical "Cake Island", but couldn't figure out how to reach it.
Once I presented this initial problem, O and Baby C picked up the story from there.
Baby C was very animated about telling us what was happening to the forest creatures along the way, including a run in with a rattlesnake! She seemed to be the one adding the plot twists!!
After the island was no longer part of the story, the "ocean water" was used as a blanket.
I witnessed several interesting aspects of storytelling unfold, completely child-led.
They discovered...
~main characters and supporting characters, included themselves
~used props in open-ended ways (the tray was both an island and later a serving plate, while the silk became an ocean and then blanket),
~presented both problems and solutions (how do the animals get across the ocean? find paddles, use rocks as stepping stones, make a boat, fly...)
~used their imagination, so events and solutions were not always practical in real life, but possible in the realm of story-telling
~told a story in succession of events
~contributed to the story as a team and worked (sometimes) easily with each others plot twists
~language development (I had no idea Baby C knew the word 'rattlesnake'!)
~repetition (when one part of the story became well-loved, enter Rattlesnake who eats everything! it was repeated throughout the tale)
The biggest challenge for O was getting Baby C to take a breath, so she could add her creativity!
EXPAND ON STORYTELLING
PROMPTS
Tell Me a Story. http://mamadrool.blogspot.ca/2013/08/tell-me-story-finished-project.html
Spinning Yarns. http://mamadrool.blogspot.ca/2012/05/spinning-yarns.html
Mini Book Necklaces. http://mamadrool.blogspot.ca/2015/11/mini-book-necklaces.html
Story Dice. http://mamadrool.blogspot.ca/2015/03/story-dice-preserving-art.html
Telling Tales Festival. http://mamadrool.blogspot.ca/2015/09/telling-tales-festival.html
PROPS
Forest Diorama. http://mamadrool.blogspot.ca/2015/04/for-love-of-trees-forest-diorama.html
Puppet Theatre. http://mamadrool.blogspot.ca/2013/08/puppet-theatre-nesting-projects.html
Shadow Puppet Theatre. http://mamadrool.blogspot.ca/2015/10/spooky-shadow-puppets.html
Character, Setting, Plot. This lovely little gift came from a fellow homeschooler and friend, "The Tea Party in the Woods". It's a sweet read and great start for introducing main characters (as Kikko is in colour while the rest of the drawings are generally black and white), setting (wintry forest) and theme.
We read this story after attempting our own, as the props are similar (forest animals, cakes!) and it was easy to pick apart the components that make a story.
