Using Family Learnings

STORYTELLING AND FAMILY LEARNING

What is family storytelling?

Parents are encouraged time and time again to read stories from books with their young children, as the benefits are many – improved literacy skills, increased school success, parent-child bonding, developing a lifetime interest in reading, and more. Yet, everyday family stories may offer some of the same benefits as reading, along with other benefits, too.

Storytelling is not the same as reading stories to your child. A story remains fixed upon the page, the words read one by one. The language of the text is more formal than the speech. While the reader may embellish the text with vocal inflection and tone, and by pointing to illustrations, the creative repertoire for enhancing meaning is limited. In contrast, telling a story often involves improvisation and, more importantly, audience participation. A storyteller is more likely to embellish a story with facial gestures, body movements, sound effects, props, and audience participation.

The Power of Storytelling – What Kids and parents can learn from Family Stories

Multiple studies have shown that a child’s mental development and grasp of language are strongly associated with the amount of language that a child is exposed to in the first three years of life. Parents should limit TV and talk more to their children, but more importantly, engage in back-and-forth communication. Interactive storytelling provides many opportunities for conversations between parent and child. It conveys to the child that he or she can be a listener, a teller, or a co-constructor in the learning and expression of language. Literacy and reading specialists tell us that reading comprehension depends on language abilities developed through storytelling and other oral language activities that have been developing since birth.

  Storytelling helps develop strong bonds between parent and child and gives quality to the time they spend together. It enhances the interaction between parent and child, shielding and strengthening their relationship. It also engages back-in-forth relationships as both parts can be a listener, a teller, or co-constructer in the learning and expression of language. As a result, reading comprehension depends on language abilities developed through storytelling and other oral language activities that have been developing since birth.

Telling stories teaches your child important personal, social, and cognitive skills. These skills enhance the ability of a child to interact with and respond to his or her surroundings in intelligent and heartfelt ways. Through stories, a parent teaches the beginning skills of problem-solving. Every conversation with the child is an opportunity for that child to think, reason, use language, and understand — even at meta-cognitive levels. Think of conversations like a mental workout. Just as flabby muscles improve with exercise, so IQ levels improve through cognitive stimulation.

What are the benefits?

●      Storytelling is a fun way to learn

●      Storytelling builds emotional intelligence

●      Storytelling helps foster a love of reading

●      Storytelling enhances language development

●      Storytelling promotes creative thinking

●      Stories introduce new ideas

●      Storytelling helps teach moral values

What types of stories are best for teaching and learning?

There are many different types of stories that parents can share with their children. Personal stories typically focus on a family member’s life, memories, or overcoming challenges. An example of the start of a personal story is “Let me tell you about what happened on my 6th birthday”. Their advantages are that they arouse children’s interest in the experiences and lives of their parents, strengthening the family bond. Literary stories are those from books. These are beneficial to children due to complexity, syntax, and a format that is aligned with the future reading and reading comprehension of children. Blended stories are a mixture of personal stories and literary stories that connect the two types in a meaningful way. An example of blended storytelling is a parent and child exploring a narration of daily experiences. This is a tremendous way to load up on new vocabulary that stimulates learning and forges new brain connections.

Family Storytelling Activities

Children are never too young to begin hearing stories. Family storytelling can happen just about anytime and anywhere – from dinnertime conversations to rides home from the store. Here are suggestions on how to get started:

Simply tell stories

Share a story from your childhood. To capture your child’s attention include interesting information or fun facts. “I once got in trouble and was kicked off the school bus. The school bus driver was my Dad!” Use props (a toy bus for example) to help engage your child, especially younger ones, in the story. When children are able to connect to the stories, they are more likely to remember them. Also, encourage children to tell their own stories often. Sharing heirlooms and photographs can also bring the past to life and offer many opportunities for storytelling. With the benefits of technology; it is easier to keep family stories alive – through online communication, blogs, genealogy websites, etc.

Talk to relatives

This connection, especially with older relatives, brings the generations together and creates strong family bonds. Stories shared by older adults are vital in connecting a family’s past to the present. Related activities could include attending special family events like a reunion or going on the family history field trip.

Celebrate the holidays with stories

The holidays are the perfect time to share family stories. Talk to your child about family traditions and favorite recipes passed down through generations. Also include stories from your past holidays.

Create personal or family histories through a journal or scrapbook

With your child, create a photo book of family members and talk about them as you read the book. In addition, making a family tree can help children begin to see how families are connected.

 Family history is not only about knowing the relationship but also about how the stories are told when they are told, and the overall detail and emotion included with the story (the process). The stories need to be told over, and over, and at times when families can focus on one another. Therefore, it’s important to continually create opportunities for children to learn, and benefit from, their family history.

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SHARING BOOKS

Experiential learning is the highest form of learning as it involves all the senses. Family learning combines theoretical and experiential learning. There is no limit to how one will learn. It can be from receiving information to reading a book. However, it can go a step further and include the exchange or sharing of books or even a step higher by discussing the content of the books, drawing ideas and knowledge, creating feelings and experiences, and enriching the way of thinking and perception of situations.

The family knowledge does not have to be in the house, it could be taking a walk in the countryside with readings about the countryside, a walk at the sea with readings about the flora or fauna in the sea, its rocks or sand coastline, the artificial works in ports and coasts, bays, gulfs, etc.

Also, the children’s response to a stimulus could vary, from a summary of a story, a drawing, the expression of a point of view, the creation of a nice collage with shells, pebbles, driftwood, fruits of trees and plants, or even objects of everyday life in town.

Family learning is a process that started when families first appeared and parents had to show or simply teach their children basic things. At every age, parents show or teach the corresponding things so that their children can cope with their needs. In this way, long before school appeared, the parent or teacher or anyone who raised the child individually or in a group with others or with other members would have to guide the child to the needs of each age by offering choices, acquired knowledge, and a variety of skills. Little by little, all the knowledge and experience were recorded in books, and in time, the libraries were filled with books generously offering the knowledge and experiences of many generations.

An interesting experience in which the whole family could participate is reading books, fairy tales, poetry, local history, and local folk traditions. By saying the whole family means that in addition to the core family, extended family members such as grandparents and relatives who maintain close and meaningful relationships with the family could also be involved. Many times, there are people surrounding the family who may not have blood ties but they are considered family and of course are included in the family’s life. All these combine elements of interest for all ages and the emotional involvement of all. Parents’ hobbies are also an interesting practical framework for acquiring knowledge, experiences, and skills for children. Moreover, if the child is really engaged in the hobby, this interest acts as a lever to seek more information at a theoretical level and leads him to search for relevant information in books, the local library, or even online libraries, resulting in the child entering in processes to organize his learning, to develop a large number of skills having a clear goal to fulfill. After the theoretical searches, he is introduced with critical thinking to the choice of the context in which he will deepen and create his own special context of involvement.

It is important to remember that children’s first non-formal teachers are parents. Parents teach children the first basics of knowledge in a natural way, both by talking and by being role models for their children. The best learning experience for children involves adults as well. When parents, teachers, and children can work together in the right way then everyone can get the maximum benefit. Parents should be motivated to participate in the children’s efforts, feeling that they have, in addition to a parental role, a supporting role in learning, and therefore look forward on the one hand to providing continuous support to their child’s effort, and on the other hand, look forward to their continuous personal self-improvement. Children should have the teacher as a learning coordinator at school, who helps them acquire the necessary knowledge to form individual attitudes towards the acquisition of knowledge and properly organize the acquisition of the desired skills. Finally, children have allies and not oppressors and critics, parents and teachers do their best so that teachers have the least possible burden on the level of student discipline in the classroom and allocate their time, energy, and knowledge to guide student effort.

However, the means for the interaction of the members could be the book. The book is a basic means of searching for knowledge, which is used in every case. It could therefore be the pole of attraction for essential knowledge, communication, and interaction offering quality time to the family. A predetermined time where the family could be gathered in a space such as the living room of the house and spend quality time with some kind of family activity could improve the attitudes and skills of parents who feel cognitively underprivileged and would enhance the quality of the relationship between parents and children. It would improve children’s skill development, foster better family-school relationships, and ultimately connect parents with children in a positive educational experience.

It is known that a child’s literacy emerges through his observation and participation in activities important to him that provide him with knowledge and experiences and satisfy him emotionally. At very young ages, children do not know how to read, so they watch their parents or older siblings read and create sound patterns in their minds for the words they hear by associating them with pictures, representations, and feelings. Then they feel the need to express themselves by trying to match words and concepts to present their own story by taking elements from what they have heard and giving those emotions they have felt. When, from a young age, the child watches his parents read participative with family members and process concepts, use elements to draw pictures with their minds and with what they know, building the new knowledge, he learns to function in this way and to develop as a whole as an entity.

Parents often are caught up in their daily activities and get lost in the emotional entanglements between providing material goods and privileges for their children and their need to enjoy quality time with their children. The need for quality time between parents and children is mutual and above all necessary. At first, parents may feel that choosing a book is a difficult decision. However, the natural course of things is for parents, depending on the age of the children, to start telling fairy tales and stories to the young children and as the children grow up to adopt the readings to topics that interest each age. The experience begins with the selection of the book and what it promises, the reading process when one reads and the others watch, and then the discussion that takes place where everyone has something to ask or say or wonder and thus create a fruitful spiritual fermentation of ideas and feelings, an interesting and meaningful communication that is the basis for a healthy family bond, a meaningful interaction, in short, a unique experience.

Many times reading a book becomes the occasion to create the need for a different plot, a successful conclusion, a search for a way to solve an unsolved problem, or a change to a very unpleasant situation. How many times when we read a book and find others who are reading it or have read it, we do not want to exchange favorite scenes or touching moments that led us to see certain things with a different eye.  Ideas or scenes that troubled us and put us in processes to look for other options for a different turn of things and then experience situations that make us feel the same emotions. Ideas and scenes prompted us to look for more readings and further knowledge and other books and other people with whom we can communicate and share what we felt. Other times there are stories through books that we want to hear or read and then tell them and transmit their energy constantly because they offer us emotional sufficiency. Many times the children draw up stories with elements they liked from the stories they read and make up their own stories, which they tell, in turn to groups of usually younger children.

From a point on, the enrichment of the home library collections with books will not only be the job of the parent but also the children who are slowly forming their preferences in relation to the type of books they prefer, will be able to make their choices from the school lending library, the local library and the selection of local bookstores.

On vacation, the family could take one of the book collections with them so that they can read their favorite books during their leisure time. Books that were recommended but the rest of the time there is no time for quality reading or even re-reading favorite books. It is a fact that by re-reading a book or re-looking at a picture or a painting after a long time one sees more or even different things than the first time. This could be a starting point of discussion for further exploration of important issues and the renewed exchange of views lead to more meaningful and deep emotional possibilities of expression.

Internetography

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WRITING IS ALL AROUND US

By saying that the written form of a language is all around us, we mean that every day we come in contact with domestic or community environment, which is filled with many types of print.

The environmental print that appears in street or shop signs, logos, labels, product packaging, bills, magazines or newspapers, advertising brochures, graffiti, etc., is children’s first contact with written language.

Reading environmental print is an important skill that precedes literacy and contributes significantly to the development of reading convention.

Of course, simple exposure to environmental print is not enough by itself; it needs interaction and connection with aspects of daily life in order to give meaning to each new experience. Children begin to understand little by little through their contact with print, that each of them contains information, on various categories of subjects, expressed in written language messages to which they often attribute meaning from the context or from its colors and graphics printing, satisfying their desire to discover what is happening around them. The recognition of words and symbols that appear regularly in the everyday immediate environment is called awareness of environmental print.

However, there are various parameters that determine children’s understanding of the content of texts and these have to do with their age, the frequency of exposure to a printed language environment, and therefore familiarity, interest in the text, the avocation of adults, and the format of the text.

Essentially, every encounter of children with environmental publications can offer the following possibilities: abstract symbols to acquire meaning, understanding of the complex surrounding world, and the gradual making of reading behavior. In addition, reading behavior will be evolved as opportunities for new language experiences increase.

Examine what your children know about environmental print and raise their awareness

Since every day, we all interact as we said above with various forms of written language, it is important for parents to observe what kind of knowledge their children have about environmental forms, the attitudes they develop around them, and what they are or are not particularly familiar with.

This type of discovery aims to identify an effective learning style, of course, adapted to the uniqueness and age of each child. And this is because reading or recognizing the messages of the environment is not something that happens mechanically but arises through appropriate training.

Parents’ discussions with children about the surrounding printed language even before the start of formal education at school, creates the conditions for an early reading ability. In this context, the creation of a home environment rich in reading materials, the interaction with written language stimuli of the wider social environment and learning to utilize them in different ways, essentially strengthen the efforts for language development.

Using environmental print at home

• Categorize your mail: bills, flyers, letters from loved ones

Explain to the children what visual cues you use to figure out which category you put everything you receive into, and have them sort them into categories accordingly

• Take advantage of store brochures with various products. Show the picture to the younger members and mention the name of the product. Then say the product by its name and ask the children to identify where it is in the brochure.

• Gradually expand to explanations of the utility of the products beyond their names, analyze what each one does and how it can be consumed

• Take a newspaper or magazine and ask the children to choose the words they can recognize

• Read to them what the most commonly used household product packaging says by pointing to the letters, syllables and have them pretend to read what the packaging says too

• Cut out their favorite images from various forms and create stories

Using environmental print outdoors

 On the way to a destination, explain the symbolism of the traffic lights, the signs and point out where the shops you use in your daily life are located, mentioning information that describe them in detail (here is the grocery store where we buy fruit for our home, it has 7 green stalls, the sign says “your neighborhood grocery store”, its walls are white, next to it there is a kiosk, etc.)

   At the super market we show to the children the list we have prepared at home, guide them to the appropriate aisles and ask them to locate the products we want to buy. We also ask if they can recognize their favorite milk, bar of chocolates, etc.

   In the restaurant, we give the children the menu, we read the content to them and after they tells us what they want to order, we ask them to recognize  it in the written text or we find it together and read it out loud how it is written

 On public transport, we show where we can issue a ticket, how the ticket is, on which device we put it to validate our ride, and the name of our destination. 

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EVERYDAY WRITING

What is everyday writing?

 Daily writing refers to various activities that cultivate children’s writing skills through a variety of incentives. It develops naturally from an early age through the process of socialization; it is considered a lifelong evolutionary process that seeks to achieve the communication of the individual within the complex surrounding world.

The role of the family in this learning process of language development is crucial. Essentially, how each child’s language is formed depends on their family’s involvement in their literacy, so it takes a lot of time to create multiple literacy opportunities. Older members are usually the children’s first teachers and bear the responsibility of forming healthy role models since their reactions and approaches to things are often copied and repeated. One finds that the more parents are involved in learning processes, the more the children’s efforts to learn will intensify. The younger members, because they lack experience, need guidance to understand and develop the written language, and it is quite beneficial to plan activities that correspond to their spark interests and encourage their active participation.

How to involve children in writing activities

One way to ensure children’s participation in learning processes that promote their writing is to take part in activities they enjoy. So family should notice what motivates their children to start writing, making it the reason for assigning them written activities. It is very important to observe at which time of the day they are most receptive to be involved in writing activities in order to enhance their response.

Also, establishing the habit of recording the daily actions is required for the smooth running of the household, and can work quite beneficially in strengthening the written language (shopping lists, appointment reminders, messages to other family members, deadlines for paying bills, telephone messages, important holidays, participation in events, excursions, etc.). This action is initially carried out by the older members of the family, however, it attracts the younger ones to do the same, since they act as their role models.

In addition, most activities can be done in the form of a game as the combination of fun/entertainment and education seems to be more popular.

Finally, it is important to remember that the art of writing is cultivated by daily use, encouragement, and matching methods to personality.

Ideas to get children into a writing habit

· Make written lists of everything that pertains to your daily life and gradually entrust your children with editing them

· Encourage younger members to keep in touch with loved ones by writing letters, letters, and cards.

· Use pictures and have children create short stories

 Read them fairy tales and have them write a different ending

· Ask them to put their possible requests in writing

· Keep a journal of fond family memories

· Create new team games and let the children write down their rules

· List social problems that children can understand and ask them to write down their ideas by suggesting solutions in a short text

· Organize your holidays together and list possible destinations along with various points of interest

· Ask them to draw a picture of their school class with their classmates, writing their names at the same time

· Have them copy their favorite recipes into a notebook of their choice

· Enrich their vocabulary every day and have them create related sentences

· Write together instructions for the operation and use of electrical appliances in the house

· Create creative spaces and equip them with appropriate means, at the same time instruct the children to record what kind of activities one can do entering this space, also identifying the ideal times

· Turn compulsory school exercises into a fun game.

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MATH AT HOME

Family learning Math

Many people consider mathematics as a difficult and demanding subject that should only be taught by experts, professors and teachers. They may not recognize the extent to which mathematics is used in everyday family life. As a result, they underestimate the contribution to mathematical development that parents could offer to their children.

  In the first phase, parents should examine their feelings and opinions about mathematics. How they remember the mathematics they were taught at school, what they liked and what they found difficult, as well as in what activities in their daily life they use mathematics. They will see that mathematics is present in many of their daily activities and that by overcoming the inhibitions they have from possible difficulties in understanding the lesson at school they could make a significant contribution to the development of their children’s mathematical thinking.

   Just as children learn enough about writing and reading before they start school, the same can happen with maths. They constantly see adults discussing numbers and using them in their daily lives. If parents realize that activities involving mathematics can be integrated into their children’s daily routine, then they will see that the development of their children’s mathematical thinking can be achieved in a playful and fun way.

  Initially, parents categorize the activities that include mathematics, which mathematical operations they refer to, how often they are with their children in these activities, and whether their children are actively involved in these activities. The same can be done with their children’s activities and games – parents can decode the mathematics hidden in them and guide their children to bring out the mathematics that emerges from them by participating in and directing their play.

 Questions in this direction:

· Which activities in my daily life involve mathematics?

· What sections of mathematics do they include?

· Do I talk to the children during these activities?

· How can children actively participate in them?

· What children’s games and activities involve math?

· How can I highlight mathematical practices by participating in the children’s game?

 Below are some suggestions that can help parents develop their children’s 
 mathematical thinking:

 Use numbers

The child will need a lot of practice in arithmetic before he gets a real sense of numbers and what they represent.

· Point to the numbers around them – clocks, calendars, signs…

· Count with him constantly – “How many cars do you have?” ‘How many sweets did you eat?’ ‘Can you give me two fruits?’

· Do simple actions with him ‘ You have one cookie, if I give you two more how many will you have? ‘If you eat one of the four croissants you have, how many will you have left?’ ‘If you divide the four sweets between the two of us, how much will each of us get?’

Talk to him about the time

· Place a calendar where the child can easily see it. Talk to him about the days of the week, count how many days or months are left until important dates (Christmas, birthdays…)

· Use a conventional watch with him and show him the time measurement. Discuss how long favorite activities like a TV show, a basketball game…

Use money with him

· Look at product prices with him when you shop

· Discuss with him the cost of the products ‘ This chocolate costs 3 euros while this one costs 2 euros. Which one is cheaper?’

· Create a virtual store with products you have in the kitchen and ask him to buy products using real money.

 Play with him

– Dice games (knock out, beat that, snake …) help the child to develop his skills in understanding numbers and addition

-Playing with him recognizes and creates patterns.

– Create with it a new game with elements of addition, sorting, choosing different paths to solve a problem.

-Play with him selected digital educational or video games that help develop math skills

 – Problem-solving activities such as puzzles, matching, etc. require children to play through the stages to the final solution. Becoming able to think of different paths to solving a problem is not just a math skill, but a life skill.

Do activities with him

 Listen to music together and discover the patterns. Follow the beat and copy the pattern with the hands and feet to play along with the music.

In a walk there are many opportunities to compare ‘Which is taller?’, for similarities and differences, to categorize, to estimate distance ‘Who is closer?’, to measure ‘How many steps are there to the tree’..

Collect materials (buttons, shells, small toys…) that you can

 sort, measure or create patterns.

Take advantage of homework to develop mathematical skills ‘Let’s sort the clothes by color’, ‘Let’s set the table for five people’, and ‘Let’s put three cups of rice in the pot’.

 Tips for success

  • Have paper, pencils and markers , available so the child can easily express themselves and visualize math symbols
  • Talk to him about math at every available opportunity. This helps the child deepen and develop their math vocabulary.
  • Give him time to get to know the materials he will use to proceed with solving a problem or activity
  • Observe the child’s activities and introduce mathematics as a continuation of his play, letting him take the initiative.

 Don’t forget, math is everywhere! With appropriate practices, you can improve and develop children’s mathematical thinking in a fun and enjoyable way.

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