Storytelling

The Casuarina
Chronicle

Spring 2016 A publication of Casuarina Steiner School

Once upon a time…..
Growing up, stories were an integral part of our days, not an evening would pass
without a story being told by either of my parents. Often the request was for the same
stories only to remind our parents that they left out a detail or told it differently the last
time. I have still a very fond memory of various scenes from fairy tales like
Rumpelstilzchen, Little Red Riding Hood and others I can recall still these days.
Nature stories about plants, insects and other animals opened the world to me at a
tender age. Crossing a snow field in the Swiss mountains we came across a very
humble little plant with a purple flower, enough reason for the family to stop and
wonder how such a small humble plant can withstand the harsh cold of the mountains.
It instilled in me a sense of strength in situations of adversity.

Story telling is more than just transporting

content. It is a weaving of inner worlds of the
story teller and the listener. The story teller
creates a rich inner picture of the story to be
told, the listener creates an inner picture of what
is told and so two creative processes are
interlaced and build a community between the
story teller and the listener.
A friend and professional storyteller lends us his
words here:

‘Stories entertain and offer wisdom. Entertainment and deep insights go hand in hand.
Fairy tales and stories catch our imagination through adventures and show us ways out
of misery. In stories we find positive role models and solutions or crooks and detours. In
this way fairy tales give us perspectives. It touches our innermost and questions our
assumptions. It confronts us with values like goal setting, perseverance, stamina,
faithfulness, belief in oneself and beyond all with hope. Equipped with these values and
commitments the heroes can find their way out of the most perilous situations. In this
sense fairy tales are a protection from despair and a place of hopefulness.’ Paul Strahm
Story telling is different to story reading. In one of her courses Nancy Mellon started
the participants of a story telling course off with the following task:

‘Envision a hero or heroine who embodies a quality that you esteem in other people or in
yourself, such as courage, kindness, contentment or playfulness. Visualise the picture in
detail: How the character is dressed – notice the colours, shapes and textures. In what
era and environment does she or he seem to be living? (..) protagonists often set out to
find greater love, health, power, joy and happiness. Allow your imagination to show you a
picture of a pace of fulfilment and happiness. Is it by the sea, a mountainside, a valley? Is
it a town or a city, or perhaps another planet? As if you are a child studying a superb
illustration, notice the plants, creatures and architectural structures. What fragrance,
sounds and colours do you associate with this picture?”

This is a wonderful exercise to find the story teller in you, to be surprised by where
your story takes you.
Happy story telling! Elsbeth
A Grimm Fairy Tale ……
Sweet Porridge
There was a poor but good little girl who lived alone with her mother, and they no
longer had anything to eat. So the child went into the forest, and there an aged
woman met her who was aware of her sorrow, and presented her with a little pot,
which when she said: “Cook, little pot, cook,” would cook good, sweet porridge, and
when she said: “Stop, little pot,” it ceased to cook.

The girl took the pot home to her mother, and now they were freed from their
poverty and hunger, and ate sweet porridge as often as they chose.

Once on a time when the girl had gone out, her mother said: “Cook, little pot, cook.”
And it did cook and she ate till she was satisfied, and then she wanted the pot to stop
cooking, but did not know the word. So it went on cooking and the porridge rose
over the edge, and still it cooked on until the kitchen and whole house were full, and
then the next house, and then the whole street, just as if it wanted to satisfy the
hunger of the whole world, and there was the greatest distress, but no one know
how to stop it.

At last when only one single house remained, the child came home and just said:
“Stop, little pot,” and it stopped and gave up cooking, and whosoever wished to
return to the town had to eat his was back.

Source
Routledge & Kegan Paul (1948) Grimm Complete Fairy Tales

“Fairy tales speak a universal language that is

understood by, and of great value to, children
worldwide”
Susan Perrow
Storytelling
Story telling has always been part of the human history of communication, but
unfortunately in the age of the technical media a real storyteller or a real listener
might be hard to find.

Both the art of telling and of listening are privileged roles that need a bit of practice.
Each story arises out of a special time and place but can have an on-going life
within the memory of the listener.

The story is a means of expression within a relationship. It has the possibility

to enrich the relationship. The original form of a story might seem to be lost as
each listener individualises and internalises their experience of the story.

Stories are empowering.

The stories we have heard become part of the interweaving of the experiences that
make up our lives.

Young children are not interested in

listening to too much talking,
especially of the directive type.
However the story is a perfect means
of digestible communication.

