The importance of preschool stories
Stories play an important role in every young child’s life. Stories are full of adventure and wonderment. Little boys want to be super heroes and little girls want to be princesses and stepping into these magical settings is exciting. For the parents and teachers, stories are an essential and effective learning tool. Teachers read stories every day at school as the stories that we read, teach children about the world around them and of course sets them on the right path to learning to read. As parent with a toddler you may already be reading with your child everyday. This is great preparation for when he or she starts school. There are many wonderful preschool stories to be found on the web and often they can be printed off and read away from the computer screen.
Printable preschool stories are ideal for use at home and within the classroom. As the pages of the story are printed out and can be printed out over and over again, young children, and indeed the parent or teacher, can scribble on the pages to their hearts content. Read the story out loud, then discuss it, before asking your child or children to draw a picture of their favourite part of the story. You could also do a project related to the story. For example if the story is about butterflies, cut out butterflies using thick paper or card and ask the children to individualize their butterflies using glitter glue sticks, sequins or stickers.
Become a storyteller
Like all good preschool stories, they improve with each re-reading, so don’t be worried if you are reading a particular story many times over. Children learn through repitition and if a child loves a particular story they will learn from that story as are listening to the narrative more intently. And of course, you will start to know certain stories very well too. So much so, that you could probably tell the story without having to read it word by word from the printed sheet or book. Reading a story is not the same as telling a story so why not try to become a storyteller. When we read a story, the child is looking at and examining the illustrations. When we are telling a story, the child is looking at you and is therefore part of the performance and is therefore more engaged in what you are saying. The more creative you are, the better your child will learn. So follow these simple steps – search for preschool stories online, print them out, read them to your child, several times over, place the printed preschool stories to one side, using them for reference if need be, become the storyteller, telling the stories to your child, and watch as your child’s eyes light up and the brain engages.