Storytelling Incursions for Early Learning Centres
There is an old Scottish saying, ‘A story should be told, eye to eye, mind to mind and heart to heart’ and that’s just the way Ulf & I love to tell our tales to children; no books, just the children, a story and us.
And we have discovered that in this intimate space, magic happens...
Heart to Heart Storytelling have a rich repertoire of world folk tales, fairy tales, myths & legends and original stories especially adapted and crafted for storytelling with young children.We combine stories & rhymes, songs & action with oodles of interaction and audience participation.
activating, exercising & stretching young imaginations***
Lindy and Ulf are the dynamic duo of performance storytelling, animated, entertaining and educational. Folk tales, fairy tales, myths & legends come to life through their passion for activating imaginations, connecting hearts & creating magic** Their children's shows combine theatrics, props, costumes with oodles of fun, audience participation. Trained at the International School of Storytelling, UK, the Australian/Swedish couple share their heart to heart storytelling & workshops with children & adults around the world.
"Wonderfully engaging...I loved the way the children were invited to join in throughout the stories."
"The children loved it and had some lovely reflections on the experience which sparked some discussions
about caring for the earth."
Storytelling Incursions & Storytelling Workshops for Staff Development.
Storytelling Programs
Let's Be Friends
Stories, Rhymes & Songs on the themes of Kindness, Co-operation & Friendship.
"The children were engaged with the stories and it was evident how much they loved it through their reactions and expressions on their faces. Entertaining and educational at the same time. I would definitely recommend Heart to Heart Storytelling to anyone looking for entertaining and proficient storytellers". Amanda Or, Blacktown City Council
Stories, Rhymes & Songs on the themes of Kindness, Co-operation & Friendship.
"The children were engaged with the stories and it was evident how much they loved it through their reactions and expressions on their faces. Entertaining and educational at the same time. I would definitely recommend Heart to Heart Storytelling to anyone looking for entertaining and proficient storytellers". Amanda Or, Blacktown City Council
Earth Care
Stories, Rhymes and Song on the themes of Sustainability & Caring for our Environment.
"We organised Lindy and Ulf to tell environmental stories to help celebrate our new playground and build on all the work we have been doing with the children about the natural environment and sustainability.
Lindy and Ulf’s beautiful stories added a richness and creativity to this work and we could see the children really took on board the concepts of care, love and respect for the environment through these stories. We will definitely be getting them back next year."
Radha Babicci Director Styles Street Children’s Community Daycare Centre
Stories, Rhymes and Song on the themes of Sustainability & Caring for our Environment.
"We organised Lindy and Ulf to tell environmental stories to help celebrate our new playground and build on all the work we have been doing with the children about the natural environment and sustainability.
Lindy and Ulf’s beautiful stories added a richness and creativity to this work and we could see the children really took on board the concepts of care, love and respect for the environment through these stories. We will definitely be getting them back next year."
Radha Babicci Director Styles Street Children’s Community Daycare Centre
Courageous Kids
Stories, rhymes and song with themes of courage, confidence & communication.
"Wonderfully engaging...I loved the way the children were invited to join in throughout the stories"
"Heart to Heart's caring and calm nature and passion for story telling shone through their whole performance, captivating the children’s attention for the entire show. This was a show that actually calmed the children rather than excited which was just what we were looking for." Radha Babicci
Stories, rhymes and song with themes of courage, confidence & communication.
"Wonderfully engaging...I loved the way the children were invited to join in throughout the stories"
"Heart to Heart's caring and calm nature and passion for story telling shone through their whole performance, captivating the children’s attention for the entire show. This was a show that actually calmed the children rather than excited which was just what we were looking for." Radha Babicci
Let's Celebrate Diversity
A Celebration of Multicultural Stories & Songs.
Fables, folk and fairy tales from all over the world.
Celebrating a particular country or region, or celebrating the cultures of your pupils? Then we can put together a selection of stories especially for your needs.
"I think the most wonderful part for me was watching the animated faces of the children, full of anticipation, as they were entranced by the magic woven in Lindy's lines" Librarian
A Celebration of Multicultural Stories & Songs.
Fables, folk and fairy tales from all over the world.
Celebrating a particular country or region, or celebrating the cultures of your pupils? Then we can put together a selection of stories especially for your needs.
"I think the most wonderful part for me was watching the animated faces of the children, full of anticipation, as they were entranced by the magic woven in Lindy's lines" Librarian
Fairy Magic
Enchanted Stories of the Fairies, Elves & Gnomes
Lindy is the author of two children's books The Elf that Flew & The Fairy that Sneezed, both stories are set on the Central Coast of NSW.
"What a joy it was to have a vibrant, well organised delivery of story telling. Lindy is animated and passionate both in her craft and her philosophy of protecting the environment with the children and Educators becoming instantly absorbed and captivated. A great mix of interactive moments through songs and sound improvisation along with times for simply being the observer and listener, being taken on each story's journey. Nicole Bollom Brightstart Preschool, Bateau Bay.
Enchanted Stories of the Fairies, Elves & Gnomes
Lindy is the author of two children's books The Elf that Flew & The Fairy that Sneezed, both stories are set on the Central Coast of NSW.
"What a joy it was to have a vibrant, well organised delivery of story telling. Lindy is animated and passionate both in her craft and her philosophy of protecting the environment with the children and Educators becoming instantly absorbed and captivated. A great mix of interactive moments through songs and sound improvisation along with times for simply being the observer and listener, being taken on each story's journey. Nicole Bollom Brightstart Preschool, Bateau Bay.
