Think you've heard the story before? Think again!

Developing a lifelong love of Books at Story Imagin-Ory South Leicestershire.

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What are some of your most treasured memories as child?

One of mine is being read 'Peace at Last (by Jill Murphy)' at bedtime with my sister and parents. Repeating the noises of the humming refrigerator or meowing like a cat on the garden wall.

I equally find just as much joy reading with my own children now.

There's something so magical about Books and Stories and here at Story Imagin-Ory we help to transfer that magic off the page and into the class!

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How more enriched that treasured moment could have been if there were resources and objects available to help re-enact the story at that moment? If I could of dripped some water like the leaky kitchen tap? If I could of played with nocturnal animals in a bed of leaves? If we could have sung songs together and extended that joyful bonding moment? That's exactly what we offer in our classes. Ways of extending the magic of the story through open ended play. 

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Now I'm not going to pretend that reading with my children is always rainbows and unicorns! I'm a tired working mum like many of you.

This is another area that the classes helped me with when I used to take my two children - we saw and heard the Story in different ways, we tasted, smelt, touched and lived it! We found new books to read and new favourites. We practiced sounds and phonics and learnt signs that we could practice and repeat at home. I do my upmost when delivering classes now to think of new ways to share the story. Different ways of engaging you all and enveloping you all in the story being told.

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Studies show that children who are read to from birth not only have an increased love of books, but will have a broader depth of vocabulary. Think of all those fun words you maybe wouldn’t use in every day life – zig, zag, zoom! So many wondrous words waiting for you when you turn the pages, ready to be soaked up in your child’s super absorbent brain! It is proven that early literacy and reading results in increased long-term educational attainment.

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And it’s not only the words that children hear (and eventually repeat and join in with) but the imagery and pictures in children’s books that are great at helping children to make sense of the world around them. Exploring important topics, questioning and challenging perceptions and perspectives, life lessons, social skills, the list goes on and on. Books help to foster imagination, curate curiosity and open up the mind to a world of endless possibilities.

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But ultimately...learning and development aside, (yes we care deeply about this, that’s why all our sessions are underpinned with the Early Years Framework)...we want to BRING STORIES TO LIFE in the most fun and engaging ways with you and your little ones.

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Think you’ve heard the story before? Think again!

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Sam x