CLICK HERE: FOR PAGE 3 AND 4 “Life is short, but there is always time FAMILY TIME enough for courtesy.” RALPH WALDO EMERSON, POET FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2020 03 Finding the time to tell a bedtime story to a child has huge benefits – both for the child and the storyteller. It helps children relax, boosts their learning and improves bonding with parents... TAKE THE STORY IN AN UNEXPECTED DIRECTION iane Ferlatte has participated in sto- take rytelling festivals on five continents the story REMEMBER THE BASICS OF STORYTELLING and her 2006 album of Brer Rabbit in an unex- Dstories earned a Grammy nomina- pected direction. tion for Best Spoken Word Album for Children. Or just to make sure they’re paying f you’re making up a story, lennia and includes ‘The Tortoise and the She is, in short, a storyteller’s storyteller. Her attention. remember every story should Hare.’ Why? Because for kids, the protagonists advice? Use pitch, pacing and pausing to Sheir seconds Ferlatte’s advice. “When have a beginning, a middle and “aren’t really animals, they’re people”. They keep your child on the edge of their seat you’re making up a story, the voice is so I an end. Every story should have visualise the characters and identify with (or pillow). “Pauses are very important,” she important,” she said. “You can vary your a conflict and a resolution. Need help? them, and the nuanced morals — slow and said. “It lets that curiosity and suspense in.” rhythm, pitch, intonation, your pacing. You Consider the folk tale. steady wins the race, for example — are You can use strategic pauses to let your can <em>speeditup! </em>You can slow … On ‘Circle Round,’ the children’s things any kid can understand. child ponder what happens next, and then down … your … words. You can move your storytelling podcast from voice <em>up!</em> if someone is climbing Boston, host Rebecca Sheir a mountain, or move your voice down if they’re draws from folklore as climbing down,” she says. source material for enter- taining, audio-only stories for kids. “I’ve drawn from my admittedly limited ADD A SOUNDTRACK knowledge of Homer’s ‘Odyssey’ (which was origi- his last tip is helpful for if and when nally passed down orally) and you’re telling stories beyond bedtime the ‘Bible’ (David and Goliath — on a long car ride, for example, or works pretty well). This saves T to liven up bath time. The idea is to you the mental effort of coming use props or live musical accompaniment, up with an original story every just as professionals do at festivals or on night,” she says. recordings. Several experts recommended “Your child is becoming your John stories from ‘Aesop’s Fables,’ which Williams,” Sheir said, referring to the iconic has been delighting children for mil- composer of movie themes. Find an actual in- strument or just two sticks “and as you tell the story, your child scores it. Or you can let USE YOUR WHOLE BODY your child take the lead — if they speed up, you speed up the action. If they slow down, ne advantage of telling, rather you slow down, too.” You can also employ than reading, a story is that you techniques like exquisite corpse, in which don’t have to look at and hold a everyone takes a turn Ophysical book, which frees your advancing the story. Or use face and hands to gesture and make eye Rory’s Story Cubes, in contact. It’s the difference between some which you roll dice to guy reading a joke book and Chris Rock or determine where a story Ali Wong doing stand-up. As Ferlatte puts it, goes next. “If books could give us sound and move- In a time when physi- ment and voices and facial expression, ENCOURAGE AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION cal bookstores and that’d be wonderful. But they can’t.” libraries remain off-lim- Use your hands to show whether ne of the things with a story told is you can change it around,” its for many of us, story- something is huge or tiny, tap on nearby Isbell says. If your daughter wants the protagonist to be a telling is a way to intro- objects to imitate knocking on a door or mermaid instead of a snail, you can change that. A voy- duce new tales into our whoosh your hands when something Oage through the high seas can become a journey to Mars. daily life. It’s also a way happens quickly. This physicali- “You can change the sequence, you can change the characters, you can to bond with your child, to tap ty involves your children in the change the phrases. This nurtures that fluency of ideas that we want into her natural imag- ination while, story. As Isbell puts it, when we’re our children to develop.” perhaps, reawakening yours. telling a story to another person, As with singing a song, you can encourage call and response, or use “We’re dancing. rhymes to keep the child actively engaged. Ferlatte recommends We’re moving leaving out the end of a sentence and letting your child fill in the together.” blank. “When you’re telling stories, you want them to be involved in the telling,” Isbell advises. “We want them to be co-creators of the story,” she adds. Parent’s LET’S NOT HECKLE sometimes she doesn't get enough getting low marks but I appreciate Decoding Ayurveda for supplies needed. I always help her her that she could do better every OUR KIDS in her studies, experiments and time. I have never tried to make give enough time to my chil- her feel less valued due to her Children are very comfortable dren. I tell her lots of moti- grades. I respect the effort she Cornerr when they are not heckled all the vational stories. Sometimes is putting into her work to kids' nutritional needs time for the work they are she doesn’t score as per achieve something. We all doing. My daughter Maitreyi our expectations but her should try to do that. is my closest friend. She is mistakes are a proof to me DHIRAJ KUMAR SINGH, BRIGHTER creative and wants to be that she is try- father a part of every activi- ing, I never ANGLE OF ty held in her school. try to scold She has a craze for her for LOCKDOWN science experi- Lockdown is like medita- ments but tion; the process seems to be simple if followed without ex- cuses. For us, the routine begins at 5am with Suryanamaskarams fol- lowed by a glass of warm hon- ey water. As we move from MORALLY, YOURS dawn to morning, we slip It is our moral responsibility to into our daily chores. As a bring up our children as civilised single child, my 10- pallavi.shankar@ 3 EASY TIPS TO STAY all times, which and independent individuals. year-old daughter is timesgroup.com means plenty of wa- When our child steps into the always happy using her BE KIND HEALTHY AND REDUCE ter intake through- society, he/she represents us. space. But as time oosting out the day. People judge them by their be- changed, the lockdown Children’s minds are delicate and open to children’s STRESS LEVELS ➤ Chawanprash haviour with others. As a moth- taught us to share our things learning new things. They’re always eager immunity should be given to er of a 16-year-old girl, I always and space. We have been to know about the things around them Bshould be a 1. Eat Healthy (fresh home-made food) kids daily as it reju- try to understand her .Teenagers happy in these times too. so, behave gently with children, always. priority, not only for venates the body and have mood swings. Sometimes We engaged her in online If you get angry with them they will fear keeping them safe from 2. Say no to junk food ups immunity levels. their behaviour makes us angry keyboard classes. She is you and this will block their learning. the infectious Covid-19 Now that the weather is but we should control our anger. fond of cooking, so we Don’t scold them too hard. Try not to virus but also for the over- 3. Eat on time cooler, Chawanprash can I also get annoyed but if it’s my are all eating well and punish them without knowing the whole all development and well- be reintroduced in kids’ fault, I apologise. eating healthy. situation. Listen to them first. Raise your being of young bodies food plan to keep sea- Activities DARSHANA ACHUTA SARIPALLE children with love by hugging them. These and minds going sonal cold and cough acts of love can trigger feel-good hormones. through the upheaval, at bay. 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