Milford chronicle. [volume] (Milford, Del.) 1878-1974, 1922-12-15
MAKING THE MOST OF STORIES
By Mary Frances Davis

One of the most valuable assets Of
the mother of small children is the
ability to search through her treasure
house of stories and find just the right
one for the need of the moment.
All children love stories, and are
eager to listen to any interesting one
but by giving careful thought to the
selection of her stories a mother may
make them contribute directly to the
mental and spiritual development of
her children. The real purpose of tel
ling stories is to give joy, and of
course this primary aim should al
ways be uppermost in the mind of
the narrator.
The simplest way to classify stories
is according to the age of the hearers.
Nursery rhymes are used universally
as the very first stories, for the de-
light children who are still mere ba-
bies. The jingling rhythm first at
tracts the attention, and after many
repetitiOns, as the little minds devel-
op the words began to convey mental
pictures, and the story is gradually
understood. Many babies only two
years old recognize and enjoy most
of the Mother Goose rhymes.
There is slight gap between the
Mother Goose tales, and the first stor-
les given in story-books. We have
found that two-year old children
greatly enjoy simple tales relating
their own personal experiences, when
told in clear, direct manner. For in
stances-"Once little boy named
Preston went out for a walk, and he
fell down and began to cry. His
friend, the squirrel, ran down from a
tree and looked at him. Then his big
friend, the dog, ran to him and barked
'BOw-wow.' Then along came his sis
ter, and said, Don't cry, little Bro
ther.' So the little boy stopped crying
and stood up, and smiled at all his
friends" Mothers will find ample ma
terial in everyday happenings, and
should use simple words and keep the
action brief.
The stories that naturally follow
these fall into two classes, those |
which relate incidents that might |
really have happened, and those which |
open up the world of fairies and make
believe.
Children of kindergarten age de-
light in fairy tales, because they
stimulate the imagination. In this
stage of mental development the inn
aginatiVe powers are very alert, and
little children live almost as much
in the world of make-believe as they
do in the real world. Because of this
heir minds crave fairy tales.
Nature lessons may be taught beau
fully and impressively through stor-
es. Children enjoy these, and at the
same time gather much valuable in
Ormation.
Boys are especially interested in
rue stories of heroes and many his
orical facts may be presented in this
way.
Several recent collections of chill
ren's stories are indexed according
o the moral lessons they contain.
his method of classification is very
seful to mothers who like to use
tories as means of discipline, A
killful stOry-teller- may relate her
tory with the idea Of correcting some
hildish fault, without losing the
'esh, appealing charm of the story
self. Perhaps this is the supreme
'st of good story-teller.
List of stories for Kindergarten LIST
nd End grade, by Lit. Com. of Int.
gin. Union, CO May Murray, Sec
'tary, Springfield, Mass. SIS.
List of Stories for children I'D to 12
ears of age. Pub. Carnegie Library,
lttsburgh. $.25.
Teaching of Lit. in the Elementary
;hool MacClinton, University Of
licago Press.
Children's Stories and How to Use
lem, Eseiwein and Stockard. Pub.
Home Correspondence School,
Mass.
Here and Now Story Book, Mitchell.
Id. by E. P. Dutton.
Teachers Story Teller's Book o.
ady and Throop. Pub. Rand McNaI-
II Z
"Hurrah! The School Board gave 4
us the kindergarten because they
said it was plain they would have no
peace until they did, wrote the
President of Parent-Teacher AS !
ISOLATION.
The School Board deserves no
peace until it has provided educa- {
1onal advantages for young as well ,
is older children. y
If your school has no kindergar-
en- write for advice to the National y
Association, West y
9th Street, New York City.
e