by Gail Eastwood, Humboldt (CA) Meeting and Karen Davidson Olson, Grass Valley (CA) Meeting, Pacific Yearly Meeting
This article first appeared in the April 2007 edition of Friends Bulletin (No. 17) and is reprinted with kind permission.
People tell stories to each other because that is how we empathize with one another. Whether it is around the well or the water cooler, people through the ages share themselves when they share their stories. Stories can help people of different generations share with each other. Stories can teach gently, but the learning is lasting.
Dr. Joseph Chilton Pearce, a scientist who studies the activity in the brain, particularly when we learn, said that within the brain there is a river of energy that connects the reptilian brain (sensory) with the mammalian brain (analysis and creativity). This limbic system (sensory) is exercised by the use of our imagination. The more we use it, the more fluid and deeper our connections go. When adults or children create images in their mind as the storyteller tells the story, they are using the limbic system, which makes lasting connections in the brain.
“If you want your children to be brilliant, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more brilliant, read them more fairy tales.”
-Albert Einstein
Stories also connect the head with the heart. Jesus knew this. When he shared sacred truths that he knew would be hard to hear, he used stories. He helped people hear from their hearts. So when the apostles wanted to know about forgiveness, he told the story of The Prodigal Son. The story shows how love can forgive before the son repents. Trying to reach the Pharisees, Jesus reflected their disconnectedness from God’s love in the story of the farmer who left his fields to his servants.
When he sent his son to collect the harvest, the servants killed the son. Some stories reach the heart better than others.
Karen’s Hints for Telling Stories in First Day School
Storytelling can be scary. It’s hard to let go of the book. Here are some suggestions that can help you feel more confident in learning and telling a story.
- Find a story that excites you or touches your heart. You have to read many stories to find the right one. Your personal experience stories are usually the most powerful.
- Learn the story by heart, not by memory. Sometimes you might want to memorize a phrase:“Run, run as fast as you can. You can’t catch me, I’m the Gingerbread Man.”
- If you are learning a story by heart from a book, read it three times and then close the book. If you are doing a story from memory, write it down and read it three times and put it away.
- Now see the story in your mind’s eye. Visualize the characters. What does Goldilocks look like? What does the Bears’ home look like? Is it a rock structure or a wooden house? What is Goldilocks feeling as she goes into their house? Go through the story in this manner. Notice you haven’t spoken any words yet.
- Now think about the bare outline of the story. If there are any details that you have forgotten, go back to the original written story. You will probably be shocked by how vivid the story is now.
- Put the visualizations and the story together. Give voice to the characters. (This is my favorite part. I like to do it in front of the mirror.)
- Tell the story OUT LOUD to yourself. The words are different inside your head. You need to hear them. (The shower can be a good place for this.)
- Tell it to someone else. Before you go to First Day School the story needs to be told. Anyone will do— your mother, the coffee vender, your dog. Just tell it.
- Share it with your children. Sometimes I set the stage by lighting a candle or singing a song. The most important aspect is for you, the storyteller, to be excited.
This sounds like a lot of work, but when you see your most child sitting transfixed in the spell of the story, it will be worth it. But be prepared for the first words to be “tell us another!” It’s always good to have two stories ready.
Trust the power of telling and enjoy.
Karen’s Favorite Story Resources
- Religious Education Committee of FGC, Quakers on the Move. 1996.
- White, William R. Stories for Telling. Augsburg Publishing House. 1986.
- Ragan, Kathleen. Fearless Girls, Wise Women & Beloved Sisters. W.W. Norton & Co. 2000.
- White, William R. Speaking In Stories: Resource for Christian Storytellers. Augsburg Publishing House. 1982.
- Komroff, Manuel, trans. The Great Fables of All Nations. Tudor Publishing Company. 1935.
- Shah, Idreis. The Magic Monastery. E.P. Dutton & Co.
- Uchida. The Magic Listening Cap: Folktales from Japan. Harcourt Brace and World. 1955.
- Mayo, Gretchen Will. Earthmaker Tales. Walker Publishing. 1991.
To purchase any of these or to get ideas for more story resource ideas, go to the website of QuakerBooks of Friends General Conference. Look at the adult books as well as the children’s books; so many of the stories we need to share and sink deeper into are the same for people of all ages.