During lockdown in New Zealand during 2020, I recorded 100 stories and uploaded them all on to the internet. The stories employed 100 different mediums… playdough, wooden spoons,string games, shadow puppets, crankie machines, paper folding and tearing, paper cutting, helicopter storytelling, finger verses, Waldorf table top puppetry, painting, felted storytelling mats, stories about my whanau, improvised stories, bedtime stories, healing stories, sign language, te reo and many many more!
It began in lock-down when I figured parents would appreciate some basic coaching to learn how simple it can be to tell a story rather than only read them. And also some craft tutorials for extending stories into constructive handcraft sessions of ‘making’ and ‘doing’. My goal was very much that parents and early childhood teachers would watch the videos and then make them their own, and strengthen their own storytelling voices ( and thereby encourage children to find theirs!!) I also wanted to maintain contact with children with whom I had been working. And so it began. More than three months later, I am keen to digest what I created and learn from it and consider where it is leading me! So here we go. Read More