Who stole storytime?
I probably shouldn’t say this out loud, but this blog title sounds very much like the title for a wonderful children’s book! Mmmm, perhaps I’ll get thinking about that later…in the meantime, what has happened to good old-fashioned story times?
Why are stories so important?
Across my career as an Early Years teacher and then as an adviser, but also as a parent, an aunt, cousin, friend – whoever I might be at any particular moment…one of my very favourite things to do is to read stories to children. I love the excitement, the engagement, the joy, the exploring of emotions that are offered to us all through this medium. The words in stories can enable us to explore and experience events that we couldn’t ever imagine being part of our lives for a moment. Then there are the illustrations, presenting us with support for our imagination as well as providing opportunities to delve into the storyline even further, or for us to quietly absorb, with our own unique interpretation.
I adore how we can become lost in a story which is one of the reasons it is recommended as a strategy to positively bolster our own mental health as adults. When reading to children, it’s charming to watch their faces as, when they’re completely engrossed, each face is a reflection of the words you are reading… as a pig senses fear when the Big Bad Wolf approaches their home, or as the Giant is forlorn when he realises he has none of his lovely new clothes left because he’s given them away. At these moments, as I read, I have my own sense of satisfaction that I am doing something important. When the children’s faces mirror these emotions all of which, of course, are followed by the elation of the wonderful, happy resolution when the foe is vanquished, made to see the error of their ways or in the case of the Giant, the joy when he finds his old belongings! It is this emotional engagement in the stories that is so easy to see across the small faces before you. This is one of the things that makes reading to children such a great gift. For us and for them!
As educators, in whatever capacity, it is down to us to provide storytime experiences for the children we spend time with. It should be remembered that it is unwise for us to assume that all children are having these experiences when they are not in our care. Not all children are read to at home, for a variety of reasons, making our role as educators all the more vital in exposing children to the warm, shared experience of a high-quality story with the rich vocabulary it contains. We mustn’t leave this experience to chance. Time might be a factor in some children’s home lives, understanding of the importance of stories, health problems, language barriers or quite simply a matter of families not being able to afford books. As I said, the reasons are many and varied but whatever they are, we can mitigate these by providing high quality story sessions.
Research from the National Literacy Trust has identified that ‘1 in 8 of the nation’s most disadvantaged children say they don’t have a book of their own at home’. https://literacytrust.org.uk/news/1-8-disadvantaged-children-uk-dont-own-single-book/
But then comes the squeeze!
Recently, in the EYFS in schools and settings, we know that we are required to ensure our ‘curriculum’ is broad and balanced. Brilliant! I couldn’t agree more! All subject leaders in schools are now expected to be cognisant of exactly what their subject ‘looks like’ in the EYFS. Marvellous! At last, as a unique key stage, we are becoming a cohesive part of the children’s future learning. This is like never before, certainly not during my time as an EYFS teacher!
However, with all of this change and development there undoubtedly comes a casualty and unfortunately, this too often seems to be the mightily important, if not vital component that supports each and every element of the curriculum and more…storytime. And not just story time, but the sharing of books at anytime in fact, morning, noon and home/bed time.
Some recent research from Harper Collins has demonstrated that engaging primary-aged children in daily storytimes can increase their reading age by 13 months. What an incredible difference we can make with such a simple, enjoyable activity.
As our days are increasingly squashed with the need to cover elements from this scheme or that, storytimes in schools and settings are often the element of a daily routine that seems to be forgotten. I think that is so sad. The one thing that was precious during my time as a teacher, was the wonderful story at the end of the day. The calm warmth of a shared time of togetherness before we all go our separate ways after a day crammed with shared playful experiences and learning.
At the End of the Day
In more recent times, we are likely to see an ‘end of day’ routine where the children are placed in front of a large screen with an animation playing. At best this might be based on a familiar story, but it will have a soporific (unashamed Beatrix Potter reference there!) effect on the group, freeing the adults to rush around gathering up errant home reading books, the odd wellie, letters for home…you know, the usual stuff. It’s an understandable tool (and of course one I have certainly used as a parent) but one that I think needs considering carefully. Is it the best way to end a day for small children in a school or setting?
And then the distractions…
Working as a consultant, the advice I often give to practitioners is that the value of this end of day storytime shouldn’t be eroded by children getting up when requested to gather coats, book bags, lunch boxes and then sit with them, clutching them tightly in never enough space, thus unable to properly focus on the wonderful story. Their focus shattered by the movements and other requirements on their attention such as whether somebody is sitting on their precious model or sticky birthday card for Grandad!
