Six New Books for Children 5-10 years

1. 'Tomato Sandwich' by Caroline Magerl

Now here is a book for children with great imaginations. I know one or two children with imaginations that can take them to places, situations and adventures that only adults could dream off. 

This beautifully illustrated wordless picture book is intriguing. At first glance I thought "what?!' Then I spent time slowly flipping the pages to discover the story is about an imaginative young girl named Ottily. And how her puppy managed to take an old man, who was trying to get his vacuuming done, on a day he would never forget! 

Caroline Magerl was born in Frankfurt Germany, but came to Australia aged 2 (so we're claiming her as our's)! She lived on her families' yacht until she was 14. In 2001 she won the Children' Book Council of Australia Crighton Award for new talent in children's book illustration for 'Maya and Cat'. Her book 'Nop' was awarded a CBCA Honour book, and her latest book 'Piano Fingers' was awarded as a 'Notable Book'. 

2. 'One Day', by Shirley Marr and illustrated by Michael Speechley.

The first thing you will notice when you open this book, is that each 'page', covers two pages! Rather than opening it from right to left, you turn it on it's 'side' and flip the second page downwards and the 'page' becomes the size of some newspapers. 

The book tells the story of how a dragonfly, inspired by the words and threat of a frog, that a firefly will live at most for one day. 

The cover blurb for this stunning book suggests that the creators have come up with a book that "inspires us to look at things differently, to live life to the fullest and seize the day, every day. "For the world out there will eat you up," says a menacing frog waiting to catch it's breakfast. 

And as she flys away from him, a young girl spies Dragonfly and wonders how to celebrate her one and only birthday.

This is a beautiful and book with a simple message that we might all note. Life is for living, so get on with it.

 3. "Grandmas in Grand Cars" written & Illustrated by Mick Elliott 

What grandchild wouldn't want a Grandma in a grand car? And what car might she have? How about your Grandma in a 'Beetle'? Or perhaps a 'Buggy' open to the sky? Or maybe a 'Rally' car and mud to splash through? Or a 'Rocket car'? Now we're talking. But for novelty, a 'Sausage Car' would be hard to beat! Or a 'Puppy' car? But the grandest car of all would be one we've made ourselves.

This is a book that your toddlers will want read again, and again, and again!

The author and illustrator is Mick Elliott is a children's television producer, scriptwriter and animator. Since 2001 he has worked for Nickelodeon Australia overseeing award-winning series for children. 

4. 'The Terrakeet', Written by Jo Van Der Borgh & illustrated by Jo Beasley

"In the shade of the gobi trees on the edge of Pincer Sea,

live a family of Finlocks as peaceful as can be." 

They spend their days just lomfing, or fishing fronds to cook."

 

Now here is a memorable lead for a picture book. Such an image of peace and solitude, now what could go wrong. There are 'fish fronds to cook'. Hang on, "fish fronds"?! So much to do and peace and tranquility in abundance. What could disturb this peace? Well, just maybe a "Frimbulitic Terrakeet!"

 

They've never seen this beast, "but it's said to be here". One day the youngest Finlock thought he might just "take a walk in all directions" to find other things to eat. What happens next? I'll leave you to buy this wonderful picture book and find out.

 

5. 'Hair Brain: Saves the Ocean' by Danny Katz & Mitch Vane

 

This very funny short 90 page book is suitable for the age group 8-12 or older in the case of poor readers. It is illustrated on every page with hillarious images. Danny's text is slightly tongue in cheek and is complemented beautifully by Mich Vane's equally funny illustrations. 

 

'Hairbrain' (not her real name) modestly sets out to clean up all pollution to "save the world". A modest goal to be sure! She has lots of ideas, in fact 10,782 (approximately). For example, to get kids to drink healthy water, why not "stick a lemon on the end of bubblers so when kids drink water, it tastes like lemon flavour". She gives herself 10 out of 10 for this idea. Or perhaps, get rid of pollution by getting a "massive pump that goes over the chimneys of the big factories so all the smoke gets sucked through a massively MASSIVE tube to another country far away like Finland".

 

Hairbrain has everything covered, for example, water pollution could be solved by her riding her bike through the water to clean up the rubbish. For the doubters she has a plan for an "ECO-Hydro-Turbo-propello Techno-Floato Ant-pollutionary cleaning craft.

 

How about that? She has 'everything' covered!

6. 'The Hippo Who Hated to Fight' by Milt Lowe and Illustrated by Stephen Bibb

 

"Hippos are famous for fighting and biting. But Kuno the hippo is unique. He refuses to fight even though he always gets teased.

'The Hippo Who Hated To Fight' is the sweet, fun, inspiring story of a hippo brave enough to be himself. Kuno leaves his family and friends to search for the love, kindness, and acceptance he is missing.

