Empower Young Storytellers!

How do you empower young storytellers? One of the most overlooked skills is the gift of storytelling, something a child can practice before they can either write or draw!

Inspiration!

As we approach Halloween I have fond memories of sitting around our coal fire in the kitchen, in our wee house in Morningside. As a child my dad would love telling us Scottish myths. Legends and unexplained real life stories growing up in Scotland in the 1940’s and 50’s. By storytelling we not only share our cultural heritage of Scotland but inspire our children to develop their own imagination. Scotland has a rich heritage of stories about the Selkie, Kelpie, Bean-nighe, Baobhan Sith, the Brownie Elf folk to Goblins.

Having family members that have a rich imagination is wonderful for young growing minds! This Halloween while you duck for apples and dress up. And encourage your children to prepare a joke or a song as they visit family, friends and neighbours as ‘guisers’. Why not have a camp fire or halloween party with storytelling and give your kids the opportunity to create their own spooky story and be the storyteller for the night.

Some of my greatest childhood and adult memories are of camping trips sitting around the camp fire with the company of a great storyteller. Or sitting around the burning embers of a fire on Bonfires night telling stories as we toasted marshmallows.

Let their Imagination run wild!

Not all children are gifted readers or writers. Some are late starters to both. For those reluctant readers or writers if you have a child with great comedy timing, a wild imagination. Create memories and spaces for them to express their imagination.

Replace a bedtime story with an older child having the opportunity to create their own imaginative story they can share with their younger siblings. In this closed family space an unconfident speaker will not only build their public speaking skills but have an uninterrupted time and space to be heard. And can be the starting point to putting their stories and ideas to paper.

With all of the distractions of modern life this can be a great opportunity to let them lead and direct a conversation rather than the parent. Older siblings can love taking up the occasional mantle of bedtime story teller for a night!

Storytelling with Art!

Similarly we often dismiss the role of the Artist as a storyteller! Once you attend Art College you develop a greater appreciation of the power of storytelling in Art. When you visit the Louvre in France or the Sistine Chapel in Rome you understand the symbolism of Art. Art from landscapes to religious scenes to portraiture eliminate the barriers of language. It doesn’t matter if the artist or painter is English, Italian or French a picture tell’s a thousand words!

Similarly art is a great form of self expression for a child that is an unconfident speaker. It can become an alternative past time to explore imagination, depict experiences and tell stories. Sometimes handing a quiet child a pencil and paper can be a great form of self expression and communication.

The Writer & Storyteller!

Throughout my work as an Artist and self published author I always look for ways to encourage children. During Covid I created a dog book ‘I Love My Dog’. I invited my then followers on twitter who had a dog to submit photographs of their dogs to be included in the book. The response was overwhelming from a dog owner in Canada, another from Jekyl Island in the U.S.A to South America. The main character in the book was a service dog from the Netherlands.

This was a great opportunity to give my young niece the opportunity to explore writing. Where I included a poem she wrote about her Aunt’s dog. At 8 years old this gave her a little encouragement to write and have her poem published in paperback.

Likewise my book ‘The Jungle Gym’ was inspired by my husband who is a great storyteller. When my nephews were toddlers he would take them a walk with his two Westies. And he would take them to the local park and woodland where he told them a story of an imaginary place called the ‘Jungle Burn’ and a collection of wild jungle animals. To this day my nephews in their late 20’s laugh and smile at those memorable afternoons and the magical phrase they had to chant!

Discover my book ‘The Jungle Gym’ inspired by my husband and the imaginary place he created called the Jungle Burn.