Early Learning Centre

Week 7 has been a typical four seasons in one day kind of week.  We have taken the opportunity to take our learning outside when the sun has been shining, but with our wet weather gear on we can also remain outside when the weather turns.  This week I thought I would simply share some photos from our week.

Story Telling

Storytelling is an important communication skill, and once children are at school they will be writing and retelling lots of stories. Story telling might be about recalling our favourite books or movies, or it might be telling friends or teachers about what happened on the weekend. It could even be your child telling you about what happened during the day at kinder.

Storytelling is a way for us to connect and share. For young children it also helps them to learn about sequencing and story structure.

The best way to support your child when they are telling a story is to encourage them to think about the beginning, middle and end of the story. You could prompt them by using transition words such as “first….”, “then…” and “last…” to mark the beginning, middle and end of the story. 

For example: On the weekend, I went to grandma’s house. First we woke up early, then we got in the car, last we got to grandma’s and had an ice cream!

You can break down stories into steps too, like the age old story of The Three Little Pigs: 

• Beginning: First, there were three little pigs that built three houses
• Middle: Then, a big bad wolf came along and threatened to blow their houses down.
• End: Finally, the three little pigs found safety in the third pig’s home that was made out of bricks.

Using puppets or toys to act out the story provides your child with a great reminder about what happens, and what might come next. They could use the props to retell the story, or maybe they could make up something new! Encourage creativity, and remember to use first, then, last to help them tell clear stories.

You can find some puppets to retell stories like The Three Little Pigs here: https://www.funwithmama.com/stick-puppets/

Have a great week and happy story telling.

Frances O’Brien

Director Early Learning Centre