Kate Shelley 00:12 --> 00:14 Hello, welcome back to session two. Today you are going to start using our resources. So get ready for creative, fun storytelling and just wait to be astounded by the difference you'll see in your children. Last session we talked about how important it is to develop quality interactions with children. In early years Tales Toolkit has quality interactions at the core of everything we develop. So throughout today's training, keep in mind those top tips. Let the child lead, tune in, careful use of language, careful use of questioning. By the end of today's training, I want you to understand how to tell a simple story and how Tales Toolkit developed skills. 00:56 --> 02:08 Part one, how to tell a simple story. Today we're going to be showing you the first of the Tales Toolkit resources, and there's lots more to come, but using our Tales Toolkit, big kit is the first step to set children up as creative storytellers. The big kit comes with four large bags with Velcro seals, so they're safe for even the youngest children to use. And these come with an outer bag so that you can hang the whole lot up in the cupboard so your special bits don't go walkabout. The four Velcro bags are labeled with the symbols - Character, Setting, Problem, Solution. These symbols are key. They're on all of our resources and are really clear, so very young children, those with little language and not yet reading are able to recognise them. Children are encouraged to pull different items from the bags and together you create stories and bring them to life, adding action, voices and sounds. Tales Toolkit symbols shown while saying the words, character, setting, problem, solution are quickly learnt by children working at different levels. This repetition of words, symbols, and story strengthen those neural pathways in the brain and they become really easy to remember pegs for the children to hang stories on. Dr Julian Grenier 02:20 --> 02:38 So what Tales Toolkit offers is a framework for supporting children's first steps in making up stories, imaginative play, putting ideas together and into sequences. And that sort of framework can be hugely helpful to children. Kate Shelley 02:38 --> 03:12 This is a powerful tool giving the children freedom to create stories with familiar items. Introduce the bags to the children. So today we are not gonna tell a story using a book. What we gonna use? Storytelling. We are gonna do storytelling with the bags, with our Tales Toolkit bags. Don't worry too much about the children remembering the names of the bags, the symbols and the story structure. This will develop over time as the children become familiar with how the bags are used. Encourage the children to say the names of the bags with you and they'll quickly pick this up. Teacher in classroom with children 03:12 → 03:13 Should we do it together? Character, Setting, Problem, Solution. Kate Shelley 03:20 --> 03:23 Start with the character bag. Character. Teacher and children 03:23 --> 00:03:25.005 Character. Is this our character bag? Yeah. Kate Shelley 03:26 --> 04:00 Choose one of the children to pull a character from the bag and at the start you take control of the props, especially in larger groups, as it's key you bring the stories to life, make the character talk, move, dance, modeling this before the children have a go. Encourage the children to tell you about the character. Remember though, careful use of questioning. Hmm, I wonder who this is. I'd like to know their name. You might want to use story language here. Keep stories simple. Just chat about one or two things that the character likes to do. 04:00.835 --> 00:04:02.445 Next, introduce the setting. Shall we look in the setting bag to see where our character is going today? Teacher and Children in classroom 04:07 --> 04:21 Adam said it's a very sparkly place. Where could it be? It could be in the garden. This one is on (lots of children talking at the same time, inaudible). The Glitter shop. Kate Shelley 04:21 --> 04:32 And model your thinking. Ooh, the material is green, I'm trying to think of a place that's green. And you might need to give them support if they find it tricky. Then talk about what the character will do here. Teacher and Children in classroom 04:32 --> 04:38 Sarah and a teddy bear went to the glitter shop and what do you think she did at the glitter shop? Kate Shelley 04:38 --> 04:49 The setting fabric is spread out in the center of the group and you can use the fabric like a parachute to bounce the character or make waves for the sea. And the characters having a great time enjoying themselves when, oh no a problem. Children love this phrase, so make a big deal outta this. Children and teacher in classroom 04:59 --> 05:03 dun dun dun. A problem. Kate Shelley 05:03 --> 05:43 Encourage the children to tell you why the prop is a problem. Hmm. I'm trying to think why this is a problem and have lots of fun acting it out together. Ask the children if they have any suggestions of how to solve the problem. How can we help? And always have a go at solving the problem together before using the solution bag. And when you come across obstacles and nothing seems to work, let's look in the solution bag to see if there's anything to help. Hmm, I wonder how this will help. How will it help to solve the problem? And when you come to the end of the story and the problem is solved, finish with "They lived happily ever after." 