“If you want children to be intelligent, tell them fairytales. If you want them to be more intelligent, tell them more fairytales.” Albert Einstein

Stories are the easiest, most enjoyable and powerful way to increase children’s skills in speaking, reading, writing and creativity. Stories are a great educational tool benefiting all children from the reluctant writer to the high achiever. The Story Spinner stories combined with its unique methodology built on enquiry, analysis, discussion and drama, play an instrumental role in developing overall literacy skills.

In schools and in home stories will:

• Challenge and expand children’s imagination
• Increase their confidence and enthusiasm for independent reading and writing
• Increase confidence and ability in speaking and listening in all settings
• Increase understanding of the language and image making involved in storytelling and writing
• Increase children’s ability to use language to explore their own experience and imaginary worlds
• Increase children’s understanding of plot, character and story structure
• Increase their understanding and use of grammar and punctuation
• Increase and enrich their vocabulary, pronunciation and word recognition
• Increase their confidence in public speaking
• Increase their confidence in their own creative skills
• Lead to personal growth and development
• Bind groups and classes together
• Create a unique sharing experience
• Give a creative boost to learning across the school and in the home

Storytelling has always been part of the human experience.

Stories are universal, crossing boundaries of language, culture and age. Oral stories have always been a fun, enjoyable and entertaining way to teach children our history, traditions, culture, morality and other complex ideas. Our stories help define who we are. Our sense of identity is forged by the stories we tell ourselves and they can also help build and preserve a group’s sense of community.

The importance of stories in the overall development of young children is well documented. Children’s ability to grasp the concept of narrative appears at a very young age and stories provide a key means to understanding the world around them as well as other people and themselves. Stories mirror human thought. All evidence from neurology and psychology leads to the conclusion that humans think in narrative structures.

There is also strong evidence to suggest that young children who are read to and told stories from a young age have considerable advantages at school, not only in the development of literacy skills, but also in the development of social skills, such as empathising and being able to relate to others. Conversely, children who are not exposed to stories at an early age do less well later both in terms of literacy and in terms of integrating with others at school.

The more stories children know at an early age, the more likely they will be successful as life long learners.

“Children’s early knowledge of story was the most influential indicator of later academic achievement.” Gordon Well, 1987