Hello Everyone,
Happy New Year :)
Well, we've been quite busy this season...with Christmas celebrations shared with family and friends, and finding exciting learning opportunities hidden away in our local park.....
Jay and Freida got new bikes for Christmas and we've been trekking down to the local bike track to give them a chance to ride without traffic. On our first day we discovered a beautiful sculpted wooden storytelling chair and benches for an audience!!! It is situated under an enormous tree and we have simply ridden past without really looking in before as it's partially obscured by trees. Fortunately this time we stopped to investigate, and as you can imagine, the children raced right over and one by one commanded the seat with pride. They each proceeded to tell a tale involving family members, with accompanying gestures, and relished the opportunity to tell a tale without interruption. We have visited many times since that first happy discovery and I have incorporated poetry, story starters and drama into our 2012 plans, all involving Our Story Chair, as the children have named it.
The children's stories are spontaneous, fresh and totally their own creation. Freida is a princess, with beautiful tales of fairies, magic and all things etheral. Jay a brave knight, travelling to the Antarctic to battle fierce snow creatures, and back to England to catch wild boar for dinner in the King's castle, Alexandra told a story that was delightfully 'gross' for the little ones and everyone had a good laugh...I love the fact that children can be so totally absorbed in creative storytelling, and the outdoor environment gives them the opportunity to move and use their voices in such a way that they aren't restricted as they inevitably are indoors.
I'm really excited that we're able to combine a bike ride with some literary experience this way, and look forward to many more tales of adventure and intrigue over the years courtesy of this beautiful space.
Talk Soon, Cynthia x
