Monday 25 July 2011

C.J. The Library Cat

It's that time of year again when the Summer Clubs are running. I've been to Redwood School who are providing the venue for the Summer Club for PMLD (Profound Multiple Learning Difficulties) children in Rochdale.
This is, I think, the third year I've been able to take along my Bag Books selection http://www.bagbooks.org/
They are incredible multi sensory stories specially designed for PMLD children. I like to think I'm getting really experienced storytelling with them now.
Today it was C.J. The Library Cat, there were about a dozen children and the same number of carers. I saw a smile on everyones face today, so I consider that a job well done. The biggest smiles came from the part of the story where the snow is covering C.J. At that point each child is draped with a net curtain with mini "snowballs" sewn to it. Second best result today was the reaction to the squeaky toys, where C.J. hides in the children's library.
I always feel I've really achieved something when I see the children enjoying the story so much.

Friday 8 July 2011

Storytelling Works - Official!

I've reproduced an article from "The Bookseller" that makes me sure my work is valuable as well as providing a happy, feel good time.
Here it is

20.06.11 The Bookseller Caroline Horn
New research by the Institute for Social & Economic Research has revealed daily storytime sessions with pre-school children significantly improves their cognitive skills and reduces their socioemotional difficulties by the age of five.
The research studied 15,000 children at ages three and five and analysed the impact that the home environment had on their development at this stage. Researcher Yvonne Kelly said: “We wanted to see what elements of home learning and the macro climate at home help to explain the gap between the development of the poorest children and the richest children.”
Researchers gathered data on a range of issues in the home environment, from how noisy and tidy it was to the carer’s teaching and disciplining strategies. When all the data was analysed, Kelly said: “We found that the strongest projector of childhood development, including their socioemotional development and cognitive skills, was reading to children on a daily basis. It is one of the strongest predictors of these outcomes, even when everything else is taken into consideration.”
The report suggested: “If half or all of the 5-year-old children who were read to less than daily were instead read to on a daily basis there would be corresponding 10% and 20% reductions in the proportion of 5 year olds with socioemotional difficulties.”
Kelly added: “There is something about the strongly transactional element of storytelling that makes it important; adult and child snuggle up close, think about the pictures together and what might happen next. It also provides one-on-one, intimate time between carer and child.”