For centuries, people have narrated stories as a way of exploring ideas and making sense of their thoughts. While there are plenty of stories that are passed down through generations, there are many others that we create ourselves. We grew up listening to stories narrated by our own parents or grandparents – be it powerful, moral-based or simply hilarious! Making time to tell stories to your child is a great way of letting know that you value spending time with them. Storytelling is a means to teach children the life lessons you want them to learn. It stimulates their imagination and connects them to the places and people they have never known.
Stories are more than just made-up incidents. They can help in cognitive development while having fun. Following are the ways in which storytelling sessions can be made more interesting –
Narration
Start with stories that you know well and make sure it is age-appropriate. For example, reading a ghost story to a three-year-old may not be a good idea. Familiarise yourself with the story several times so that the words and expressions flow while you narrate it. Modulate your voice according to the character and dramatize them to the best of your ability.
Visualise
Try to include visual aids like puppets and comic strips to explain complex characters and unfamiliar elements. It helps in simplifying the story sequence, movements, and relationships while holding children’s attention throughout. Visualising the story boosts their imagination and avoids distractions during the narration.
Allow interruptions
When children interrupt, share their thoughts and excitement or ask questions, it shows that they are paying attention to the story. Allow them to draw parallels and narrate some incident they suddenly remembered. This freedom to interrupt encourages their creative skills.
Participation
Get the children to be active through conversations or ‘act-it-out’. It works best with younger children and stories with simple plots. You can even engage them in role plays in which they redo a scene under different conditions. They can take up various roles and even change the events in the story. It explores the ‘what if’s of situations and helps with real life.
Digitalize
Try incorporating the digital tools to aid your storytelling. This includes static images, GIFs, sounds and videos. You can assemble them together and make it into your own presentation. Digitalized storytelling will be appreciated by children who are at least ten years old and find them ‘cool’.
Enjoy the narration!
When you do something you do not enjoy, it shows. So use your voice and body as primary tools to make the session interesting. Use expressive words, facial expressions and gestures to emote the story as much as you can. Before you realize it, your child would take after you and narrate his or her own stories. Buy her books with good stories to practice and if you think she is good at it, you can enrol her in classes where they teach how to tell a story.
Remember that storytelling is not a chore, but an art that you can enjoy.