A Garden of Stories
Good stories are timeless. And yet some stories are more suited to certain times. In order to more deeply understand and feel a story, sometimes the right context is necessary.
Often, in the busy-ness of life, we can forget to give time to stories. To our own stories, and to the stories that may not come from us, but that add richness and meaning to our lives.
Kids, if we encourage them, love giving time to stories. They will listen to the same story over and over and over again. Last Big Kids Club season, we told the story of Aladdin every Monday for three months, and the kids never tired of it! In fact, it worked so well to stay with one story, that I never got to dive into the second Arabian Nights tale that I had planned.
Luckily, there’s a new season beginning, and it comes at the perfect time for our next story…
Welcome (again) to the Arabian Nights! Our new story, “The Singing Tree”, comes from the Barefoot Books version of The Arabian Nights tales.
And this season, the season of spring, is the perfect time to tell it. Much like the story of Aladdin, there are many magical elements to this story. It also follows the archetypal hero’s (or heroine’s) journey. In this case there is a special quest that the Princess must undertake, involving a speaking bird, a singing tree and golden water.
I love this story for two main reasons. One, is that it features a female protagonist, the princess who completes the quest in the end, even when her brothers cannot. And two, because it weaves together magic and nature.
To me, nature is inherently magical, and although this story depicts the magic of nature in a more fantastical way, it brings it to life and reminds us of nature’s wisdom. And what better season to celebrate nature’s wonders than the season that brings nature back to life?
This Monday’s BKC season will be all about the magic of nature, and using this magic to help our story’s heroine complete her quest!
This week we’ll be starting off our adventures on a neighbourhood walk, using our own superpower listening skills with the help of Paul Showers’ book, “The Listening Walk” (click the title to hear the story).
If your child loves stories, magic and nature, book them in on Monday afternoons from 1-4pm, as our garden of stories continues! Here’s a sneak peek of what’s to come…
April 3 – A Neighbourhood Listening Walk
April 10 – “The Singing Tree” begins…
April 17 – Our Own Magic Speaking Birds
April 24 – The Quest Begins: Turning to Stone
May 1 – The Quest Continues: Our First Task
