Story telling for kids

Still my memories are fresh.. Good old days.. My grand father used to tell lots of stories to me..

Recently I read somewhere, government is planning to appoint storytellers in public places  in a country. In good old days, it was part of our culture. It was quite common in our houses. To admit honestly, these days with micro families and busy lives, it is reduced much. But I strongly believe, story telling helps kids/parents a lot. It is a great daily ritual at home. I wanna share my way here..

Why story telling is important for kids??

1. Drag attention of kids

Quite often I hear, "my son/grand daughter is not listening my words. He/she won't sit with me to draw/write something. I am not able to make him/her write a single letter". Here is the trick -first make them sit/ listen your words. All they need is "Oh..My dad/granny has something interesting today". Slowly they get used and start listening your words. Magic!!

2. Improves vocabulary

We have been telling small stories to my kid from the age of 1 year. I know 1 year is too young. They won't understand much. But they try to catch up some words. They giggle at some sounds and expressions. They try to understand a bit. They are like tape recorders. They grab lots of words, than we assume. They might not speak immediately. But they try to repeat starting 1 or 2 letters of some words. Also they try to understand some emotions.

3. Imagination/Creativity

Be it Jurassic park or Avatar or Bahubali- all of these evolved from imaginary world. It is pure creation/story of  the writer/film maker. Those great people connect the dots what they hear+what they think+what they observe+ what they imagine.

4. Moral values and Rational thinking

Depending on stories we choose, they embed moral values and ethics in children.

5. Reading habit

It is a starting step to improve reading skills for kids.

Connects to culture, bonding time, easy to make them sleep/feed...List goes on and on..

Different ways

Depending on the age of children or time that we have, we could engage children in different ways with stories.

• Narrate- Best way, rather than reading from a book for much younger kids.
• Reading story books is also equally important for 2+/3+ years kids.
• Play small moral stories in TV for few minutes, if you are too busy on a particular day.
• Small role play on leisure days--Funnnn
• Hear stories of your children, though they are very silly. I video record my kid's own stories.
• If you have much more time and patience, try using small animal toys, finger puppets or story puzzle boards etc while narrating. But better to avoid these during bedtime stories. They make kids much more active during sleep times.

Tips..Tips..

Often we hear.."I want mommy's story...Not daddy's.." Or vice versa. Whatever interesting or silly story it is.. There are some tips..

• Narrate on your own, rather than reading from tab/phone. Prepare in advance!!
• Voice Modulation - "There is a bi iii iii gggg  tiiiiger."  No not -- "There is a big tiger".
• Hand, mouth and eye movements. e.g.: Wide open your eyes, hands and mouth for biggg tiger
• Patience is the key for all silly questions.
• No threatening words or stories.
• Ask them some questions while watching TV, though you are bit busy.What's bunny doing?
• Repetition - While you pick and read small story books with just few lines in that, repeat the same book again and again for some days. Also show/point small words. They grasp them. They start reading slowly. To avoid boredom, narrate some stories, rather than just reading from book.
• Picture story books- Choose books with many pictures and few lines.
• Happy endings - Though in story, small boy might have died. Tiger would have ate him for telling lies. But twist it a bit to give happy endings with cuddles and giggles. Tiger bit him. He joined hospital. Got some injection and recovered.

Some story series

Choose stories as per kid's interest and with some morals. Most kids like animal stories. My favorites for small kids are below.

• Panchatantra animal moral stories -  It has many small stories like Hare and Turtle, Ant and Grass Hopper, Greedy Fox, Lion and Mouse, Monkey and Crocodile etc..
• Native moral stories.
• Akbar - Birbal 
• Tenali Rama linga
• Cindrella
• Goldi locks
• Aladdin
• Chinnu Pappu story series to watch
• Mythological - Little Ganesha, Krishna, Ramayana, Bible short stories etc.
• Stories linked to occasion/festival
• Your own story as per necessity- What happens when Sam didn't brush his teeth?
• For elder children, our own motivating life episodes.

Enjoy stories with your kids.Easy feeding times, simple bed time routine, No boring/cranky times!!

Scissors Skills for Kids

Scissors skills...You wonder, if they really help kids..

Trust me, they help a lot to improve fine motor skills in 2+ years kids, even younger children too.

Scissors are real funnn.. All kids like to play with scissors. After all, they want to do as how their mom and dad are doing daily !!  Generally parents are bit worried to give scissors to kids. But these days we have safety child scissors. It all depends on the type of scissors that you choose for your kid's age.

Level 1:

For beginners, get plastic child safe scissors (for toddlers/pre-schoolers). These won't hurt kids. Remember after using these for some days, they won't cut papers anymore. Then take a piece of cloth and then wipe cutting edges of these scissors- just to sharpen them back. It is good to avoid plastic scissors which have metal cutting edges, unless you are keenly monitoring kids. Generally my kid uses full plastic safety scissors, though I am into some work. I give him 5plastic scissors with metal cutting edges, only when I am sitting next to him.

Initially hold their hands and teach them how to hold and move scissors. Of course, need not teach parents how to hold and cut...Lol... After helping them couple of times, leave them. They will try on their own. It gives food for their brain.They start thinking. At last they will cut and tear a piece of paper with their tiny hands. Their hand+eye+brain coordination works.. It improves kids confidence too. It worked for my kid and many others too..

Bundles of joy both for kid and parents.. Hurray...

Ok first paper is now torn into pieces.. Whats next???

Initially give them big news papers with some colorful pictures. It attracts them. It makes them sit for sometime. These days it is a big challenge for parents/pre-school teachers to make toddlers sit. They need to improve their concentration on a task for few minutes. It is good not to give small pieces of paper initially. Their fine motor skills won't be enough to handle small pieces.

Educate them thoroughly what not to cut.

I still remember, I cut my sister's long hair during my pre-school days. Tell them what happens, if they cut hair/skin or anything else, apart from papers/clay - in a smooth way, without threatening them.

What's next?

Ok now they are able to make a big puddle of papers. Then give them some picture books or any pictures with straight lines drawn in that. Ask them to cut on straight line. As they pick up well, you could help them to form a picture book of their paper cuttings. Cut + Paste skills.

Next step is to encourage them to cut and form some shapes...

Huhhhh... At last he got a nice hobby and we are amazed with his/her creativity.

Next steps further..

Level 2: 

Get plastic scissors with metal cutting edges. Remember these need parent's monitoring, until kids get used to them.

Level 3 :

Next you could buy them round edged scissors, preferably after 5/6+ years. As usual monitoring required, until kids get used.

Level 4 :

Normal small scissors, preferably after 1st grade with some monitoring.

Level 5 :

Craft scissors, preferably for mid school kids. They help them to cut some designs within less time.

At the end, store beautiful kids' creations and ask them to trash waste papers. 

Cleanliness...

PS: We need bit patience and need to monitor kids. Choose appropriate scissors as per your kids ability. Age mentioned here are estimated, as per my observation. Ensure that plastic scissors are not cutting anything else, except papers.