Colourful and creatively illustrated and written for kids aged 4-9, it teaches them fun facts about hippos and elephants, and that it's cool to be a different-you, everyone just need to find your herd."

  

This is the story of 'The Hippo Who Hated To Fight'. Kuno felt he needed to be above 'animal' behaviour. His four brothers were of course keen to toss their weight around if they had to. And they teased him for being different. Kuno was upset and felt unloved. 

Kuno had no desire to bite and fight, and yet, this was very common hippo behavior. Kuno was teased mercilessly by his four older brothers. He was sad, alone and felt like no-one liked him.

So he left his family to “figure things out.” By chance, he was to meet Zema a 12,000 pound elephant! And they help one another to understand how amazing both these new friends are. 

This would be a great book to share with children aged 5-8 who might have had the same experience as Kuno. It might just help them to be kinder to each other, and appreciate their fellow students for the things they are, not the differences they see.

 

 

   

 

 

 

"Literature and Storytelling as Exploration & Discovery"

Many people's interest in Literature begins very early in life. But not so for me. Unlike many children, my early life was not in a home where good literature was listened to, read and enjoyed. I came from a disadvantaged home where there very few books. While there was much music, yarns (as Scots call stories) and discussion in our home, there were virtually no books. Literature wasn't part of home life, but storytelling was. It was mainly experienced through Scottish yarns, stories of the Old Country, and popular music; as my parents were entertainers at weekends.

Children Bring Their Lived Experience to Reading

I wanted to do this post because I know that in our schools, there are students with quite diverse backgrounds. The title of the post owes much to Louise Rosenblatt who's book "Literature as Exploration", had a big impact on me as an adult,  after I had become a teacher and later an academic. It was later in life that I discovered the wonder and magic of literature. Rosenblatt argued that readers "project their world into what they read". The "reader seeks to participate in another's vision". An I believe this is so.

But of course, the presence of literature and story varies greatly across families and even cultures. For many children, literature isn't part of home life, but they might experience stories in different ways. In fact children's first experiences of what we know as "literature", might not come for some until school or even in later life. Our backgrounds and life experiences have a significant role in how we see and respond to literature. As Louise Rosenblatt stressed, every reader brings something of themselves and their lived experience to a book.

Key Factors in Helping Children to Embrace Literature

Margaret Meek is another scholar who taught me much about reading and storytelling. Her book "Learning to Read" first published in 1982, identified three basic assumptions about learning to read. She also wrote about the responsibility of others like teachers and parents to support young readers and storytellers. She outlined a number of key assumptions:

1. First, Literature is important

Reading is not simply for acquiring knowledge and literacy competence, it is the "active encounter of one mind and imagination with another". As the reader encounters any book, they bring with them lived experiences that matter, and this helps them to engage with a story, and respond to it in unique ways. It can also change them and their view of the world.

2. Second, reading is Learned by Reading

This might seem obvious, but Meek meant more than having time to read at school and perhaps at home. While children will start by recognizing words, they will quickly see that when words are used together, they reveal many other things. Children don't simply learn through exercises and rote learning of letters and words. They learn as they actually read for purpose, joy and to discover new things.

3. Third, what the reader reads makes a difference

The things children read shape how they see reading; including its purpose, how stories are formed and the 'other worlds' they can introduce to us. And they stimulate the growth of our imaginations. Reading should also trigger deep inner reflection on what we have encountered, and a desire to share this with others.

Further to Margaret Meek's three key points, I have always added a fourth, which looks at how storytelling and reading are related. I think she would agree with addition.

4. Storytelling has an impact on how & why we read and our lives

I include this extra point because it's important to think about how children move from being readers and recipients of stories, to creators of stories. Storytelling shifts children from being consumers of words and the reading of other people's stories, to becoming storytellers themselves.

Let me share a simple anecdote. I was visiting friends in the US late last year. They have two sons (aged 2.5 and 6.5 years old at the time). We went out to dinner with the family and while we were having a great time, the boys became a little restless. I began reading a picture book to the youngest and elaborated on the story by including the boys in the story. I became a bit creative with the story line. The younger brother was enthralled and so was his older brother.

 Above: A storyteller takes the floor!

When I finished my story, the 6 year old jumped up and began to tell his own story rather creatively and dramatically. Everyone listened intently, including us and others at nearby tables.

His own story had a similar story and structure, and he also dramatized it as he shared it with us. We listened intently as he dramatically created and shared his own story. Why do I share this?

This is the type of transformational moment that demonstrates exploration and discovery. Both boys learnt a significant lesson that night. That stories aren't just things to consume or to listen to, they are also things we can create, tell and share. As Margaret Meek taught us: 

"Given encouragement, everyone is a storyteller. Any incident becomes a story in the telling of it, and the next simple step is to write it down" (Meek, 'Learning to Read', 1982).

