The Children’s House Promoting reading through storytelling sessions |25 March 2022
After learning that parents and family members were recently invited to The Children’s House to read to the children, Seychelles NATION contacted the school to learn more about this special event.
Lucy Barois, head teacher of The Children’s House Montessori primary and preschool, explains in her interview below that it was to commemorate World Book Day that a whole school day was dedicated to book reading and storytelling.
Located at Bel Air, The Children’s House Montessori primary and preschool provides an authentic Montessori method of education, guided by the British curriculum, for children aged from 2 ½ to 10 years.
Seychelles NATION: What inspired the school to host a day dedicated to book reading and storytelling?
Lucy Barois: Each term teachers and assistants at The Children’s House Montessori School are required to activate community projects either within the whole school, the close community, national community or worldwide.
Exposure to and participating within these activities enhances the children’s awareness of their situation in the world today, and enables them to grapple with their ability to be constructive members of the society and empathetic community members. Many educational theorists support the view that children learn best within an engaging community and that social interactions form the basis of cognitive growth (Vygotsky, 1896-1934).
On the occasion of World Book Day, March 3, two members of our staff chose to organise a series of events, as is the school’s tradition, to make this internationally recognised event relevant to our students.
Speech development, reading and cognition are intertwined, something which is enhanced when children enjoy storytelling and book reading. Storytelling and reading books open up a whole new world to children, providing them with vocabulary, imagination, creativity, as well as experiences, and situations they may never get to experience. Books and stories help children to come to terms with social situations, develop empathy, and understand their own and other people’s cultures.
By dedicating a whole school day to books and stories indicates how our school community values and promotes reading and storytelling at an early age, setting up lifelong habits of reading and individual inquiry.
Seychelles NATION: Tell us about the different activities that were held at the school for World Book Day; what are the benefits of these for the children and their family members?
Lucy Barois: We started by inviting the students to bring characters alive from their favourite books, as they came into school dressed up as princesses, wizards, Zogg, Bob the Builder, Fireman Sam and much, much more. Children were encouraged to explain what they liked about their character and share the storyline.
Parents and family members were invited into the school to read to small groups of children, at various times throughout the week. Parent participation and involvement in school establishes important bridges between the learning at home and learning at school. It provides parents with an opportunity to be involved and understand more about their child’s experiences in school.
Children show how proud they are to have their parents in school, boosting their own self-worth and self-esteem. Inviting parents into the school also provides many important opportunities for cultural exchanges.
Parents are considered to be the child’s first educator and by sharing learning experiences with the school, the child’s growth and learning will be enhanced (Fitzgerald, 2004). By inviting parents into school, skills and professional abilities can be used to stimulate the children’s learning and development also.
Illustrator Peter Lalande visited our school on World Book Day, spending time with the various age groups, encouraging students to start writing stories of their own and providing them with concrete tools to enable them to do this. Making the use of talented parents provides a plethora of opportunities and is always very much appreciated.
During the final part of the morning, staff of The Children’s House re-enacted an all-time favourite story, ‘The Selfish Crocodile’ by Faustin Charles. Dramatizing the poignant story provided students with great surprise, relevance, plenty of joy and genuine mirth. When the little mouse helped the selfish crocodile, children were able to understand that we all have an important role in life, however small we may be.
Stories and books can be enjoyed in so many forms these days, but the magic of storytelling will live on forever so long as it is valued by the adults surrounding the child, especially at an early age.
Seychelles NATION: Would you like to share anything else with our readers?
Lucy Barois: Tips for storytelling for parents:
• Read for yourself in front of your child on a daily basis.
• Start as young as 6 months and it will form an important part of your daily routines.
• Hold your child as you read, nurturing peaceful times together.
• Read with expression and fun in your voice.
• Choose books which contain meaningful experiences to your child.
• Provide your child with a cosy ‘book’ corner, where it is easy for him/her to keep the books carefully in an orderly way.
• Let your child choose which book to read, they will love repetition.
• Provide opportunities for reading in many different contexts – recipes, instructions, directions, letters, post cards, ingredients, food packaging etc.
• Make your own books with your child; scrap books, diaries, journals, picture dictionaries.
• Keep reading to your child above 10 years of age, these create golden moments.
• Enjoy together, you are helping your child to become a lifelong reader.
(https://www.booktrust.org.uk/books-and-reading/tips-and-advice/reading-tips/)
Vidya Gappy
Photo sources: The Children’s House
