Homeschool Tips Tricks Ideas

Dear StoryTelling friend,

Teachers, librarians, parents, caregivers all ask me, “How do I tell stories for children?” No matter your goal: stories for the classroom, bedtime stories, storytelling in libraries, a story for homeschool, stories for parents to tell their children, here are 6 tips for telling stories to children:

1. Be prepared for anything.

One of the best pieces of advice I can give you about storytelling for children is: expect the unexpected.

You have to be prepared with a variety of stories when working with children. Once, I was booked to tell stories to a group of children at a local library. I was told to expect kids of roughly ages 6-8. When the audience started to arrive at the library, they were not the older children I was expecting but rather just-beyond-toilet-trained toddlers, who had much of their focus spent on their “big boy pants” (the pull-up pants that are a version of very absorbent underpants) and the very exciting Velcro(tm) strips on their shoes. All of my prepared stories were geared for the listening and participative skills of a much older audience. So, I had to dig deep into my repertoire of stories and games to entertain this very young crowd. We had a good time but it was the long 25 minutes of improvising!

2. Pay close attention to your audience.

You will remember that in previous lessons I talked about storytelling being an audience-centered art form. The younger your audience, the more you as the storyteller must be carefully aware of how your audience is reacting. Children wear their emotions and feelings on their bodies. If a story is not keeping their attention, you will soon know it. Then quickly finish it up and move on to the next story on your list.

3. Focus on having a variety of stories and presentations for those stories.

For older audiences, you may often have a “set list” of stories you will tell. For your audience of children, it is better to have a “pile” of stories to tell with a variety of lengths and participation levels. Generally, for these young ears and eyes, a series of quick and fun stories is a good choice, with a few slow-down stories at the ready if they seem to have a need to listen more carefully.

4. Do not surprise your sponsors.

Every community has a different sense of what is and is not appropriate content in storytelling for children. Be sure that you and the sponsor are clear on what the sponsor expects for your presentation for children. For example, there is a huge difference from one group to another as to what does and does not make a good “scary” story for during the Halloween season.

5. Look children in the eye.

Don’t forget all the basics of storytelling that I have been teaching you. Especially, remember to look carefully at the children you are telling to at your performances. Those lingering looks into the eyes of children in the audience are powerful moments for them.

6. Be uninhibited in your telling.

I believe that children “see” stories differently than adults do. They can submerge themselves very deeply in the stories, often thinking that even the most fanciful story is real. Have fun! Act silly. Make faces. Sing. Wiggle. Be goofy and be larger than life. Your audience will stay with you and immerse themselves in your telling. By the way, expecting children to “sit quietly” as they politely listen to you tell profound stories is to invite your own disappointment.

Storytelling for children can be great fun and may be just a bit more challenging than you expect. No matter your ultimate goal in storytelling, try to include an audience of children on a regular basis.

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Sean Buvala is the director of Storyteller.net and the author of the Ebook “DaddyTeller”™ Ebook that teaches Dads to tell bedtime stories (or anytime stories) to their children. You can find him on Twitter @daddyteller.http://www.daddyteller.com
This article first appeared on www.tellingstoriesforchildren.com.

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Five Minute Tales: More Stories to Read and Tell When Time is Short. By Margaret Read MacDonald

Every storyteller, whether a parent, paid professional or someone who uses story as an addition to their primary job or activities, needs to have quick stories to tell in any situation. On the heels of her “Three Minute Tales” book, Margaret has gathered even more quick-to-tell stories from all over the world.


The stories are divided into nine loose categories such as “Origin Tales,” “Lessons to Be Learned,” and “Riddle Tales.” One of the most useful categories is “Tiny Tales” with stories that can be told in under a minute. Storytellers must always be ready to demonstrate their art form to others and these quick tales are great fillers to have in your repertoire.

Dr. MacDonald is one of the leaders in the classification and understanding of world tales, so one of her expanded comments regarding the type and origin of the story follows each tale. This provides excellent material for research for storytelling for teachers or storytelling in the education.

Margaret has written a number of “must have” books for the potential libraries of storytellers, public speakers and teachers of all types of groups. “Five Minute Tales,” too, will be a book you use often to fill in that “just right” space in your programs and presentations. -Storyteller.net Reviews

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How to Tell a Story?

One of the most searched-for communication skills on the Internet is “how to tell a story.” I would like to give you a quick step-by-step guide to this process of story telling, drawn from my 23 years of being a professional storyteller. This is the fast and quick method to learn a new story.

1. Decide on a story. Sounds elementary, but at some point, you need to find a story that you love. If you are having problems, search the Internet for some simple Aesop fables or find some good stories at a site like Storyteller.net .

2. Break the story down into an outline of events so that you can remember the episodes of each story.

You have two choices for step three. Do one or both if you would like.

