The 31st of October is a special day. Not only is it Halloween but it is also International Story Telling day. So what better time could there be to take literacy outdoors!
Outdoor story telling, whether it is other people’s stories or our own, has a certain magic. It encourages a sense of community, of being part of something bigger than ourselves. This can help us feel safe and secure as well as helping children develop friendships.
I know some people will be reading this thinking yeah, that’s nice but we do not have a story telling corner. That is ok. Neither do we in the woods we work in! We we do have us a big tarpaulin or two which allows people to sit without getting wet bottoms. We can even use one to create a canopy using trees or fences to support it.
It is interesting that a study showed that boys generally showed a stronger affinity for time outdoors and nature but girls were more likely to read outside. We know there is work to do to help boys enjoy reading more, could this be a way?
We have explored recently how time outdoors can remove barriers to learning and help close the attainment gap but did you know, just 20 minutes outside prior to a formal assessment can help improve test results.
So, given all this, what could you do outdoors?
You could share our Green Man story. It is all about developing a sustainable attitude and has an open ending to help children go on to create their own stories. Could their own stories be shared outdoors? You can download this story for free by clicking here
You could combine both Halloween and International Story Telling Day and get children to pick or write their own spooky stories to share. Could they share with each other or maybe siblings or other classes?
There are so many things you can do to celebrate this day and we would love to see them, please share on our page or tag us!
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