Saturday, August 30, 2014

Freedom From the Prison of Prejudice and Hate

By Mimi Say

On this Independence Day, we free our minds from Prejudice against people of other races. We free our minds from judging people not from our group. We cut the leash that bound out emotions that dislike those that don't 'belong' to our group.

We are prisoners. We are in the prison of our judgemental tendency. We only see the faults of others and the greatness of 'our' people. Do we want to live in a land where people distrust each other, do not like each other, do not understand each other or do not tolerate each other?

Malaysia is a beautiful country. She has diversified people and cultures. She is endowed with bountiful and beautiful resources. She does not have natural disastrous calamities.

She used to have people of various races interact with each other harmoniously. Now she has more people who deal with each other suspiciously. Where has the 'beautiful' her gone?

I try to bring up my children of various colours into one heart. The heart that beats into one rhythm. The rhythm of love and harmony. In the ears of young innocent children, they only hear the melody and rhythm of love. In their eyes, they only see the colours of beautiful rainbow that are woven into an extraordinary arch.

I bring children of various races together. They learn together. They eat and play together. They have fun together. Please allow them to grow together. Release them from the prison of hateful mind towards people from other races. Let them make friends. Allow them to have fun together.

Hopefully they will grow up to be humane people. Hopefully they will grow up in the garden of love. Hopefully they will cherish friends from other races. Hence I do not take the celebration of Malaysia Independence Day lightly.

On this day, children interact harmoniously with each other. They sing, play, eat, laugh, interact and colour together. They have FUN together. I plant the seed of racial harmony in them. Hopefully the seed of harmonious living will continue to grow and the flower of love among various races will bloom beautifully in the future.

Hope you enjoy the scenes of how we celebrate Malaysia's 57th Merdeka (Independence Day).

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Storytelling by Preschoolers

By Mimi Say

     Our young children loves stories. They love listening to stories. At times, they love to 'retell' stories. I can hear stories about their friends, pets, siblings, teachers or even homes.
     Stories for the competition are given one month ahead. Amazingly some can memorise the stories in a few days and others in less than a week.
     There are some who have a hard time time to read and to memorise the stories. We never gave up on them. We continuously support and motivate them. Parents are roped in to help the children at home.
     Thank god some of them are able to perform on stage as opportunities are given until the eve of the competition. The list of competitiors is only finalised on the eve.  Hence the pile of last minute confirmation of candidates falls on me.
     I do not mind the last minute work load as long as each child who has put in a lot of effort be given the opportunity to perform on stage. Salute to all children who have tried their very own best! A heartfelt thank you is to be extended to each teacher who has put in as much effort to train the children.
     It is observed that parents who care about their children put in as much effort as the teachers and children. Children feel proud when they are called on stage. They really want to show how much they have mastered to impress the love of their lives: Parents.
     Words of encouragement are crucial here. Simple words of encouragement like "Good job!", "Yesss!!!", "I like it!", or "Your need to be louder." motivates them to perform better.
     I really do enjoy every moment the children tried their very best on stage. The energy they exuberate is boundless. This positive energy can be easily transfered onto me. I appreciate all the effort that they have put in. They really do enjoy the competition day too.
    Having FUN in what they do gives me deep gratification.
    Have fun enjoying the moment that the children are proud of.













Chinese Storytelling

By Mimi Say

     Wonderful Years is a well-established kindergarten for providing English as a second language for preschoolers. Many parents are not aware that we do train children for Chinese Primary schools as well. Almost all of our Chinese children attend the Chinese Primary Schools. Most of them performed very well.

     Our 6-year-olds are given choices to perform their stories either in English, Chinese or Malay. Here are some Chinese stories performed by our children.






PRESCHOOLER POEM RECITATION

By Mimi Say

     This year we embark on an unchartered territory - poem recitation by 4-year-olds. i noticed the 4-year-olds are more articulate and some have more confidence than others. My intention are to further enhance this positive emotional feeling and to boost it for those who lack of it. Surpisingly some showed marvelous results and for other they gain self confidence. I hope to continue this event for the 4-year-olds next year. Do enjoy some of the performances of our young ones.








Sunday, August 10, 2014

STORYTELLING AND POEM RECITATION AT WONDERFUL YEARS KINDERGARTEN

By Mrs Mimi Say

Confidence, poise, impressions, gestures, laughter, butterflies in stomach are abundance on this memorable day for children at our kindergarten.

Today is the day children are looking forward to or 'dreaded'. They can show off their skills acquired after one month of gruelling daily practice at home and at kindergarten - Telling a story or recite a poem!

Our children are given a task to choose a story or a poem each, one month ago. They then need to read, understand, memorise and to present them on stage. First they did the presentation at the kindergarten, then on 8th August 2014, they perform the presentation of stage in front of  many audiences.

It is a gragatuan task for introvert children. The extroverts have no qualms of showing off their skilful display, but the introverts needed a lot of encouragemnt, cajoling and at times pushing.

The most important objective of all is for them to enjoy the day performing on stage. I consider all of them winners because of their ability to overcome all odds an to perform on stage, even those who are only 4 years old.