The Gnomes & Garden Show
Stories, Songs, Rhymes and Fun with themes of planting, growing, composting & more.
"Thank you again for coming out the children loved it and had some lovely reflections on the experience which sparked some discussions about caring for the earth."
Amanda Botfield; Director Shine Early Childhood Services, Terrigal
"Lindy and Ulf visited our centre to tell some of their environmental stories for the children in our centre. They combined songs, puppets, costumes and acting to tell both traditional and their own original stories about the environment.
Radha Babicci Director Styles Street Children’s Community Daycare Centre
Stories, Songs, Rhymes and Fun with themes of planting, growing, composting & more.
"Thank you again for coming out the children loved it and had some lovely reflections on the experience which sparked some discussions about caring for the earth."
Amanda Botfield; Director Shine Early Childhood Services, Terrigal
"Lindy and Ulf visited our centre to tell some of their environmental stories for the children in our centre. They combined songs, puppets, costumes and acting to tell both traditional and their own original stories about the environment.
Radha Babicci Director Styles Street Children’s Community Daycare Centre
Book Early for Book Week
Telling Tales; The Benefits of Oral Storytelling for Children
Heart to Heart
There is an old Scottish saying, ‘A story should be told, eye to eye, mind to mind and heart to heart’ and that’s just the way Ulf & I love to tell our tales to children; No books, just the children, a story and us. And we have discovered that in this intimate space, magic happens…
Experts in the field of education & child development, while they may not believe in magic, they are now rediscovering of the ancient art of oral storytelling. Of course, story reading has long been recognised as a wonderful educational tool, however oral storytelling has now proven to have many extra benefits.
The oral storyteller focuses his or her attention on the listeners, ‘connecting eye to eye, mind to mind and heart to heart’. The storyteller brings not only their undivided attention but their own unique personality to the story telling. Ulf and I have very different styles of storytelling, I tend to be exuberant while Ulf has a gentle Swedish manner. The combination of personality and undivided attention gives the storytelling a sense of intimacy which children respond to.
The Storyteller is Free
The story reader is bound by the book and the text and occasionally looks at the listeners, while the storyteller is free to respond to the listeners’ reactions. The storyteller may even change the story, expanding sections when the interest is great or altering the story to fit the needs of the listeners.
The freedom afforded by oral storytelling allows Ulf and I to take any story and rework it for a specific audience. When sharing stories in early childhood we always add rhymes, repetitions and actions in which the children can join in. We also encourage their contributions by asking questions such as, “What would you put in the magic stone soup?” and incorporate the children’s answers into the story.
Children are Active Participants
Oral storytelling is a shared experience in which the child becomes an active participant in the creation of the story, while children who are shown illustrations and read to, are passive in comparison. Children listening to oral stories must exercise their imaginations, to create the pictures in their minds, that the storyteller forms with words, facial expressions, tone and gesture. There are many benefits to exercising the imagination such as, the development of empathy by the ability to place one’s self in another shoes and greater problem solving skills.
The ‘active’ nature of oral story listening supports concentration and comprehension skills. Recent research shows, that storytelling listeners retained more information and demonstrated better comprehension skills than children who were only read to. A mum recently wrote to us and said that her daughter’s preschool was amazed when her daughter, Gaia, consoled a young friend who had fallen over with a 10-minute story, complete with actions, that she heard us tell on the weekend. Later that week Gaia told another one of our stories to her grandparents! Even we were amazed at how much she retained.
Storytelling is of huge benefit to children who are not ready to read or are having reading difficulties, as it is an enjoyable activity which increases their vocabulary and teaches them the sound and form of narratives without focusing on the written word. And, if children have participated in oral storytelling, they would have experienced the joy of co-creating stories, generating an eagerness to learn more literacy skills.
Storytelling Enhances Emotional Intelligence
Storytelling also enhances emotional intelligence. The reactions of the storyteller to the story, the teller’s tone of voice and facial expressions, model emotions and the appropriate responses to emotions. Learning how to recognise emotions and how to express them is a vital step in child development. Listening to oral stories, also gives control to the child over the level of fear they experience, as they create the images in their minds that they are comfortable with.
Watching emotions play on the upturned faces of our audiences is an absolute joy for us. Their expressions tell us that they are fully engaged with the story and us, the storytellers. We are truly on the adventure together, that is the power and joy of storytelling.
Now that you know just some of the benefits of oral storytelling, we hope you feel inspired to put the book aside and try telling a story eye to eye, mind to mind and heart to heart…it’s absolute magic.
Storytelling and Story Reading: A Comparison of Effects on Children 's Memory and Story Comprehension. http://dc.etsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2180&context=etd
Role of Storytelling in Early Literacy Development -- Louise Phillips http://www.australianstorytelling.org.au/storytelling-articles/n-s/role-of-storytelling-in-early-literacy-development-louise-phillips
The effects of storytelling and story reading on the oral language complexity and story comprehension of young children. http://wessonportfolio.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/46335801/Research%2520Article%25202.pdf
Storytelling engagement in the classroom: observable behavioural cues of children's story experiences. Mundy-Taylor, J. (2013) (PhD), University of Newcastle. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/939911
The effect of teacher’s storytelling aloud on the reading comprehension of Saudi elementary stage students Nasser Saleh Al-Mansour *, Ra’ed Abdulgader Al-Shormanhttp://www.lisntell.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Storytelling-Aloud.pdf