We have a two-part bedtime ritual around our house. We read the boys a story from one of the many picture books that they have in their library, and we tell them a “once-upon-a-time“. The former is likely pretty typical, as bedtime rituals go, but the “once-upon-a-time” idea began one night quite by accident. I was having a particularly tough time getting Luke to sleep and, after exhausting all of my teaching brilliance (and after exhausting myself), I spontaneously began, “Once upon a time, there was a little boy named Luke…”
I can’t remember how the story continued, but I did remember that it settled Luke enough that he fell asleep shortly after. That was three years ago and to this day, both Luke and Liam ask for a “once-upon-a-time” before they go to sleep. They will often forgo the book in favour of the oral story.
The difference between the two elements of the bedtime ritual is that the book-based story is almost always accompanied by pictures. The “once-upon-a-time”, however, is based on imagination. It originates in my own imagination (usually in anon-the-spotmanner) and connects with the imagination of the boys using only oral language.
Earlier this month, Malkin Dare from the Society for Quality Education cited an article suggesting that we might be doing our kids a disservice by exposing them to too many picture books. The suggestion was that the combination of words and related pictures might be distracting early readers from the process of actually learning to read.
Kieran Egan is equally concerned about a reliance on picture books, but for different reasons than the folks at SQE. In The Future of Education, Egan comments:
We, similarly, give children storybooks full of illustrations. nearly all young children will be engaged more by an oral story toldy by an adult—even when told hesitantly, stublingly—than by one read with many visually attractive illustrations. At least, this is the case when children have actually heard a story told. Many children today never expierence this. Either they watch movies, or TV, or, at best, have a story read to them while they look at the pictures. Given the importance of generating images from words in the development of the imagination, many children—often those from affluent backgrounds—suffer impoverishment of this tool from the beginning.
This makes sense to me; in fact, it might explain my reluctance to go see films that have been adapted from my favourite books. I have already created very strong images of the characters, the setting and the action of the story. And you know what? With very few exceptions, the screenplay has never quite captured the world that I have created on my own.
According to Egan, it’s one of the powerful cognitive tools through which we come to know and think about the world in a very powerful, abstract way.
Much more to say about this, but I’ll leave you with a couple of questions.
Is it possible that our school-based love affair with early, middle and later literacy have pushed to the side the power and the joy of imaginative development. How do you nurture imagination in your own children or in your students? What do your children still have in their lives that “tickles their imagination”?
Ah oral storytelling, that has been a tradition since humankind developed language. All my children loved oral ‘once upon a time’. bedtime stories and around the campfire. My mother, as her mother did and generations before weave the oral stories of the family’s culture and traditions with creative license to capture the attention of the kids. The stories have been passed down from one generation to the next, with the addition of adding new oral stories. A favourite among my children, created one hot summer night, titled – The Three Crows Who Could Not Stopped Popping – funny and so very humorous but educational in learning a bit of nature’s facts. The general themes of the once upon a time stories, that I have created came out of the trials and tribulations of just living life, based in part the crazy often humorous events that took place. The latest oral stories, is the magical land called The Grace, located 30 feet from my backyard where if you listen really really hard, you will hear the animals talk, and maybe even see a fairy or two. Most of my oral stories, are based on the nature theme but from time to time, I reached back into the past of my family and tell stories of the one winter, where a family ate turnips to survive the harsh winter until the local natives came knocking at the door to show them the way.
“Once upon a time, oral storytelling ruled. It was the medium through which people learned …
Then along came the written word with its mysterious symbols, and oral storytelling was cast aside …”
http://www.cpb.org/grants/leadinliteracy/2006fallconferencepresentations/JakersOralStorytellingAndLiteracy.pdf
To end, my oldest child when she was 5, decided for show and tell, to orally narrate a true event about the dog that came to live with us for seven days. She did not need to be creative, and exaggerate the comical happenings in my household looking after my brother’s dog for 7 days. She had the kids laughing so hard, but the adults were not amused when my oldest child insisted it was all true. They thought she was lying, and I was requested to attend a meeting at the principal’s office. I had no idea on what until after the first 5 minutes of the principal explaining why I was at the principal’s office. When I stated without hesitation the story told by my 5 year old was all true, the meeting ended pulling my kid out of the school early, since we were planning to move after school ended. So my oldest child had an extra month of summer holidays, and I was steaming mad at a school, for not only accusing my child being a liar, but questioning my ability to parent. It was another story added, that will probably be passed down to the future generations, because it is truly hilarious and madcap, where true events mimic the crazy tales of the Robert Munsch story books.
I really like all the points and questions you raised here, Stephen!
No secret, I love children’s picture books….and so did my kids…..we all still do! Always much to appreciate depending on the particular book – the text pattern, the art or illustrations, the story, the message, the play with words, etc. My kids loved their picture books, and they also loved oral tales that we would tell. Sometimes when they were extra tired at bedtime, a personal “main character”oral story similar to what you described was just right. It was as if it was more relaxing and less demanding – no need to take in images other than the ones that occurred to them naturally or were created by their own imagery of a story or experience. They could add as they pleased too – or not.
My kids also had some experience in a Waldorf Education pre-school. Waldorf education focuses on and values the fostering of imagination a lot. Oral story-telling and marionette plays (no faces on the puppets) are often a part of the program because they were believed to support and nurture a child’s imagination. There is less focus on picture books and other media for the sake of imagination, not because they might take away from learning to read and decode. I think there was also the thought that some images imposed too much on a child’s development and imagination.
I think what we have to sort out is this: How do we help nurture the love of reading. And, how do we nurture imagination? Some activities will do both. I think we all love a story… however it is communicated. It is quite universal, right?
Every kid may be different in what supports them to read and imagine. My oldest loved her picture books, loved us reading them to her, and loved to look at them. Over time and with many repeat reads of her favourites, she started to look at the words and letters on her own. When her baby sister came along and life got busier, I often wondered what she was doing when she started to “read” her books on her own more. She finally described it to me one day. Maybe she had an exceptional memory, but she said she knew the story and/or rhyme so well from all the listening (while she looked at the pictures), that she started to pick out letter, sound and word associations all by herself. So what was going on? I would think that the combination of the love for story, the positive family reading experiences and having the books that had many “friends” in them helped her to want to read….and figure it out! She was well on her way to reading when she started SK…and we did next to no “direct instruction”.
Not to say this would work for all kids, as her own sister had a different journey. She loved her books too, loved to be read to, but found many images from books and movies very disturbing and unsettling. She loved chapter books read to her for the longest time when she got older (less pictures?). She didn’t take on to reading as easily, but we had no doubt she would – she loved books and the “cute” pictures in them too much to walk away! I think the slower pace she needed to grasp the written word had more to do with development and maturation though, than whatever particular method used when she went to school. What I find interesting is that, of my two girls, my youngest is the “artist” and “creative director” of our two. Is this because of her imagination? Because we adjusted to her personal preferences with stories and books? The two unrelated?
I may never know or understand for sure and that is okay, but I don’t think I would ever take the printed word too far from a story, context, and meaningful connections from any child’s reading journey! I suspect the “road map” for imagination is as complex, varied and rich too.
I didn’t really answer your questions, Stephen, but I hope I have provided some insight for further thought.