When the listener receives the story it

can be digested through imitation and
expressed through play. Language is
symbolic and the child can take in a
lot on a deep level. Time can be
taken to absorb the detail. Stories are
an opportunity to use and pass on
wonderful language, rhythmical
sounds and rhyming verses. The
The story that is told by heart is truly that –
child must be left to take from the
a gift from the heart. In telling a story we
story just what is needed.
take the opportunity to share once again
all the ordinary activities of life in an
The listener and the story teller come
extraordinary way. The art of oral story
together willing to share time, and a
telling is about the beauty of words, and
unique form of communication takes
about creating mood and pictures through
place. The oral story takes the
spoken words. Story telling is about the
listeners on a journey. All participants
sharing of experiences in order to bring
breathe together through all the trials
enrichment into the lives of those we meet.
of the journey and they return
The participants of a story are in a special
together to a world where all is put to
timeless place.
right.
The young child needs stories because they live in the world of imagination and
fantasy and all of life is yet to unfold before them, they long to know more of life in
a form that they can digest. Once the story teller feels the warmth with which the
story is being received, the words will almost become separate and the story will
live in those who listen. A meaningful story will be carried throughout a life time.

Those who have listened to stories, can in turn become rich communicators.

Qualities and skills:

• Choose words well

• Articulate well
• Have mastery over key phrases
• Practise reading aloud daily
• Develop a rich and colourful vocabulary
• Really WANT to share the story
• Get rid of any ‘umms’ and ‘and thens…’
• Experiment with sounds
• Work on your dictation and breathing
• Breathe quietly
• Relax the body to remove tenseness
• See the images of the story in your mind
• Be gentle with yourself when it goes wrong
• Listen and watch your audience
• Really LOVE the story with all your heart
• Connect your feelings with the story
• Never rote learn
• Slow down

Danielle Barnes

Hodja Story
Tray of Baklava

One day The Hodja and his friends were sitting at the coffee house. A young boy
carrying a tray of baklava attracted the attention of one of the men.
‘Hodja Effendi, look!’ he pointed, ‘That boy is carrying a tray of baklava.’
‘It’s none of my business.’ Hodja shrugged his shoulders.
‘But, Hodja, watch! He is taking it to your house.’
‘In that case,’ Hodja asserted, ‘it’s none of your business.’
Why Do We Tell Fairy Tales?
Are they appropriate for today’s modern
world?

Rudolph Steiner maintains that just as our body needs

to have nutritious substances circulating through the
organism the soul needs fairy tale substance flowing
through its spiritual veins and, out of all forms of
literature, the fairy tales are the most appropriate for
children’s hearts and minds. It has been said that the
fairytale is a rich tapestry of the journey of the human
soul and forms a great tableau depicting man’s inner
development, and that by dealing with universal human
problems fairytales speak to the child’s budding ego
and encourage its development.

Today, however, many parents and educators have

questioned the appropriateness of fairy tales for
children. Concerns have been raised about their lack of
political correctness and gender stereotyping, with
princes and princesses often bound for a beautiful
marriage and living happily ever after in a grand castle

In 1997 Susan Perrow wrote an article that looked at

the appropriateness of fairytales for today’s world, and
I would like to share some of that article with you. It
sheds some light on why many believe fairytales are
still nurturing and important for children to hear, and
how they work on a much deeper level than the
everyday.