If you'd like to explore my fourth point on Storytelling you might consider the wonderful book "Children Tell Stories - A Teaching Guide" by Martha Hamilton & Mitch Weiss. 

Summing up

Stories and storytelling are an important part of life. Humans are instinctively listeners to and makers of stories and they love to share them. Why is this so? There are at least 6 key reasons:

• Hearing stories stimulates children's imaginations

• Hearing stories improves their listening skills

• Hearing stories also helps to build a love of reading

• Hearing stories helps children to develop listening skills

• Hearing stories expands  children's vocabulary

• Hearing stories helps to grow young writers, and also helps them over time to become writers as well
  

I might well revisit the thoughts in this post and elaborate on how to encourage children as story tellers in a future post. Happy storytelling. 

  

  

 

 

 

   

The Slow Death of Creativity and Imagination in our schools - PART 2

A recent media report presented survey results which suggested 60% of parents find it hard to play with their children. Another report indicated parents should spend at least 30 mins a day in directed play with their  toddlers. The media report shared some surprising comments: "I don't have the time." "I don't know how to play with a toddler." And "I hate playing with my toddler".  

I wrote a post in 2020 titled 'The Slow Death of the Imagination in our Schools - Part 1'. It seems like I need to write Part 2. The recent media reports and responses have stunned me into action!

My purpose in writing the post isn't to make parents feel guilty, especially in an age where both parents typically have paid jobs outside the home. Time is sometimes hard to stretch to allow things that might seem less critical (e.g. playing with our children). And of course, a sole parent needs to do the lot! 

I want instead, to remind everyone that creativity is critical for the world! Creative activities are not an optional extra in life. Unfortunately, we live in times where the globe faces numerous challenges. These include climate change, tragic natural events, the loss of far too many animal, insect, plant and marine species etc. On top of this we have seen global conflicts, pandemics and more. Now, I won't depress my readers. But we need to deal with our challenges. And it isn't just knowledge that will help to solve our many global challenges. Creativity is required in concert with knowledge to enable us to sustain our world. 

The problematic factor is that our schools have never had less time for fostering creativity. This is one of our great educational challenges. Teachers live in an age of constant external pressures to help children succeed on tests. The sad part is that the the more we test, the less time we have to teach and encourage creativity and the application of knowledge to the world. The nations that privilege and promote this at EVERY level of education, will be best placed. 

My post is motivated by the release of the latest NAPLAN test results. These once again show that Australia lags well behind nations like Sweden, where higher marks are demonstrated across all social class levels, as well as regional and urban locations. This is important because while politicians don't spend much time comparing public and private education, they should. Why? Because it would shed light on the great challenges for the public education system to teach more than just knowledge for external tests. We need a greater concentration on developing learners who can solve problems and seek creative solutions, not simply achieve high marks on external standardized tests.

Some of the depressing trends we've seen in higher education include:

• Lower entry scores to be educated as a teacher than virtually any other course.
• Large salary gaps between teachers in public and private education. 
• More children in public education from disadvantaged communities including urban and rural schools.
  
• All of the above tend to skew results for children of the privileged who typically attend private or selective schools.
  

Creativity is NOT simply a gift to privileged children

Above: A 'Big' sister reads to Lydia (age 1 day)

Creativity and imagination are available to all children. In fact, all children are born with an innate desire to explore the world. From birth, they receive a vast array of stimuli as they observe and try to make sense of their surroundings. The environment in which they live has a profound impact on them. Children commence life with great potential - notwithstanding genetic variations. But their environment can have negative as well as positive effects on their learning.

The potential impact of poverty and neglect on children's early development, underlines the need to ensure that children entering school are given every opportunity to be stimulated, inspired and have their horizons widened.

Neuroscience research has taught us a number of things about the young brain, including the immense capacity of children to learn, and for their minds to expand when stimulated. But across our school education system in Australia, I still see a dumbing down of the curriculum. State and nationally mandated testing seems increasingly to shape school programs and classroom practices, as well as wider community expectations.

Above: Philosopher Martin Buber

Social Philosopher Martin Buber suggested at an education conference in 1925 that imagination and creativity are not developed over time. His big take home message was that every child is born with a disposition to be creative.

However sadly, parents, teachers and schools can suppress this inbuilt creativity, and drive it from them with banal and repetitive activities.

As teachers and parents we can either "draw out these powers", or stifle them when done badly. What we offer in schools is but "...a selection of the world." In short, each child is born with an innate ability and desire to explore, imagine and create. The parent or teacher who says I have no time for creative work and play, is limiting the child's potential.

For most children, the first few years of life offer ample opportunities to explore, experiment and seek to push beyond their capacity to do most things. Preschool for most children can still offer freedom to explore, find out, imagine and act upon the creative urge they have to know and create. But by Kindergarten they begin to be trained to produce that which is seen as acceptable.

Above: A three year old doing some 'creative' writing

What can we do?

