The Magic of Stories

The magic of stories, For the UniWorld Gardens Batch fifth class.


The Magic of Stories

Stories are our windows in the worlds unknown. Stories teach us language, culture, history, morals and imagination.

Classics Stories :
Some of the stories that a must for a child to know are :
Cinderella, SnowWhite and Seven Dwarfs, Sleeping Beauty, Jack and the Beanstalk, The Shoemaker and the Elves, , Pinocchio, 101 Dalmatians, Beauty and the Beast, Peter Rabbit, Alice in the Wonderland, The little match girl, Little red riding hood Hensel and Gretel and Thumbelina.

In addition to these, some exposure to these well-known story collections is desirable:
1. Panchatantra: Written by Pt. Vishnu Sharma to educate dimwit sons of a king, these tales provide practical knowledge and rules to live life by.
2. Aesop’s Fables: Aesop was a slave in ancient Greece. His collection of stories is one of the most popular in the world, with stories like The Hare and the Tortiose and The Boy who cried Wolf.
3. Arabian Nights: The stories told by the intelligent wife of the Iranian king Shahrjan, in order to escape her execution in the morning. These contain classics like Alibaba and 40 theives, Aladdin and Sindbad.
4. Jataka Tales: The stories from the previous births of Gautam Buddha.

The Art of StoryTelling:
Storytelling is a subtle art than we can use to captivate anyone’s attention. In fact, once you master the art of storytelling, you’ll find it of immense value in day to day conversations as well.

Some key pointers:
1. Know your Story : not necessarily by heart. But you should know the start, the end, and the basic plot of the story for sure.
2. Know your audience: Is it only your child? Is it a group of young kids. What age?
3. Make sure they fit : The Story should be suitable for the target Audience.
4. Amplify emotions in the dialogues: Speak the sentences with appropriate emotional dose. The emotion (happy, angry, sad, disgusted, disappointed, hopeful..) should be clear in the tome you use.
5. Accent your voice according to the character : An old witch would sound very different from a little boy, no?

Choosing a story:
Books are one of the best investments, and the bookstores are full of materials for kids. Some books, though, are printed for adults to buy for their kids, and some books are for kids to enjoy. Know the difference. Choose a book that slightly challenges the present vocabulary of your child. Internet is a good source of some nice stories as well. The Apple story I chose for the class can be found here : http://www.thevirtualvine.com/thelittleredhouse.html