When it is time to go to bed it is also story time for your kids. It is also the time to inscribe good words and ideas that ultimately lead to images and its meanings that help them in the process of learning.
From the age of eighteen months a baby begins to lend an ear to words and tries to give meaning to these words in their proper form. Though the listening to words of command and obeying instructions from mama begin much earlier than this age of suckling and nursing but that all remains a matter of habit till such time the baby attempts at finding their meanings in different situations. It is from this stage that the child begins application of these words learnt in unplanned manner during interaction with his parents and siblings.
The age at which a child shows these signs of aping his parents and attempting at the use of words the parents should begin exercise in simple communication with him and come up with properly structured training programme in the art of listening and comprehension. There are methods and techniques of dealing with children showing egresses to learn and explore the world opening to them as they grow up.
To begin with, storytelling is the first stage to establish communication with their kids. These stories should be in the language that the parents wish their child to learn. These stories should be told in simple words that create images and then bring them into being. There should be a little bit of fantasy and a little bit of realism to go together. The proper mix of the two elements is essential to develop interest and keep the attention of the child focused on the theme of the story.
At the same time such stories when they begin to unfold the mysteries woven through the use of words, characters and events they create inquisitiveness in the child. At times children try to tell the following events after connecting then with the preceding events or try to put question - what next?
Care should be taken that a story is not loaded with unexplained sequences of events and the characters converting themselves into super human being. Children, in general, hate to follow sequence of unanswered questions and tend to lose concentration. In the process they leave their pursuits and abandon the story and doze into sleep.
Usually it is the mother who is preferred by a child, male or female, as a storyteller. She, along with words, passes on her warmth of affection and concern to her child and gives an impression that her love is the purest and her words are the truest expression of her feelings. Not only this but the story she tells appears to her child as true and the events as natural consequences of good or bad deeds of the characters that have provided material to the story.
It is advisable to tell small stories in simple words. These stories should contain a message. There should be room to think and pause to understand events that occur in the story. Many word in English are insensitive as far as their vocal effects are concerned. Good stories for children are those, which have words that are small and musical in pronunciation. All words should be more than symbols and images. They should convey ideas, values and a will to learn more. The element of exploration and investigation into events is another good attribute of a story written for children.
Parents should be selective about books. There are many books that have been converted into films. Try to get hold of books that have movies based upon the contents of the chosen book.
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