As parents and teachers we need to work hard at creating learning environments in which children are encouraged to ask "why?', "what if",  "how come" type questions. Parents, should endeavour not to become tired of the toddler asking "why", "what if", "how come" questions. We need to respond to them.

We also need to seek a variety of experiences for our children. As a parent and grandparent I spent as much time as possible with my children (and grandchildren) exploring their world. This included digging in my compost heap, seeking out bugs in our back yard, paddling in estuaries and rock pools, looking at the sky, and reading about the natural wonders of the world. We also read hundreds of books together, drew pictures after key experiences and more.

Teachers also need to look for ways to stimulate the imaginations of the children in our classes. There are many ways to do this, including reading to them and encouraging their responses (in word, drawing, actions...). There are also numerous simple experiences that we can integrate into classroom activities at varied grade levels.

Above: The restored Gramaphone that I still have!

As a young teacher I arrived at school one morning with a 'mystery' object. I found an old 1920s gramaphone on the side of the road. I put it in my car boot (trunk) and took it to school and simply placed it at the front of the classroom. Questions flowed. "What's that?" "Where did you get it?" "My grandma has one of those!" "We've got some old records in our shed, can I go and get them?" The creative activities and knowledge gained from this simply object sustained several days of varied activities and much learning.

In another school we created a number of gardens for flowers and edible plants. While teaching a grade 2/3 composite class we built a brontosaurus (measuring 3 metres by 1 metre) as a garden centrepiece in the school playground. To the joy of the  students, this was featured on the front page of our city newspaper.

Of course, there are subjects in the curriculum that should naturally allow imagination to be developed; including science, art and craft. 

My point in revisiting the previous post with an update, is that I have a sense that we've gone backwards. We cannot afford to allow creativity to be lost in the desire to skill, drill and educate for external exams. Education at all levels is about growing our students in more than just subject knowledge. 

Never allow the 'what if'? question to leave your classroom or home. 

If parents reading this post feel they haven't the time, or they don't know what to do, talk to other parents who do seem to do it, or just give it a go.

Helping children to access and use stories to understand and represent their world

I was asked recently to send one of my followers a conference paper on literacy that I presented in 1986! While looking for that paper it led me to sort through many of my older publications from the 1980s and 1990s. I stumbled across one piece I’d written for an international journal in 1990 on “Intertextuality”. This was a buzz word in the 1980s and early 1990s. My interest in the topic arose as part of classroom-based research I had done with children aged 5-12 years. The work was published in a number of journals. As I read the old article, I was pleased that I still agreed with it!

 

One of the papers was from research titled ‘Intertextuality: Infectious echoes from the past’. It was published in ‘The Reading Teacher’ (March, 1990). I opened the article with a quote from J.R. Tolkien, who had claimed there are no new stories, only a “cauldron of stories” into which we dip as we write. Of course, Tolkien wasn’t the first person to observe that writing always occurs against a backdrop of our prior literary experiences. And there will always be a level of reciprocity between reading and writing. In fact, the reading of one text will always prime and connect with the memory of other stories. So too, writing can be inspired by books (or other media).

 

Margaret Mahy (1936-2012), the great New Zealand author of children’s books and a dear colleague to many of us writing about literacy, expressed this point well when reflecting on her childhood experiences that helped to shape her:

 

“I wrote because I was a reader, and wanted to relive certain experiences more intimately by bringing them back out of myself”. (Margaret Mahy)

 

She suggested that stories “infected her” and she engaged in dialogue with them in a type of “reciprocating discussion”. Books offered her (and us) a “cauldron of stories” from which to draw inspiration, and even ideas.

 

When I suggested this in conversation with a very well-known Australian author she was indignant, feeling that I was suggesting writers plagiarise from other writers. But of course, this was not what I meant. Our ideas are formed as original ideas against a backdrop of others stories. This in essence is what “intertextuality” means, it is the interconnection between texts written and read. Such connections might affirm ideas, offer us new insights, or help us to grasp the depth of meaning of something in those “aha” moments, when another text challenges, inspires, or perhaps even creates dissension.  

 

The details of my work and the many scholars who inspired my research on Intertextuality can be found in my original articles. The many scholars included colleagues like Professor Jerry Harste (Indiana University), Margaret Meek, Umberto Eco and many more. Those who are more interested should source my original article and others on the topic. But for parents and teachers there are a few basic points worth stressing here:

 

1.   From birth, fill your children’s lives with expository, descriptive (including poetry, journals/diaries, novels, & plays) and persuasive texts (e.g. letters, advertisements etc).

2.   Parents, read to your children from birth. And teachers, always make time to share literature in the elementary years of schooling.

3.   Preschool, primary and Secondary teachers, never lose your own passion for literature, so that you might ‘infect’ your students with this same passion.

