Story Bags with Mike & His Little Mouse Friend!
Join Mike and his trusty sidekick—a little soft mouse—on a magical journey of songs and stories! In this fun-filled video, Mike shares his top storytelling tips using story bags, making storytelling even more exciting for children.
“Long before I wrote stories, I listened for stories. Listening for them is something more acute than listening to them. I suppose it’s an early form of participation in what goes on. Listening children know stories are there. When their elders sit and begin, children are just waiting and hoping for one to come out, like a mouse from its hole.”
Eudora Welty, writer, novelist and photographer
Make Your Own Story Props!
Our step-by-step craft guides show you how to reuse and recycle materials from home to create your own storytelling magic!
Story Bags
Make a story bag from a cotton shopping bag!
Sock Mouse
Turn an old sock into a cute little mouse!
Learn more ..
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This collection of links will take you to articles and interviews about the benefits of storytelling in early years from perspective of storytellers, parents and researchers.
In this article from EYFS best practice Nursery World. Storyteller Mary Medlicott explores the benefits of storytelling and discusses practical ideas to help you tell stories to young children.
This BBC article and short documentary explore the importance of storytelling in developing literacy and how storytelling can help shape young children's worlds.
You can find the song Mike sings in the film in this fantastic book of songs by Anne Johnson and Michele Chowrimooto. There are 24 songs celebrating words, sounds and melody.
Artist Biography
Mike Payton is a professional storyteller with over twenty years of experience in the field of education, working with nurseries, schools, colleges, and universities around the UK. He has co-run the popular Nottingham storytelling club Beeston Tales for the past seven years and has performed at a wide range of festivals, museums, and galleries, from Mexican tales at The British Museum to Robin Hood stories in our own Sherwood Forest. Whilst Mike tells stories to all ages, he has a special interest in working with the very young, and is passionate about the power of stories to aid children’s development in a wide range of ways – and also to bring magic into their lives. For the past three years, he has worked with the University of Nottingham’s PGCE department, helping their trainee teachers to bring storytelling into the classroom.
Ackowledgements
We are grateful for the support from Small Steps Big Changes Ideas Fund and to the parents, early years practitioners and artists who helped us develop this resource in Nov 2020.
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