05:43 --> 05:57 Now it's your turn to have a go at telling a Tales Toolkit story. We've created a sheet with the kind of comments and questions that you can ask, and your facilitator has some kits with props inside. You have seven minutes. 05:57-12:57 - 7 minutes for telling a Tales Toolkit story in groups 12:57-13:18 - Alarm sounds to mark the end of the 7 minutes Kate SHelley 13:18 --> 13:21 Is there anyone brave enough to share their story? 13:21-15:21 2 minutes to share stories 15:21-1531 Alarm sounds to mark the end of story sharing Kate Shelley 15:32 --> 16:20 You are all ready to tell a Tales Toolkit story with your children. Now let us think about the kind of things we can put inside the bags. Some teachers only add one item to each bag when they first tell stories so they know exactly what is coming out. Other teachers add three or four items to each bag so the children can put their hands in and feel different textures before pulling a prop out. If you add three or four items to the bags, you can tell lots of stories without having to change the resources inside. To begin, we recommend you use obvious props, things you can easily tell a story with, without stretching your imagination. As the children become used to the structure, add items that will extend their thinking. So why is a baby a problem? or a fairy? 16:20 --> 17:12 The bag that children find most difficult is the setting bag. At first, we recommend you use fabric which can be touched, moved, used like a parachute, stretch to cover the floor to give you room to act out your story. Use simple colors to start, that depict obvious settings. So blue for the seaside, river or an ice palace. Green for the forest or mountain. Keep tricky fabrics such as red or purple, and complicated patterns for when children are familiar with the story structure. You can also use large sheets of colored and patterned paper and wallpaper samples. At the start children's stories are repetitive and the same storylines will emerge time and time again. It's important to continue to let the children lead the stories. 17:12 --> 17:43 In one school, the problem was always biting. Monsters, cats, monkeys, always biting. You are the facilitator, so challenge the thinking with the objects that you provide. Add something that doesn't bite, a magic wand or a feather. Once children are familiar with the structure, then add open-ended, imagination provoking items and absolutely anything can be used and we really mean anything. Teacher and Children in classroom 17:43 --> 17:50 Hello, this Howie says hello. It's Howie Shakes hands. Hello. Kate Shelley 17:50 --> 18:16 Put things in the kit that link to their interests. Favorite characters like Spider-Man, Elsa or Lightning McQueen, their favorite toys and even a picture of themselves or their teacher, whatever, will hold their interest and raise the levels of engagement and make links with the cultures of your children's families. So different cooking items and fabrics and things that the children will see at home. Teacher - Ceri Noller 18:16 --> 18:18 If they are interested in Minecraft or Angry Birds, like Jacob for example, he'll bring it into his stories, but then he'll extend it to something that he hasn't seen or hasn't experienced. And he's realising that that those things that are really familiar and favored to him can actually be extended. Kate Shelley 18:32 --> 18:56 In your groups. I want you to think about the different resources that you can include in your Tales Toolkit bags. What are your children interested in? What will engage them? What kind of objects do they see at home? And think about the cultures for the families you work with. And note down the kind of things that you are gonna put in your Tales Toolkit bags. And we have a sheet for you to make those notes on. 18:56-21:56 - 3 Minutes to discuss items you could put in your Tales Toolkit bags 21:56-22:06 Alarm sounds to mark the end of discussion in groups 22:06-24:06 2 minutes to Share ideas 24:06 - 24:12 Alarm sounds to mark the end of ideas sharing session Kate Shelley 24:13 --> 24:16 So we've talked about how to use Tales Toolkit to tell a simple story. In part two, we'll discuss how Tales Toolkit develops skills. Before we go any further, I want to introduce you to the Tales Toolkit principles that will help you to provide quality interactions using our resources. These will be used right across our training and you'll become really familiar with them. And the principles are safe, space, childled, and fun. The first principle is Safe space. And the two things to think about are, value all answers and take away the pressure. So value all answers when using Tales Toolkit, value whatever the child gives, let them explore their ideas. No idea or suggestion is wrong. Teacher and Children in classroom 25:04 --> 25:20 What do you think Sarah? The teddy bear likes to do? Running. Running. Oh, should we get our legs ready? Sit on your bottoms, get your legs ready. Oh, you ready? I love to run. Kate Shelley 25:20 --> 26:02 This is particularly important for the children we spoke about in session one, who hear mainly discouragement at home. Initially they lack confidence, but as they see all answers are valued, their confidence will grow and involvement will increase and take away the pressure. Let your children engage with Tales toolkit at their own pace and observe for as long as they need to. Often children join in with actions and sounds and build up to offering an idea. This is okay. It's really important. Tales Toolkit is a safe space where the pressure of having to interact is removed. And as children grow in confidence, you'll be amazed at the ideas that emerge. 