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Behaviours about which to Make Stories
Here are some child behaviours about which we (participants in the June-to-August-2011 WSI Storytelling Workshop for Adults) have begun to find and make stories: 1 A child who does not want to eat vegetables. 2 A child who hits people, including peers and parents. 3 A child who does not pay attention to, or obey, instructions. 4 A child who does not like to go to new places, or try new things. 5 A child who refuses to share her toys. 6 A child who does not put away her toys. 7 A child who is slow to get ready. 8 A child who wants to only watch cartoons all day. 9 A child who does not like to read and write. To develop stories involving these situations: Let your imagination play, and come up with colourful, vivid, fantasy, symbolic, exaggerated situations and objects regarding what happens when a child might do these things, or not do them. A story might feature two characters; one child who does the wrong thing, and one who does the right thing. Or, a single character in a story could first behave one way, then another way. The listener needs to hear, visualise, and empathetically-experience the consequences of the behaviours. We are finding numerous folktales, from various cultures, that feature lazy, greedy, self-indulgent characters (as opposed to industrious and generous ones). Around the time of the end of the Workshop (early August), the stories we have found and created relating to these behaviours will be posted and discussed here. If you might have any suggestions, please e-mail them to me at eric@storytellinginstitute.org . |