Celebrating the Power of Stories with National Storytelling Week 2024Storytelling is an integral part of being human. Sharing stories helps us connect to our past, portray life’s diverse and rich experiences, and explore our own unique creativity. National Storytelling Week takes place from 27 January to 4 February 2024, celebrating the power of sharing stories. This annual event highlights the importance of storytelling and all the benefits it brings. Stories teach us about the world, helping us to see new perspectives and empathise with others. They support our wellbeing, providing entertainment, escapism, and acting as a mirror through which we can better understand ourselves and others.  Aside from these benefits, storytelling has a huge impact on children’s development, helping them to learn key literacy and communication skills. Research shows that reading for pleasure is the most important factor for determining a child’s success throughout life. Despite this, statistics show that the number of children reading for pleasure has been declining over the past decade and continues to decrease year on year. Sir Michael Morpurgo recently spoke on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, highlighting the crisis that children’s reading is facing.
Michael, along with current laureate Joseph Coelho, and prominent authors such as Julia Donaldson, Dame Jacqueline Wilson, Sir Quentin Blake and Michael Rosen have written an open letter urging the government to invest in early years reading. The letter follows a recent survey from charity BookTrust of over 2,000 low-income families in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, revealing less than half of children under seven have a bedtime story read to them. Speaking on BBC Radio 4, Sir Michael said the younger that children are introduced to the power of stories, the better chance there is of putting them on an "extraordinary pathway of knowledge, understanding and empathy... to give [them] some idea of what's out there". At Green Bean Studios, we recognise the importance of getting more children to read for pleasure. Our books are both fun and educational, helping to engage children’s attention and get them excited about reading from an early age. We’ve carefully developed our books, toys, and games in line with the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework, with a multi-sensory approach to helping children learn through play and develop confidently. We host live interactive storytime sessions with Green Bean & Friends in community spaces, where families can enjoy fun adventure stories being brought to life with readings from founder and multi award-winning author Anita Frost, as well as readings from our other team members. Author events are a great way to spark children’s love of reading and inspire them on their reading journey, not only helping children to get excited about reading, but emphasising to parents and caregivers the importance of reading with children to support their development. Here’s some ways to get involved and celebrate National Storytelling Week this year: 1. Create Precious Storytelling Moments We love creating precious moments for parents to share with their children. Make some time to snuggle up with your child and enjoy sharing your favourite stories together. Whether you are reading aloud to your child, or they are learning to read independently, taking some time away from screens and distractions for quality time together is a great way to relax and nurture a love of books. 2. Show your local library some love Libraries are fantastic places for sparking a love of reading and celebrating stories. Your local library is likely to have events on for National Storytelling Week so be sure to check them out for family storytelling fun. 3. Plan storytelling events for the year ahead Research upcoming author events and literary festivals for the year ahead. Bookmark several that you’d like to attend and then plan for some fun family days out. There are plenty of free events across the UK, as well as paid options, so see what you can find and start making plans for the year ahead!
Be sure to check out Green Bean Studios’ upcoming storytime events here: https://www.greenbeancollection.co.uk/events.html
Storytelling with Green Bean In honour of National Storytelling Week, we are challenging children to channel their creativity and write their own stories inspired by the Green Bean Collection books. This is a great opportunity for children to use their imagination and create a unique story to share! Children can write up to 500 words or use our story sheets – please email if you would like to use our sheets: [email protected] Stories can be sent to us digitally by emailing [email protected]. For handwritten entries, please send to Green Bean Studios, Fan Mail, 4th Floor, Centenary House, Centenary Way, Salford M50 1RF. We will choose the best entries and selected winners will win some exciting Green Bean Goodies! We aim to showcase all entries and share with our fans. We hope these ideas will inspire you to share some precious storytelling moments with your child and encourage them to read, and write, for pleasure! Our Precious Moments Ambassadors campaign Which has been created for parents, grandparents, and early years educational professionals to work with us and support children to learn, play, and develop confidently. If you share our passion for helping more children read for pleasure then get find out more about becoming a Precious Moments Reading Ambassador here: |
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Melissa Brannlund is the features writer and editor, for Green Bean Studios. www.greenbeancollection.co.uk Want to keep updated on all things Green Bean?
Stay tuned for announcements on our website about exciting competitions, giveaways and the latest news from Green Bean Studios. You can find Melissa's monthly features on the News & Media page, discussing children's books, toys, and games,, reading, play, early years education, and enjoying a fun and greener lifestyle. For more information or any PR queries, please contact Melissa by emailing [email protected]. Categories
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