Schools Archives - Stories and More

World Book Day

Posted on January 10, 2017January 10, 2017 by Teoni Randall

New year, new school term and new chances to use the imagination.

lillie-3 At Stories and More we are always looking for new ways to help a child grow their imagination, through the art of storytelling. Our team of highly experienced storytellers have been busy over the festive period, updating and creating workshops that are, not only the first steps in encouraging children to be vocal with their ideas, learn how easy and important storytelling is, but also making sure they are jam packed with fun.

With world book day happening in March it’s a wonderful opportunity for books to be brought to life, so what better way to do this than with Stories and More.

We pride ourselves on the ability to pick upon the smallest suggestion from a child and take them on a full blown adventure.

We don’t want to get too deep this early on in the year, but it’s so important to encourage a child’s imagination and help them realise their full potential. The smallest interaction can make the biggest impact. So, think outside the box and give your child something that they can talk about …. give them a story.

World book day lands on Thursday 2nd March this year, if you would like to book us for your school for a time leading up to, on or around this date – do get in touch!

All Creatures Big and Small

Posted on October 25, 2016October 25, 2016 by Teoni Randall

This term, our After School Club theme has been Myths and Legends, so every week in class the children, along with their Stories and More teacher, have been bringing to life some of their favourite myths and creatures.

We were so impressed with the way the children were describing their creatures and the way they were being so creative that we decided, at Stories and More, to hold a competition to draw their very own mythical creature.

This is the perfect chance for a child to really use their imagination and because there is no wrong answer or way of doing it, the pressure is off! All we ask is that they make it as unusual as possible.

I (Lillie) have never seen a Stories and More drama club so quiet, as the children went about creating their creatures, all different sizes, shapes and colours.

Once they had completed their drawings, they all stood up and introduced their creature, one by one, to the club.

These creatures are still being talked about in the sessions and the idea has evolved to the children ‘playing them’ as we go on story adventures.

This is why we love a Stories and More after school club, the children have fun, grow in confidence and get the chance to really use their imagination and bring it to life.

We used staff members and our 5 year old advisor to pick the winners and they are below: Big round of applause for Wilhelmina age 8, Abishek age 6, Joyce age 9 and Frankie age 10.

Why is Storytelling Important?

Posted on October 11, 2016 by Stories and More Admin User

Here at Stories and More we pride ourselves on our storytelling, but why do we do it? Why do we think that it is so important for a young child’s growth?

For generations Storytelling has been a part of our culture, a way of entertaining, touching emotions or to inform. But it also sparks imagination and with that comes creativity, a feeling that anything is possible, you can be anyone, do anything because you can imagine it being so. This in turn helps with confidence, a way of helping those shy children express themselves without feeling like they are ‘doing it wrong’.

school Children are experts at visualising a world that you have described and they will enjoy adding the finishing touches to it. Maybe a character you hadn’t yet thought of, or a river around the corner that you didn’t know was there. Their minds are incredible and far more superior in the world of imagination then us grown ups. As we grow we don’t tend to use this part of our brain, we swap it for the TV, video games, work and facts of everyday life. So we forget how to use it, how to imagine the impossible.

So isn’t it more important than ever to encourage children to embrace all this while they can? Build their confidence with ‘yes you’re right’ and ‘what a fantastic idea’ instead of the ‘don’t be silly’ and ‘not right now’. Spend that time storytelling with them, let them lead you into your imagination and I am sure you will be surprised at what they come up with.

This is why we do what we do, because this time of a child’s life is precious and if storytelling helps to make the most of it then shouldn’t we all be doing it?