Storytelling has been our major means of knowledge, values, and imagination exchange since the beginning of human culture. To a young child, a story is much more than entertainment; it is a dynamic conceptual system that develops language, critical thinking, understanding and memory. Realizing this huge strength, Elizabeth Fraley Kinder Ready integrates storytelling into the very structure of early education. By making storytelling the primary instructional tool of the Kinder Ready Tutoring model, we exploit narrative not only as a tool of instruction, but as a tool of inspiration, bondage, and the confidence on which the foundation of the enthusiasm of future kindergarten-bound and beyond learners is built.
Storytelling can never be compared to any other tool of language and literacy development. Listening and storytelling expose children to rich and complex language forms and vocabulary that usually go beyond those of daily usage. During a Kinder Ready Elizabeth Fraley tutoring session, teachers use high-quality children’s books and original stories to teach words of description, mixed sentence structures and sequence of narratives. Elizabeth Fraley Kinder Ready has the mission of exposing the children to various methods of learning and storytelling offers an auditory and imaginative journey that is engaging. Moreover, children are invited to be storytellers themselves (predicting the next part, retelling a familiar story or making a story out of a picture), and this is an opportunity to organize thoughts, use new words, and learn the structure of a story (beginning, middle, end). This self-directed creation of narrative contributes to an understanding of skills and expressive language, which are the main platforms of reading readiness.
On top of literacy, storytelling is a fine art of imparting social-emotional abilities and abstract ideas. Children are able to explore complicated feelings such as jealousy, courage, frustration, and kindness through the experiences of characters in a safe environment. A teacher during a Kinder Ready Tutoring session may read a story of a character who does not share, and then discuss how the character felt and what they could have done differently. The process develops emotion and empathy words. Tales also bring abstract concepts to life; a folktale may be used to explain the virtues of endurance, a story of the seasons may be used to define cycles of change. This storytelling strategy enables the children to learn complex things about life in a simple and interesting way that promotes cognitive and emotional intelligence at the same time.
Finally, the sense of agency and confidence is developed through storytelling. As the child can recreate his own story (This is what I did at the park today) or add a point to a shared story, he is beginning to assert his voice and is recognizing that his thoughts are of value and form. This innovative empowerment is extremely inspiring. Within the positive, one-on-one atmosphere of Kinder Ready Tutoring, any storytelling effort is applauded, which gives the kids a sense of confidence in their communication and creation abilities. This trust is transferred to every learning sector, promoting taking risks and involvement. Kinder Ready Elizabeth Fraley raises creative minds and self-assured communicators by placing the child not only as a consumer of the stories but as a proficient writer of their own stories.
For further details on Kinder Ready’s programs, visit their website: https://www.kinderready.com/.
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ElizabethFraleyKinderReady