26:02 --> 26:17 The next principle is Child-led. The key elements here are step back and add thinking. So step back. The stories are created by the children. Your role is facilitator, Teacher and children in a classroom 26:17 --> 26:22 But Ibrahim, what have you made? A crane. A crane. A crane. Kate Shelley 26:22 --> 26:53 Don't expect your children to be imaginative storytellers overnight. It's really important you give and over again, then they may revisit themes in their Tales Toolkit stories. There's gonna be small steps that happen over time and add thinking. Your role is to run with the children's ideas. Encourage them to deepen their thinking and provoke curiosity through the resources you add and the language you use. Teacher and children in classroom 26:53 --> 26:56 Leon, have ladybirds got big or small voices. Big, big, big. Do you think Gaston's got a big voice? Yeah. Okay. Well, the Lady Bird in the story we've read has got a really little voice, but this one's got big wings. So do you think she might have a big voice too? Yes. Are you ready? Could you help her to join in to say shooo to the cow? Kate Shelley 27:13 --> 27:59 And this links with the three A's we discussed last session. Allow, Adapt, Add. Allow the children to take the lead in their stories. Adapt the resources to fit their interests, Topics you're covering and challenge ideas and Add language to extend and get the children thinking, Hmm, I wonder how, ooh, what if? And the last principle and my favorite is fun. The key elements here are allow silly ideas and get involved. So allow or even encourage silly ideas. If the child decides the character's name is poo poo head, then go with it. You know your children and are the best judge of when they need pulling back in and how much you can be silly with them. Sandra Matthews Teacher 27:59 --> 28:21 No right or wrong way of telling a story. It's the more fun you make it, the more spontaneous you make it. the more silly even, the nonsensical side of the storytelling, that's what makes it unique. Kate SHelley 28:21 --> 28:47 And get involved in their ideas. Be active. Use silly voices, model and join in with actions. In one story, the solution was being flushed down the toilet and we had lots of fun making whooshing noises and spinning around together pretending to be flushed away. Tales Toolkit, developed quality interactions with the children, leading to improvements in language, creativity, and social skills. 28:47 --> 29:28 We are going to explore now how the three principles of a safe space, letting the child lead and fun, fit with this. So using Tales Toolkit to develop language, let's start with safe space. Take away the pressure to join in. Children are at different stages and they don't have to use words to communicate. They can listen, watch and join in with actions and gesture, and build up to using sounds and words. Make sure you provide lots of opportunities for action, song and sound, so that all children at different levels can join in. Let the child lead. 29:28 --> 29:35 Using Tales Toolkit, children can tell stories with very low levels of language. Children in classroom 29:35 --> 29:43 I saw, I saw, Raaaa. Oh, a dinosaur, feels like a dinosaur. Yeah, it does. 313 29:43 --> 29:52 Enter into their stories and you can add vocab slowly over time strengthening and firing up those brain pathways. Teacher and children in classroom 29:52.785 --> 30:12 Wet green grass. Oscar. Sloppy. Sloppy. I like that one. That story sounds amazing. So Gaston the ladybird, looking for a fence, in the wet, sloppy, green grass. Kate Shelley 30:12 --> 30:21 Using Tales Toolkit with a little scaffolding, children with very low language and understanding can tell a basic story. Teacher and children in classroom 30:21 --> 30:34 In the snow. The snow. Okay. Problem. Problem. Wow. It's a dragon. A dragon. Oh no. Kate Shelley 30:34 --> 30:46 When you follow the child's lead and interest, then you really up the levels of engagement and hit all three points at the roots of the communication tree using Tales Toolkit. 30:46 --> 31:10 And fun, have fun with language and sounds. Use silly noises and sound effects and use your voice to add to the story. So a grumpy voice or an accent or a pirate. Teacher and children in classroom 31:11 --> 31:17 Hey, hello everybody. My name is Pepper Pig. Kate Shelley 31:17.245 --> 31:25 Now it's your turn. Can you turn to the person next to you and tell them what you had for breakfast in the voice of a monster. 