At the daycare center where I work, we recently had an area poet visit our center. While watching him interact with the children, and sharing his stories of inspiration for his poems. This brought to mind of how stories can be told on long narrative or short narrative, through just pictures or just words. Sometimes it is the picture that captivates us with its stillness and silence. However, we cannot ignore the written form of the story gives us, given it some sort of deeper or alternate meaning, that some may not pay attention to just visual. It is the combination of words, pictures and sound that given us the whole story.
Our visiting poet used dramatic gestures and descriptive language to tell the children his experience with what he observed and the children were captivated by his stories. The poet gave varied accounts on how he related his experience through storytelling, first sharing the whole experience through dramatic storytelling, then sharing his written poems, verbally to the class. After he shared his poetry, he read our class poems, that teachers created through conversations we had with the children about counting, what we see outside, and the squirrel that we observe eating the birdseed from birdfeeder. The poems we created all based on their descriptions about what they have observed.
Sharing stories is a main tradition that our center’s director started years ago and is a main focus for discussions with children, parents and staff in promoting a better understanding and respect for others. What are the stories we have to share? Why are our stories important? Communication and actively listening to others is the key. Conversations with children and giving the children experiences with storytelling, songs and poetry are the most favorite pieces about my profession.
Playfully,
Amy
mypoetryarcadia 