About Storytelling

Storytelling has been around since the dawn of man. The earliest stories evolved as a mixture of spoken words, gestures and facial expressions.

These stories, passed down from generation to generation, have been used to teach history, settle arguments and to share experiences with other people.

Many stories have developed as a way to teach moral values, the difference between good and bad. The beautiful swan was once an ugly duckling, the modest tortoise won the race – some of life’s best lessons are learned through the recollection of stories heard in childhood.

Good stories offer children positive role models and a place to learn more about the real world. And they stimulate the imagination, opening up a different world of hopes and dreams.

Storytelling isn’t just about reading a story out loud, word for word. It’s about:

Enjoying and decoding illustrations and animations

Listening to how words sound or what they look like signed, and seeing how they’re written down

Understanding stories and meanings

Learning about the characters

Relating to different situations

And sign is as good as speech in helping children to become competent readers.

"Stories entertain, inspire, instruct and heal."

(From aboutstorytelling.com.au - an Australian website all about stories and how to tell them.)