31:25-31:45 - 20 seconds to turn to partner 31:45-31:51 - Alarm sounds to mark the end of the 20 seconds Kate Shelley 31:51 --> 31:59 Use Only voice sounds and actions to model to the person next to you what you might do at the beach or the park. 31:59-32:19 20 seconds for the exercise 32:19-32:26 Alarm sounds to mark the end of the exercise Kate Shelley 32:27 --> 33:17 Using Tales Toolkit, you'll see an improvement in the children's language development. This was the first story from a nursery boy - is the Dragon. And after just a few weeks of using Tales toolkit, this was the story that he told - once upon a time, there crocodile in a sparkly house. The problem was bear, the bear sad crocodile, the bear share glasses and share friends. Tales Toolkit also develops creativity. So let's start with safe space. When there are no wrong answers and children are free to explore their own story ideas, they will increasingly come up with imaginative, unusual, and seemingly random ideas which they know will be taken seriously. Teacher and children in classroom 33:17 --> 33:36 It's the grass. It's beautiful colored grass, isn't it? Isn't it nonsense land? It could be nonsense land. Yeah. What do you think? Nonsense Land. It could be a farm. A farm in nonsense land. Yeah. And this is the nonsense grass. Kate SHelley 33:36 --> 34:47 For a child who has little language they may move the character around to show you what they want to happen. Pay careful attention to their body language and gesture and take on the ideas they suggest. A willingness to share and test ideas is the first step to being creative. Testing and adapting ideas which features in the characteristics of effective learning also helps to build resilience. And child led. The Torrance test we mentioned in session one involves coming up with lots of different uses for an everyday item. So for example, what could this brick be? It could be a door stop or a paperweight, blocK a mouse hole, heat it up and use it as a bed warmer or a nutcracker. Using Tales Toolkit, you'll support the children in creating different ways to use everyday items. So how was a whisk a character or crinkly foil a problem Through this initial support, you set the children up to be far more imaginative when they create stories. And using Tales Toolkit, they can tell stories with anything anywhere. Teacher and Children in playground 34:48 --> 34:58 Mr. Squash is getting potatoes falling down on his head. Oh, how can I help you? A potato Kate Shelley 34:58 --> 35:35 And fun. Your role as facilitator is to take those random, creative ideas that the children give you and bring them to life through story. When a child suggests a stone is a puppy or relief a rocket, then you need to use all of your acting skills to bring this to life and help the child enter the world of story. Use silly voices, make the props, move, dance, jump and get the children involved using movement. Use song, to up the levels of engagement and provide opportunities for learning. John Webb 35:35 --> 36:05 Music's really great for storytelling just generally and Tales Toolkit is such a nice structure, such an easy structure to use, it fits really, really well. Use rhythm and to use voice and spoken words and make it characterful. If you are gonna do singing, if you're confident doing singing, using tunes you already know. So wheels on the bus, for instance, might be good or row, row, row your boats. What shall we do with the sleepy animals? What shall we do with the sleepy animals? What shall we do with the sleepy animals? Early in the morning, Kate Shelley 36:05 --> 36:29 Songs are often repetitive and this supports the children in your group with low levels of language. When it comes to songs, be creative. If you don't feel comfortable singing it, then just say it. And you can make this more interesting by using body percussion to tap or clap along, finding rhythm in your words. And repeat lines so children can join in. Teacher and children in classroom 36:29 --> 36:32 Whizzle, whizzle bump, bump, whizzle, whizzle, bump, bump.. Kate Shelley 36:33 --> 36:45 Now it's your turn. So take a familiar tune and make up your own song about a pig who likes to oink. And make sure you add body percussion and voice sounds 36:45-38:45 2 minutes to make up a song Kate Shelley and children in a classroom 38:44 --> 38:58 Happy and you know it give an oink. If you're happy and you know it give an oink. If you're happy and you know it and you really wanna show it, if you're happy and you know it give an oink. Kate Shelley 38:58 --> 40:56 Using these three principles, the children's stories will become increasingly creative. Tales Toolkit to develop social skills. Let's start with safe space stories. Bring emotions to life and help children to understand their own feelings and those of others. The first stage of developing empathy in young children is to help them recognize emotions. Tales Toolkit is a safe context in which to allow and explore feelings. And when using Tales Toolkit, take every opportunity to draw attention to the feelings in the stories. Talk about the character's feelings. The fox seemed very angry. Use facial