Early Childhood Storytelling

Our PreK-3 and KA classrooms are a hub of activity-- as you can imagine a room full of inquisitive three and four year olds could be! As learning in our early years program is play-based with ample time and opportunity to explore, wonder, think and share, our youngest learners express themselves in many ways. 

As our units of study are collaborative, tying together the classroom activities with art, music, library, technology, and physical education, our students think about these themes in many different ways. And with their recent Storytelling unit, they thought about just that--what are the different ways of telling stories?

In music, our students worked through a progression of activities together, all reinforcing the idea that stories can be told in many different ways. Ms. Matsuzawa-Go kicked off the unit by sharing the popular 'Bear Hunt' orally, before reading 'There Were 10 in the Bed'. The students enjoyed singing and then acting out the classics of 'Five Little Monkeys' and 'The Farmer in the Dell'.

While listening to a song, the children were challenged to create movements that seemed to fit. 'Elephant' and 'Aviary' from the Carnival of the Animals were both great fun to try out some wriggling and shaking. Even greater fun was had by adding sound effects to 'The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything' by using different instruments.

Finally, our children worked creatively and collaboratively to create their own original stories, using their imagination to choreograph their movements to 'Aquarium' and 'La Chevaleresque'. We hope that these performances will bring a smile to your face.