3A. Write out or draw out the parts of the story. Using longhand, that means pencil and paper, write out the episodes of the story in your own words. Do not copy the story. Rewrite it in your own words. Doing this process by hand allows your brain to overcome any resistance you might have to the story. Knowing you can do this process with your story is also a way for your brain to overcome some fear of public speaking that might hinder you from telling this story.

3B. The other way to break down a story is via “storyboarding,” a technique that many storytellers use. Take a letter-sized piece of paper. Fold it in half along the length. You now have an eleven inch piece of pager that looks like a taco. Then, fold the right side up against the left and then fold the same way again. When you unfold the paper you will have a piece of paper divided into 8 segments.

Starting at the top segment, draw out each step of the story. This is only for you to learn so stick figures and bad drawings are just fine. This visual method may help you grasp the story better than writing alone.

4. Begin to tell yourself the story, aloud, using your own words while looking at one of the #3 tools above. Repeat this process several times.

5. Think about the story you are telling. Are there parts of the story that do not really need to be there? Do they drag down the story? Cross them off the list or the storyboard and tell yourself the story one more time with those parts of the story removed. Again, at each of these times, you are speaking your story aloud. Let your face get a feel for the story.

6. Put your notes down and tell yourself the story a few more times. This is a great exercise to do while you are driving your car or cleaning your house. Just keep talking to yourself.

7. Call up a friend or find an associate and tell them your story. Use no notes or storyboard. When you finish telling the story to your associate, ask them if it makes sense to them. Did they think you left out any parts? This is not the time to see if they “get it” or understand the deep meanings. You just want to know if the essential delivery of the story makes sense.

8. As your confidence in the story grows, you will want to start thinking about the emotions represented by different words in the story. You may find that you wish to emphasize one part or character over another. These things come with time. If you feel better about saying “once upon a time” at the beginning or “the end” as one of your story endings, then do so. As you grow to understand storytelling even more, you will learn so many other ways to start or end a story.

9. When it is time for your story’s debut, be confident. Look at your audience. Speak clearly. Slow down and enjoy the story experience. As a professional storyteller, I can tell you that it takes a dozen or more tellings of a story to find the your true rhythm and delivery for each story.

There you have it, how to tell a great story! This is a quick, get-it-now guide to storytelling. There is so much more you can learn about how to tell a story. Remember- get started today telling stories. Like a painter who must paint often to get better at painting, you, too, must speak stories often and to many groups in order to improve.

Some resources:
To get my free ECourse on storytelling, see the front page of my website at www.seantells.net. For hundreds of articles and stories, please visit www.storyteller.net. To order the EWorkbook on storytelling that includes live coaching and audio files, please visit www.storytelling101.com

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Based in Arizona, Sean Buvala is a full-time professional storyteller and storytelling consultant who works throughout North America teaching storytelling for business. Along with storytelling techniques for corporate communication, Sean is also sought after for teaching storytelling for schools and homeschool groups. For more information about Sean’s work as a storytelling coach, please see his site at http://www.seantells.net

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Tips for Telling Funny-Scary Campfire Stories
by Priscilla Howe

Night has fallen. The campfire flickers and pops, coals glow, listeners creep closer to the fire and the storyteller. It’s time for scary stories. But wait…some of the listeners are too small for the stories of La Llorona or Hookman. It’s time for a funny-scary campfire story, just enough for shivers, not enough for nightmares. Here are a few tips for effective campfire storytelling for the youngest listeners.

1. Notice the body language of the listeners as you introduce the story. Suggest that the smallest children sit with an older sibling or adult. Some small children like very scary stories, but it’s kinder to the adults who have to be with the child later on to tell gentler stories to young children.

2. Let the listeners know right away that this will be a funny-scary story, not a scary-scary story.

3. Choose a story with a joke ending. You can find a few of these in Alvin Schwartz’ “Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark” series, in Simon Bronner’s “American Children’s Folklore”, or ask a ten-year-old who has been to camp.

4. Err on the side of goofy characters, not scary, for young listeners. Build in a hand movement or repetitive phrase so the audience can join in.

5. Sometimes even a funny story can scare a small child. Reassure the individual child that it will all be fine in the end.

6. For a little shiver, pause just before the punchline. This builds suspense and creates an even bigger laugh at the funny ending.

7. Don’t be surprised if children say “That wasn’t scary!” at the end. This is most likely not a true critique, just an observation.

Once the little ones have gone off to bed, and you’re sure that those who are still around the fire can handle it, if you have time and inclination, tell the truly scary stories.

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As a full-time professional storyteller, Priscilla Howe tells all kinds of stories: funny, scary, funny-scary, and more. With some 200+ peformances per year all over the world, she’s an expert in storytelling for children. Check out her stories, including The Ghost with the One Black Eye at http://priscillahowe.com .

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