4.   Help children to celebrate each other’s writing, and acknowledge the inspiration for their writing and ideas.

5.   Encourage experimentation with writing, in form, at the ideas level and in purpose.

6.   Classroom teachers and parents, try to create an environment where stories are shared, talked about and celebrated.

7.   Make sure you use the school, and local library if you have one nearby, to consider books and borrow them.

 

Never forget that one of the most significant things we can do for our children is to provide access to a “cauldron of stories” into which we they can ‘dip’ as they grow as writers and readers.

Boredom is still good for children!

I've posted on this topic before, but as many children seem to be on holidays around the world right now, I thought I'd repost it in revised form. My title is once again meant to be outrageous, but I also think it's true.

Children still struggle in this digitally over-stimulated age to keep themselves busy without a device in hand or before their eyes. Children and adults alike never seem to stop! Rarely do we daydream, sit quietly on a park bench and stare into space, lie around at home resting on a wet day and so on. Lazing around does not seem easy in our driven lives. Even if there is a moment where we aren't confronting a task, conversation or activity, we reach for a device to help us fill this time with more activity.

Boredom should be less of a problem than at any time in history, because it seems that there are endless things to do and many ways to use our time. And yet children still end up bored. But maybe, our children need to experience boredom without devices being the solution or antidote? In fact, might a device withdrawn period of boredom be good for our children? It might well be that creativity, self-directed learning, and even the ability to stick at a task, are 'arrested' for many of us because we're always stimulated by devices.

What is boredom?

In essence, it is 'unmet arousal'. You are looking for something to do, or an activity to fill a space in your life, but you just can't motivate yourself to do something. Neil Burton suggests that there are many reasons for this:

"These reasons can be internal—often a lack of imagination, motivation, or concentration - or external, such as an absence of environmental stimuli or opportunities. So while you want to do something stimulating, you find yourself unable to do so;  moreover, you are frustrated by the rising awareness of your inability."1

What is significant about boredom is that it's a state that can be acted upon by the bored person. The typical bored child - who we have all experienced - will say, "I'm bored! What can I do?" Or, "Mum can you ... ". Note the onus is being placed on you as the parent to deal with their 'bored state'!

My simple answer to such situations is NOT to try to solve the problem, or simply give in and allow them to retreat to devices and more screen time. During times of boredom your children might just:

• Find some new activities and interests
• Lead them to use their imagination 
• Offer opportunities to be creative
• Assist them to develop mindfulness
• Begin to enjoy the moment and their surroundings

However, you might just need to give them some prompts and help to get them started. Here are a few ideas.

How to respond to "Mum, I'm bored"?

At times, you should simply say, "what are you going to do then"? Don't feel that you need to solve the problem. Rather than always trying to solve the problem, it is often best simply to offer some prompts that will direct them towards possibilities. Here are some examples:

1. If it's a fine day, tell them to go outside, lie on their back and look at the sky, and think about 3 things that they might do. If it's bad weather suggest that they look out the window, what do you see? List ten things you can see. Draw one thing. Use one thing as a stimulus for a riddle or poem, "There was a ___  ___ in my yard, I didn't need to look too hard, but try as I might ...".

2. Suggest that they get a box (a shoe box works well) and go and find 5 things they would like to place in it that they could use, or do. This might lead children to put in a favourite toy, a game, crayons, craft materials, a book and so on. Ask them to consider one the thing they could do first. If you have more than one bored child, ask them to compare boxes and come up with a shared activity.

3. Give them a large cardboard box and ask them to consider what they might turn it into. Having a large cardboard box or two in your garage (perhaps in flat pack form) is a great resource. Perhaps a cubby, robot, space vehicle, animal and so on.

4. Suggest that they create a play to prepare and present to the family or some friends. You might help them to come up with some characters and a simple plot. For example, you might have a policeman, a dog, two children, and a school teacher. How can you create a story around these characters that you could present to others?

5. If the weather is fine, suggest that they devise a scavenger hunt, where 'treasure' is collected from the home (with your assistance) and which can then be hidden. The treasure could be edible, or treats of some kind. When the hunt is completed everyone shares the booty.

6. Why not create a family artistic mural, sculpture or map of the local community.

7. Alternatively, plan a photo frenzy (yes, I know a camera is a device, but it's special and only to be used for photos). You could come up with a list of things to photograph in your house and street and give them a time limit to hunt them down, photograph them and return. Give a prize (make it food and ensure it can be shared with everyone) for the most successful scavenger.

8. Or, why don't you suggest they create a board game around a specific theme. A simple game can be made in a race format, and with a dice and simple markers for each player. Use large pieces of cardboard and ask your children to choose their own theme and draw the squares or spaces that you progress through from start to finish (e.g. a car race, race around the world, quest for Mars, climbing Mt Everest etc). The game can have a simple format with spaces marked that can progress or retard the players. For example, in the space race, they could strike a meteor shower that forces them back home, or a time warp that accelerates their ship to another galaxy. Everyone should get to play the games at the end.

