In early childhood education, not a day goes by without a story.
We daily use storytelling as a tool for all ages, and stages of development. “Story Sharing” is one of the foundational pedagogies in the “8 Aboriginal Ways of Learning” and has long been a cornerstone of indigenous connection to country and culture. In the Christian Bible, Jesus taught complex ideas through simple parables and stories. The Egyptians used the language and imagery of hieroglyphics to pass on stories and history. Folk songs, jigs, ditties and nursery rhymes from the British Isles tell tales of war, hardship, and daily life often taught to young children by their elders. At The Owl & The Pussycat Preschool we are proud to build on these ancient and universally recognized forms of storytelling.
Rhythm, rhyme and repetition are the cornerstones of many children’s literary classics. A few that come to mind are…
“We’re going on a bear hunt, we’re going to catch a big one, we’re not scared… We can’t go over it, we can’t go under it. Oh no, we have to go through it!” – Michael Rosen
“Each peach pear plum, I spy Tom Thumb. Tom Thumb in the cupboard, I spy Mother Hubbard”— Allan and Janet Ahlberg
“Who is this creature with terrible claws and terrible teeth in his terrible jaws? He has knobbly knees and turned-out toes and a poisonous wart at the end of his nose.” – Julia Donaldson
Rhyme helps develop language formation and sound recognition. The repetition of words, ideas and skills lay valuable building blocks for early brain development and the foundations of future learning.
Nowadays, parents are even encouraged to read to their children in the womb – it’s never too early! Reading with your child daily will go a long way towards nurturing foundational skills. One book as part of your bedtime routine is a great place to start – it’s never too late!
However, it’s important to note storytelling is not only an academic or mental exercise. It has been used for millennia to build our sense of physical community and emotional belonging, to connect to and learn from our personal and collective histories, and to enhance engagement with the wider world.
Think of the last time you read with your child… I suspect they snuggled in, sort physical contact, asked questions, gained vocabulary and experienced new emotions. And I suspect you didn’t check your phone, or think about what to cook for dinner, but also enjoyed the moment of connection that came from the simple act of being present through reading together. That’s the power of storytelling.
At The Owl & The Pussycat Preschool we build our sense of physical community and emotional belonging by regularly sharing scheduled story-times with every age group. Often choosing topics and stories that are pertinent to the stage of development and interests of the room. Our Kittens Room read board books, with bold graphics and tactile pages. While our Owls Room read simple narratives exploring deeper concepts and emotions, asking and answering questions about the story, its characters and the emotions it generates.
We connect to and learn from our personal and collective histories by celebrating cultural milestones. This year, our children have read stories and shared imagery about Lunar New Year, Shrove Tuesday/Pancake Day, and the Holi Festival to name a few. This month we will be exploring age-appropriate texts about the Easter story, and ANZAC Day. Focusing on themes of joy and gratitude, freedom and sacrifice, along with service and love of country. We will use all five senses to tell and understand these stories. Celebrating and practicing gratitude by sharing in our Easter menu, expressing joy by creating hats for our Easter Hat Parade, and chatting about freedom and sacrifice over baking ANZAC biscuits.
We enhance engagement with the wider world by embracing stories from all walks of life. By using story telling as a building block to construct layers of understanding, language and empathy we can slowly open little minds to big ideas and new experiences. The National Simultaneous Storytime book for 2025, “The Truck Cat”, by Deborah Frenkel and Danny Snell – an immigrant story about home and identity told through the eyes of an adopted pet cat – is a great example of this.
We are relational beings who love to connect and learn through the power of stories. We encourage you to embrace this daily practice and share stories, new and old, in your own home, as we partner with you by doing the same to grow each child’s heart and mind at The Owl & The Pussycat Preschool.
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