expressions. Say the feeling word and act out the feeling with props. All of these combined will help children to develop a feeling vocabulary. And over time you'll start to see more emotions explored in the children's stories. And Child Led. When children have told a story from the character's perspective, try swapping the character and the problem round. The child still takes a lead in the storytelling, but this encourages them to tell the story from another angle and it can lead to very interesting discussions. So what would happen if the big bad wolf is the character and Red Riding Hood is the problem? Was the wolf really bad or was he just hungry? It certainly stimulates thinking. And fun, when you are acting silly and having fun and really showing your sense of humor, often the children are more relaxed, engaged, and you'll see them at their most confident. Teachers have commented on the difference made to children's confidence through using Tales toolkit. And this is often because they really want to join in, have their ideas taken on. Teacher Sharon Anderson 40:56 --> 41:17 In, um, my group, I've got quite a few children who are very shy, particularly girls. Um, and this gave them the confidence to speak more, um, but also to express. I found after a little while with Tales Toolkit, they were expressing their ideas and their feelings and their thoughts, uh, a lot more as well, not just their stories and their imagination. Kate SHelley 41:17 --> 41:39 Allowing every scenario and all feelings, means children can explore serious issues and real life problems in safe and fun ways. Using Tales Toolkit, children start to look at story from another's perspective and you'll see less violence and more pro-social elements in your children's stories. 492 41:39.545 --> 41:56 Before you start using Tales Toolkit, get together as a group and think about how you are gonna deal with violence. Different schools have different views on this, so it's best you make the decision and it's very easy to appear disapproving, but think carefully. Dr Alice Jones Bertoli 41:56 --> 00:42:47 We find it quite a loaded thing to deal with because we have a lot of associations around violence. We know it makes people feel sad. We know it hurts people. We know that the damage it can inflict, preschoolers kind of don't. Um, and so it's, it's a useful part of their everyday repertoire. Now our job, I think is to, um, show them that there are alternatives and that's, that's great. So we, we accept what they're doing and say, alright, so clearly you know, you, you weren't happy with that situation or you know, your friend didn't want you to do that., that's why they pushed you away. What else could we do? How else could we tell them that we're not happy with what's happening? So we can use it, I think and accept it and don't necessarily, we don't need to run in and judge, but we can accept it and then use it as a basis to explore different alternatives. Kate SHelley 42:48 --> 43:35 Children are like sponges and you'll be surprised at how much they pick up from the things that happen around them. There's lots they'lll here from background TV and discussions. Story and role play are one of the ways that children make sense of the world they live in. When your children are confident using Tales Toolkit and know their ideas are valued, you may want to discuss the impact of their suggestions. One class told a story in which they solved the problem of a biting bear by killing it. Another child said, but his mom will be really sad. And this led to a discussion where we talked about alternative solutions we might try in the future. This wouldn't have been anywhere near as powerful if first the children hadn't experienced killing the bear. 43:35 --> 44:05 Think about what you will do if the solution each time is kill him. It can be really confusing for a child if it's okay to kill the problem crocodile, but not the problem fairy. Or it's all right to put the spider in the bin and throw 'em away but when you suggest the same for a baby, then that's a big problem. So in your groups, have a think about how you are gonna deal with violence when it comes up in stories. We've created a sheet for you to make some notes, but you don't have to write anything down. 44:05-48:05 - 4 minutes to think and write down if you wish 48:05-48:15 - alarm sounds to mark the end of the 4 minutes Kate SHelley 48:15 --> 00:48:17.565 So you are all set up ready to tell Tales Toolkit stories. Remember those three key principles. Create a safe space where suggestions are valued. Let the child lead and have lots of fun. We recommend over the next month you use Tales Toolkit Big bags at least once a week with all the children so they become familiar with the structure. This should fit easily into your story time or group sessions. Using Tales Toolkit, you'll see improvements in the children's language, creativity, and social skills. The storytelling you provide now is setting your children up to be curious, creative adults with good communication skills and the best bit, because it's led by the children, there's virtually no planning.You just pick up the bags and go, and who knows where your stories will lead.