Summing Up

Boredom is NOT bad, it can drive children to explore new things, think creatively and move beyond the most common props in life today; screens and devices! Boredom can be used to prompt children to daydream, create, explore, imagine and play. Embrace it as a normal part of life and an opportunity, not just a problem. 

My title was meant to be outrageous, but I've also used it because I think it's also true!

We live in an age where children and adults alike never seem to stop! Rarely do we daydream, sit quietly on a park bench and stare into space, lie around at home resting on a wet day and so on. Lazing around does not seem easy in our driven lives. What's more, if there ever is a moment where we aren't confronting a task, conversation or activity, we reach for a device to help us fill this time with more activity. When there is a free moment, we often look to others or devices, to help us know how to use our time.

In one sense, dealing with bored children should be less of a problem than at any time in history, because it seems that there are endless things to do and many ways to use our time. But maybe, our children need to experience boredom? Might a lack of boredom be bad for our children?

1. Neil Burton (2014), 'The Surprising Benefits of Boredom', Psychology Today'.

Growing Children's Imagination & Creativity

Above: Relaxing in her cardboard cubby (Lydia age 4)

Children begin very early in life to imaginatively recreate story, experiences, life situations and ideas deep within. The human capacity to tell and recreate story is strong and is seen very early in life. This should not surprise us because imagination, creativity and story telling is basic to life, and together, distinguish us from all other creatures.

My youngest granddaughter Lydia has been fascinated by story since her first year of life. As a three year old she would use objects of every kind to create stories. Two lettuce leaves became two butterflies, the central characters in her mealtime story. Not all of her stories are retellings of known stories, in fact many are original innovative stories that she crafts using stimuli in her environment. Story for Lydia can also be stimulated by television (e.g. 'Everything's Rosie', 'Charlie and Lola', 'In the Night Garden'), books and all of life's everyday experiences.

The cardboard cubby above was created to her specifications from a box that our new washing machine came in. "I'll have the door here", "the window there". "Can I have a chimney please", and a "one on the roof". "A skylight I asked?". "Yes, of course!"

Imaginative play and storytelling are essential parts of learning. In previous posts I've called this re-creation (i.e. the reconstruction, presentation or retelling of a story in new ways), but it takes many forms.

Above: The fully furnished cubby

Story in its own right is critical to learning, communication and well-being. This is something that I've written about many times (for example HERE & HERE). For children, the re-creation or reliving of a story is a critical part of their growing knowledge of narrative as well as a way to gain knowledge.

Young children often quite naturally use imaginative storytelling to support and play with known stories or varied life situations and experiences:

Above: Beans become tusks for the walrus!

• Changing rhymes and songs, e.g. 'Baa Baa Black Sheep' to 'Baa Baa White Sheep' as Lydia does often.
  Acting out 'Little Red Riding Hood' with the resources of the dress-up box and some friends.
• Dramatizing a well-known children's song from television or CD or a children's picture book.
• Using art or drawing to imagine a story character, mythical creature or story setting. 
• Using Lego (or other toys, props and objects) to re-imagine story alone or with others.
• Creating something new that grows out of an experience of story. 

 Here are a few examples of how this can be encouraged at varied ages.

Examples of Imaginative Re-creation by Age Group

a) Toddlers (1-3 years)

• Being encouraged to be a wild thing as the story 'Where the Wild Things Are' reaches the critical moment when Max declares 'Let the wild rumpus start'.
• Finger Plays and rhymes ('This Little Piggy', 'Incy Wincy', 'Round and Round the Garden') 
• Retelling Thomas the Tank Engine stories using the various engines that feature in the story.
• Using dolls or soft toys to act out domestic scenarios.
  Using dress-up clothes in association with well-known stories.
• Creating a story using toy soldiers, Polly Pocket toys, magnetic boards with characters, fuzzy felt and so on.
• Joining in the television dramatization of a well-known story on a program like 'Playschool'. 

b) Early years (4-6 years)

• Many of the better story apps for iPad or android devices are an innovative way for multiple re-created experiences of stories (see my recent post on this HERE).
• Drawing maps, key characters (dragons, people) or scenes.
• Acting out stories with a group of children or with adult family members.
• Creating an adapted text to re-create part of a story (e.g. poetry, a character interview, telling the story from a different point of view).
• Using puppets to re-create a story.
• Using modelling clay or craft materials to create characters to re-create and retell a story.