I’m really concerned that this problem seems to have moved in the wrong direction as far as I can see. The problem of children being required to do other things at story time seems to have been solved not by organising the gathering of possessions to after the story session to enable the quality of the storytime to be preserved, but by deleting the storytime event from the daily routine!
And then we must remember the disadvantaged children who are not being exposed to story books and reading in their home. If we overlook storytimes in schools and settings then we are disadvantaging these children further. We cannot allow that to happen.
Seeing things differently
Let me see if I can entice you to think again about the precious time that is being stolen with the pressure of ‘getting things done’. I always found that having a story or two at the end of the day made for a beautifully wholesome, calm finish to our busy day. Relaxing, children would participate in their own way, sometimes mesmerised, their faces moving with the ebb and flow of the tale as I described before. The re-reading of favourites, children joining in with the bits they know, the exuberant acknowledgement of familiarity with the text, familiarity, knowledge and ownership. Such powerful early literacy experiences!
Perhaps another way to look at this is to consider that whilst we’re thinking about the traditional end of the day story…this really isn’t the only time that stories can be read! Stories should be a significant part of every child’s early years experience. Ask yourself, how often do you read to children during their child-initiated learning time?
Hand on heart?
If you can say that you, or members of your team are reading to children regularly throughout the day, then you need to celebrate, that is such a great use of your interactional time with the children.
How often are you intertwining high quality stories with your other curriculum teaching?
Clearly, learning time with a science or maths focus will be well-supported with non-fiction books I’m sure, but have you explored how stories can support other areas of learning. This might be another strategy you could employ to filter more stories into your day.
Review your daily routine and look to see if there are other opportunities where stories could be fitted in as an addition to the end of the day. This may not be a daily addition, but ‘earmark’ certain times when if at all possible, a story (and I mean a real one read by an adult with a real book!) could be added.
The Marketing of Storytime
It might help if you promote the value and importance of stories with the children. I have seen some great strategies used to inspire children to engage with stories such as adding gems or tokens to a jar to celebrate each time a story is read. You can engender great excitement in the children as they see the jar filling with tokens! You could create a Top Ten story chart - and children can vote for their favourite stories. Make copies of the front covers of the books and laminate them for longevity if you like. The children could then place these on a numbered chart (or perhaps change the activity slightly and use a tens frame). Which books made it onto the Top Ten favourites and which didn’t. If not, why not? Ensure that this activity is available for the children to access independently during their independent learning time and this will ignite conversations with the children and adults around them.
All of this will help to increase the profile and importance of story times in your provision.
A genuine gift
Another fabulous idea is to create the choice of a book for reading at the end of the day as a self-registration activity as the children enter school in the morning. Display two (or three) books for the children to make a choice from. They could then put their name (or other small loose part) in a box or small basket or pot that has been placed in front of each book. The excitement will happen later as the votes are counted (see the bonus maths link through this activity?) and the chosen book is duly shared.
I saw this idea extended when the teacher wrapped one book as an enticingly packaged gift in brown paper and string. This became part of the vote. Would children be adventurous and choose the unknown book or would they prefer the sure safety of one they know? I know which I’d choose, do you?
See off that storytime thief!
So, if nothing else, take a moment to think about how you can preserve storytimes in your school, setting or home. If you are at home with your child or children, do the similar activities and ensure that storytimes are made precious. Don’t let them become ‘stolen’ by other pressures on your time. Storytimes are vital for so many reasons.
Things to ponder...
Review your daily routine to pinpoint where stories could potentially be shared. Discuss this if you have others in your team to ensure there is an alignment in your understanding. A shared belief that stories are important.
Think about how often stories are shared during children’s independent learning time. Consider increasing this if it is not readily happening.
Do you have books in all areas of your learning environment? If not, why not? Is this something you could consider adding to your areas? Don’t forget that if you have books in all areas, it is then vital that adults model their use.
Consider adding activities or processes that will excite children’s interaction with stories such as voting for stories to be read and maybe include one that is wrapped as a present!
Make copies of book covers for children to order in their preference. This can be offered in many ways including a board with 10 spaces, using Velcro to add the book covers. Alternatively, use a large tens frame for 10 favourite books to be added. The children could then discuss why some books didn’t make the ‘top ten’ list!
Remind yourselves that you might be the only opportunity the children in your care have to be engaged in storytimes…
If you would like training or support to improve your story provision, or help for the adults in your provision to become confident story readers, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch