Once Upon a Time – Infantil II – I
7 julho de 2014Lorena Gutierrez
“Once upon a time in a faraway land, there was a tiny kingdom; peaceful, prosperous, and rich in romance and tradition. Here in a stately chateau, there lived a widowed gentleman, and his little daughter, Cinderella,” and so this is how I recall my father telling me this well-known Grimm brothers’ tale, adapted by Walt Disney, entitled Cinderella. This is one of the few vivid memories I have of my childhood and clearly demonstrates the importance and impact of stories in children’s lives.
Whether it’s a story told by a roaring campfire, a story told before bedtime, or a story told through paintings on a cave wall, the tradition of storytelling is an integral part of human existence.
“Telling stories is as basic to human beings as eating. More so, in fact, for while food makes us live, stories are what make our lives worth living.” — On Stories, Richard Kearney
So, this June we’ve started telling fairytales in our Infantil II classroom; beginning with the beloved classic Hansel and Gretel. We read the tale for one week straight during story time, while each child listened attentively learning English words related to the tale; words such as witch, house, and treasure, to name a few.
The following week we took a trip to the Story House and a witch wearing a black pointed hat told the tale in an old crackling voice, “Nibble, nibble little mouse, who’s nibbling at my house…”followed by evil laughter. It was definitely memorable.
Finally, on a typical Friday morning, the children were surprised with a replica of the witch’s house, made entirely out of cookies, colored icing, candies, and chocolates!
It was a good way to end our two weeks with the book Hansel and Gretel, allowing each child to imagine this fairytale world of characters complete with its cackling witch and her magical house of sweets. After all, we breathe life into these tales and in turn we come to life.