I hope through this activity, the 6-year-olds will have the confidence to embark on a Primary school journey confidently. I hope this activity can instill in them a passion for literature from young and to continue having passion for English, which is not a first language or a mother tongue for almost all of them. I hope the 4-year-olds will love English even more and will be able to speak English more confidently. Lastly I hope the children have made a discovery that if they put in their best, they will be able to overcome all odds.

Do enjoy the pictorial journey of of Storytelling and Poem Recitation trip.

The backdrop
The 5-year-olds reciting poems
6-year-olds telling Chinese stories
6-year-olds presenting their Malay stories
6-year-olds with their English stories
More 6-year-olds with their English stories
Day care and English tuition category
A 5-year-old brave it on stage
The confident first contestant
Our prizes and certificates
Prize-giving for our 4-year-olds
Rewards for the 5-year-olds
All smiles
Prizes for the 6-year-olds
Thank you Mrs. Say!
Good job, children!
We did it, yeah!!!



Why Children Should Be Given the Opportunity To Tell Stories

Why Children Should Be Given
the Opportunity To Tell Stories
Copyright © 2007 Martha Hamilton & Mitch Weiss 954 Coddington Road, Ithaca, NY 14850
Phone: 607-277-0016 Fax: 607-277-0968 Web site: www.beautyandthebeaststorytellers.com

There are many rewards to be gained from having students tell folktales, authored stories, and their own
tales. Storytelling should be done both formally and informally so that students learn to speak
confidently in front of groups. Here are a few more reasons students should be given the opportunity to
tell stories:

1. Storytelling increases self-esteem. With the greatest risk comes the greatest sense of achievement. One child wrote: "The hardest thing I've ever done was telling my story in front of my class and all those parents that night. But it was also the best thing that ever happened in my life when everyone in the audience applauded for me." That kind of confidence lingers and spills over into other aspects of life.

2. Storytelling, unlike some arts or sports activities, can involve all youngsters regardless of ability level. Children often surprise teachers, parents, other kids, and themselves with their storytelling skills. One teacher wrote: "Storytelling is within the grasp of each child so everyone can participate. The success of kids who don't usually do well in school was surprising and especially rewarding for me, but also for the other kids." Children often gain respect for others whom they thought weren't as capable as them. Many teachers have also remarked about how a storytelling project improves class cooperation.

3. Showing poise and confidence when speaking in front of others comes with practice and experience.In surveys in which adults are asked to name their greatest fear, speaking in front of a group always comes first. The more children are encouraged to do oral presentations while they're young, the easier it will be for them when they're older. Through storytelling, children learn techniques for gaining and
holding an audience's attention (eye contact, use of voice, gestures, pacing, etc.).

4. Storytelling improves listening skills. The pure pleasure children experience while listening to stories helps them to associate listening with enjoyment. During a classroom storytelling project, students learn to listen respectfully to their peers and how to coach one another in a constructive way.

5. Learning a story, rather than memorizing, ensures a much better sense of story, sequence, cause and
effect, and character traits. Comprehension skills must be used in order to learn a story and tell it well. Telling stories improves and reinforces other language skills such as vocabulary, story recall, and reading aloud with expression and confidence.

6. Storytelling encourages creative writing. For example, during the course of a project where students tell folktales, they learn not only their own stories but those of their classmates as well. It’s as if they go inside a story and live there for a while. By doing so, they discover, on a visceral level, what makes a  good story. Their own subsequent stories show much more creative use of dialogue and contain more of the standard story components: beginning and end, plot, characters, setting, and theme.

7. Storytelling stimulates inventive thinking and imagination. Albert Einstein once said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge." If children choose a folk story and, in keeping with the oral tradition, make it their own in the retelling, they learn to be creative, to think on their feet.

8. Telling stories instills a love of language in children and motivates them to read. From folktales they develop an understanding of other people, places, and cultures, and learn to appreciate diversity.

9. Perhaps most important of all, storytelling is fun! One father, who had watched his own child and her classmates tell stories in front of parents and peers, wrote to our local school district to ask that funding for storytelling continue: "Storytelling is an important activity with many long-term benefits for kids. I've noticed many young adults in business who lack even basic skills in communicating their ideas to others
verbally, particularly to a group. Storytelling gives kids a real jump on acquiring these skills. In addition,
it develops something that many practiced speakers lack, namely an ability to use expression and humor
to captivate and motivate their audiences. An added benefit is that I have rarely seen a bunch of kids so
motivated to do a 'school' activity. How can we lose with all these benefits and fun?"

For more information, see our website at www.beautyandthebeaststorytellers.com or our books:
Children Tell Stories: Teaching and Using Storytelling in the Classroom (R. C. Owen, 2005)
Stories in My Pocket: Tales Kids Can Tell (Fulcrum, 1996)
How and Why Stories: World Tales Kids Can Read and Tell (August House, 1999)
Noodlehead Stories: World Tales Kids Can Read and Tell (August House, 2000)
Through the Grapevine: World Tales Kids Can Read and Tell (August House, 2001)
The Hidden Feast: A Folktale from the American South (August House, 2006)
Scared Witless: Thirteen Eerie Tales to Tell (August House, 2006)
A Tale of Two Frogs: A Russian Folktale (August House/Story Cove, 2006)
Priceless Gifts: A Folktale from Italy (August House, 2007)
Rooster’s Night Out: A Folktale from Cuba (August House/Story Cove, 2007)