Creating knights for storytelling

c) Later childhood (7-12 years)

• More elaborate dramatization, with involvement in making props and costumes.
• Simple animations using one of the programs readily available (see my previous post on animation HERE). 
• Using materials like Lego to re-imagine a well-known story.
• Creating a board game that recreates the plot or a specific part of a story (as Sam did).
• Creating a complex map or plot summary as a device for others to use.
• Create a script to be acted for a specific part of a story.
• Write a newspaper report based on an event within a story.
• Use a variety of written genres to create a new text ('The Jolly Postman' and 'The Jolly Pocket Postman' are published examples of this).

These are just some of the ways that storytelling and imaginative re-creation can stimulate learning and language.

5 Ways to Make Homework Exciting

Far too often homework is assigned by teachers to satisfy parents who somehow believe that if their child doesn't do extra work at home that they will fall behind. As well, homework set by schools can often be the same as work set at school. There is little point in either of these practices. I've written previously about what's wrong with the way many schools do homework (HERE).

Instead, of making homework such a ritual and repetitive waste of time why not assign homework as a way for children to learn new things, develop unique knowledge and experience and to grow in confidence as learners.

Here are 5 Words that can shape exciting homework: 

Above: Sam goes fishing!

IMAGINE

EXPLORE

DESCRIBE

DRAW

MAKE

Each of the above key words can offer gateways to learning. These simple words open up possibilities to expand learning, while words like copy, memorize, drill, and practice tend to reflect practices that often limit options. Of course, the latter are still ways that we can learn, memorization, some drill etc., have a place in school learning. But at the end of a full day at school, they should not be the key focus of homework. Instead, as a parent I'd suggest that you offer options for your children that will open their world to discovery, new things and different ways to reflect on their learning. In my view, learning at home should expand upon what happens at school, not simply mimic or copy it.

Some simple ideas to illustrate

1. Imagine

Above: A cubby made from a box

Ideas to encourage imagination will vary depending on age and your child's interests. Here's a simple idea for a 6-year-old. Ask your children (alone or with other siblings) to make a cave using blankets (call it a cubby or a cabin if you like), a dining room table and some cushions. Allow them to 'furnish' the cave with some special things. Perhaps some books, a torch, paper, a game and so on. Ask them to imagine that they are in this cave deep in a forest overnight and cannot get home till the next day. Ask them to sit in their cave and write down:

• Where it is located and how they might have got there?
• How they will get food for night?
• How could they find a water source?
• What will they eat?
• Will they need any protection?
• How might they get back home?

Get them to draw the site where their cave is located to illustrate their answers to the above questions. There are of course numerous variations on this idea.

2. Explore

Ask your child or children to choose a piece of ground that is roughly 6 square metres in area (3 x 2 metres) in their back yard or a nearby park.

Have them observe this area. Ask them to:

• Draw the space.
• Identify and label living and inanimate objects that are located on the ground. If possible give them some small hand tools to dig a few test holes (give them some simple specifications, e.g. no hole bigger than a breakfast bowl).
• With permission allow them to select 3 plant samples. Draw them. Smell them. Touch them and describe them using single words.
• Ask them to record any living things.
• Draw what they find and label them.

3. Describe

In keeping with the above backyard theme, why not ask your child or children to take part in the Aussie Backyard Bird Count (if you are from another country you may be able to do something like this in your own country). This is occurring from 23-29 October in Australia, and is part of National Bird week. In essence it asks people to observe for 20 minutes per day in their own back yard, or somewhere in the wider community. There is an app that you can download that makes it very simple. The hope is to we will learn about the bird life using this community based sampling method. It will also raise awareness of our wildlife and encourage a love of birds.

This is designed to be a 20-minute task each day for 7 days, that you would perhaps need to help them with to start. This would work well for children aged 4-6 with some assistance and perhaps independently for children aged 7+. Of course, you could do your own version of this.

4. Draw

Drawing is a wonderful way for children to express their imaginations, or to simply try to represent the world in a different way. While in much of our life we use words to describe what we see, to reflect on our experiences, share some aspect of learning, record the events of our life and so on, drawing can easily substitute for words or be used in association with words. The drawing below is one of my favourite drawings from one of my grandchildren. I was visiting the Aquarium in Sydney with him aged 4 years. When we got home he drew this picture. When I asked him to describe what he had drawn he pointed out how this was a drawing that showed how the fish might have seen us as they looked out through the glass. To draw this, he needed to imagine what it would look like from the vantage point of the fish! The drawing shows how the fish saw me as we wandered around the aquarium. What I love about this drawing is that it offers an insight into how his young mind was working. It also shows something of how he was reflecting on his experience, that he was thinking 3 dimensionally, and may well have been empathizing with the fish in the aquarium.

Above: A Drawing by a 4 year old who is taking the perspective of an aquarium fish

5. Make

Above: Using modelling clay to make real & imaginary animals

The possibilities for letting children make things are endless. I'd suggest allowing them to use craft, paper cutting, 3 dimensional objects like lego etc, to express a response to a story, a topic of interest etc. Whatever this might be, the child has the chance to represent something in 2 or 3 dimensions. This offer a different way for children to reflect on their learning, whether it is a creative  response to literature, or a way to represent some aspect of a topic they are studying at school. As with drawing, making things, like drawing, allows child to explore varied aspects of the topic and perhaps to see it in different ways when words are not the only option (whether spoken or written).

