A big part of what we do at CREW Schools is to tell stories, not just within our storytelling workshops, but in everything we do. Whether its History, Science or Drama Explore, whatever the subject, the stories that we tell within each drama workshop allow us to put children at the heart of the action to bring the curriculum to life.
As May is National Share-a-Story month (NSSM), one of a number of initiatives from the Federation of Children’s Book Groups (FCBG), CREW HQ would like to share a few of the stories that engaged us as children:
Ros chose James and The Giant Peach by Roald Dahl. A fantastic adventure about James, a boy living with his cruel aunts, a magical giant peach and the wonderful characters he meets on his journey. A story packed with the wonderful language that Dahl’s stories are known for.
Jill opted for The Famous Five Stories by Enid Blyton, a series of books featuring five children and their adventures in the school holidays, foiling criminals amidst picnics, cycling and outdoor pursuits in the countryside.
Charlotte remembered The Alfie and Annie Rose books. The stories feature Alfie and his little sister Annie Rose, and take you into their charming world and family life. Beautifully written and illustrated by the wonderful Shirley Hughes.
John remembered Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome. Another classic that focuses on a group of children and their exciting adventures in the outdoors.
Ria chose The Magic Porridge Pot, a folk/fairytale about a girl and her magic pot that produces porridge whenever she tells it to, but ultimately fills the streets of their town with porridge when her mother doesn’t command it to stop.
These are just a handful of stories that have delighted us and there continues to be many more fabulous stories created and reinterpreted for us to discover. We live in a world of shared stories, from the news of whats happening around the globe to the stories created in the playground, from art galleries to museums, from your child’s own creation of a bedtime tale to the stories, true and fictional that we create in our drama workshops in order to engage and inspire children’s learning. Stories have the power to ignite our imagination and engage all our senses (and help us drift off to sleep at night time as well as keep us wide awake!)
Enjoy the rest of National Share-a-Story Month. We’d love to hear your stories, so let us know if you have a story to share…
CREW