Above: Using a different way to show the sea creatures observed

Above: A game that Sam made that follows a story sequence

Other related posts

Other posts that address creativity, imagination and play (HERE)

A post on 29 children's books that feature birds (HERE)

Drawing, Giftedness & Seeing the World Differently

Above: Creating a 'fairy' garden

I've written previously about the need to see giftedness as much more than simply intellectual skills and knowledge that can be established with a narrow range of intelligence tests. One person who has stretched our understanding in the area of giftedness is Howard Gardner in his work on Multiple Intelligences. While some gifted children demonstrate exceptional abilities across a wide range of capabilities (e.g. memory, language, mathematics, problem solving etc), others are gifted in narrower and more specific ways (e.g. visual arts, music, leadership, sport etc). In this post I want to focus on what drawing can show us about giftedness. If you are interested in more information on supporting gifted children you can read a previous post HERE which covers some common territory but has additional ideas for older children.
  
How Drawing Can Demonstrate Giftedness?

Evelyne's 'Horse in a T-Shirt'

A year or so ago, I observed some children using scribbles as part of an improvised drawing game. One made a squiggle and the others tried to turn it into an animal. The first child turned the first scribble into a monster. The squiggler responded, "you can't do a monster, the idea of the game is to draw a real animal, anyone can draw a monster".

He then drew another squiggle. The next child turned it into a horse which in her words was "a horse with a T-Shirt on" (see below). He replied, "but you can't have a horse with a T-shirt on, because they don't wear T-shirts". She replied "well this one does and that's the type of horse I drew with your squiggle".

Let me stress that all three children mentioned in the above example, are gifted in different ways, but two were demonstrating their giftedness in this activity. I should stress that while drawing can be a window on giftedness, it isn't the only way that different children, or even the same child on different occasions, can show their giftedness. But we can learn much from children's drawings that can be a pointer to giftedness?

Ten Things Drawing Can Teach us About Giftedness

Evelyne's drawing and some of the other drawings shared in this post can help us to identify giftedness. What might drawings help us to see?

1. They can show the ability to take a simple task and use it in a novel way, or for different purposes. Evie's drawing shows a preparedness to think outside the box.

2. They also help us to see if a child is able to see the unusual, think in novel ways, and observe possibilities that others don't. The camel drawing below shows this (note its shadow on the ground).

Sketch of 'A Camel & Its Reflection' (Lydia aged 3yrs)

3. It can also demonstrate the willingness of the child to experiment and take risks. These characteristics are evident in many gifted people, e.g. entrepreneurs need these qualities.

4. At the most fundamental level, they can demonstrate the ability to create something original. Not simply a drawing like all other drawings by children of the same age, but something different. For example, ask a 6 years-old to draw a house and you will usually see a hipped roof with chimney, two windows and a central single door.

Above: Child drawing of house (courtesy of 'Childhood Architecture')

5. Drawings can also demonstrate the ability to think abstractly, metaphorically and insightfully, as the child uses drawing to explore thoughts and ideas. Evie's drawing of the T-Shirt wearing horse shows this.

6. As well, drawings can show that a child can generate many solutions and possibilities for the simplest and banal tasks.

7. They can also demonstrate a preparedness to question assumed knowledge or ways of doing things.

Here a 6 yr old positions the pterodactyl above its prey

8. Drawings also offer a window into a more mature (and unusual sense of humour), and a different perspective and view of the world. Their orientation will be unlike that of the average person. The drawing above illustrates just such a different perspective.

9. Drawing can also show a depth of knowledge about a topic that is often required to create a special image. For example, awareness of the anatomical make-up of an animal, or the details of mechanical device can be seen in images that the child generates. As well use of shading to show multiple dimensions, clever use of light and shade and so on, show knowledge of image and design.

10. Finally, drawing can also show how the child's mind leads them to see different things and pay attention to the novel and unusual that is reflected in their drawings. The drawing below by a four year-old shows an image he drew after an outing to an aquarium. He created it as if it was viewed from the perspective of the fish. How did it see his granddad looking at it through the glass?

Jacob (4 years) draws Grandad from the unusual vantage point of the fish inside the aquarium looking out

Summing Up

Imagination & creativity starts early

All children are capable of demonstrating rich imagination and creativity, but some children demonstrate levels of creativity, insight, imagination and knowledge in drawing that suggests giftedness that is beyond the typical and normal. Drawing can help us to look for this and encourage it. I have many other posts that will help you to see some of the ways that you can encourage bright and gifted children. You can read another one of them HERE.