As the archetypal truths in fairy tales belongs to the

‘soul’ world and not the ‘physical’ world, they have a
direct connection with children in any country at any
time. Fairy tales seem appropriate for all children at all
times. Fairy tales speak a universal language that is
understood by, and of great value to, children
worldwide. In the light of these positive arguments, why
then, do some adults have difficulty accepting the fairy
tales? To grasp the answers to these questions and to
help overcome strong prejudices we need firstly to look
at the stages of development in the human being,
particularly the difference between a child and an adult
consciousness.
If we understand the consciousness of a
child as very different to that of an adult
then we can understand why fairytales
speak so clearly to the child, who is still
more in a ‘mono-consciousness’, not a ‘duo-
consciousness’ stage. For a child, the
boundary between inner and outer reality,
between the physical and spiritual worlds is
blurred, almost non-existent. In fact, the
inner (spiritual) is real to a child. Whereas
for the adult, the boundary could be
described more like a brick wall, and inner,
meditative work is needed to break this
down.
Our adult duo-consciousness is, by its duo-
nature, objective and alienating, whereas
the child’s consciousness is participatory
and imaginative, where the world of the
person and the world of objects merge and
everything is imbued with life. For example,
if a child draws a stone or a tree, she/he
may easily give it a face, thus giving it life.
The child’s consciousness is more a
pictorial, imaginative one, not a rational one,
and this picture consciousness relates to
the same time in the history of human kind
when humans lived more in this picture
consciousness.
The truths of the fairy tale reach children
when imagination and feeling is their guide.
Many adults, however, need to work hard to
find a way to understand them, they need to
work to balance their ‘dry’ rational thinking
with imagination and feeling.
All the elements in fairy tales are symbolic
and belong to our soul world, even if they
are pictured as dealing with humankind.
Perhaps here we can pinpoint an area of
confusion for the adult – that although the
fairy tales do not refer to the outer world,
they usually begin realistically enough and
have everyday features woven into them.
An important clue in helping adults
understand the symbolism of fairytales has
been expressed by the poet Novalis in the
following quote;
‘All the figures in a tale are but parts or
aspects of a single synthetic person, the
human being per se’. Also, psychotherapist
Carl Jung said; ‘The various personages of
a dream or a fairy tale can be seen as
different aspects or qualities of the
protagonist’.
These clues in understanding the
symbolism helps us to understand what a
fairy tale really is. ‘It is ourselves, it
concerns our self’. It is a picture of our very
being in its struggle to become a true
human being.
Unlike myths, which tell of the unique and
miraculous deeds of gods and supernatural
beings, fairytales tell of people, lowly and
high, a simpleton, a prince or a child. All
pictures are clearly delineated, and
everything is either good or evil, with the
good pictured as ‘beautiful’ and evil as
‘ugliness’. Thoughts are transformed
immediately into action; spells and
transformations are soul processes so a
character can suddenly become ‘good’,
‘bewitched’ or ‘released’. The moods of a
fairy tale (relaxation and tension) give the
child the soul training she/he needs in
his/her development. Often modern ‘sweet’
stories lack this soul training.
The fairy tale is like a mirror for the child to
see what she/he can become. The witch, for
example, is a pictorial image that embodies
all that will hamper our development, and
the princess or prince is an image that
embodies all that will encourage
development.
Good triumphing over evil is a very
profound image in fairytales, and children
the world over need to hear this message.
Fairytales also satisfy the child’s profound
craving for the miraculous, and offers hope
in times of what can sometimes be filled
with fear and despair.
Susan Perrow continues with a discussion
on concerns regarding cruelty in fairytales,
as well as stereotyping. A recommendation
by many on this topic is to choose a
fairytale that is age-appropriate, as well as
one the narrator is comfortable telling. If
there is cruelty that one does not want to tell
to children then simply choose a different
fairytale, but do not change the fairytale.
David Skewers, an experienced teacher
and storyteller from Adelaide says the
following; ‘Leave the classical stories, the
myths and fairy tales intact while exercising
more discrimination in the selection of
stories’. There is much agreement that the
true meaning and impact of a fairytale can
be appreciated only from the story in its
original form.
Here are some guidelines in selecting age-
appropriate fairytales, once again taken by
the same article written by Susan Perrow.
In seeking stories for pre-schoolers (3-5
years) the following could be considered-
Is there plenty of action, in close natural
sequences? Are the images simple, without
being humdrum? Is there a repetitive
element in the fairytale? Examples of such
stories include; The Enormous Turnip,
Mashenka The Bear (Russian), The Johny
Cake (English), The Three Billy Goats Gruff
(Norwegian), The Shoemaker and the Elves
(French), Sweet Porridge (Grimms).
Fairytales suitable for the 5-6 year olds
contain more challenges and more detail,
but still have an overall cheerful mood
without too much sorrow or struggle.
Although obstacles are encountered they do
not weigh too heavily on the soul of the
listener.
Examples include; Mother Holle and The
Golden Goose (Grimms), The Moon Maiden
(Japan), The Glass Mountain (Polish).
The final category is for 7 year old and
onwards, and includes stories of increasing
length, detail and complexity.
The characters within the story may need to
overcome personal challenges. Examples
of suitable stories include; Snow White,
Rapunzel and The Six Swans (Grimms),
The Ugly Duckling ( H.C Anderson ).
Not surprisingly, the article concludes by
saying that fairytales are timeless, and have
an invaluable place in the modern world.
Their depth of wisdom makes them
appropriate for all children worldwide. There
does, however, need to be a balance
between telling ‘classic’ wisdom-filled
fairytales from the past, and telling new
stories created for our time and place.
Stories about the surrounding local world
with all its animals, plants and other
features need to be told. Nature stories are
particularly important as they help our
children strengthen their spiritual links to
where they live. Children today also need
therapeutic stories newly created by parents
and teachers to help with social problems
and heal damages so often incurred by
growing up in our fast-paced society. Finally,
for the primary aged child, there is also the
need for pedagogical stories, written anew
by teachers to introduce educational
concepts and ideas. Such inspirational
stories help turn dry facts into life-filled
pictures, and help transform a tedious
lesson into an inspirational experience.
Lyn Bullen
References:
Almon, J. 1993 –
“Multiculturalism in Waldorf Education”
Waldorf Multi-Cultural Committee, Fair Oaks, CA
“Choosing Fairy Tales for Different Ages”,
An Overview of the Waldorf Kindergarten,
Vol, I, p.p.55-59 Silver Spring, M.D.
Bettelheim, B. 1976 –
“The Uses of Enchantment:
Penguin Books, Middlesex, England.
Bishop, R.S. 1987 –
“Extending Multicultural Understanding through
children’s Books”.
U.N.E. 1995 External booklet of Readings, p.110. 1913 –
Bochemuhl, A. 1986 –
“Stories – rhythm, structure and image”,
Fairy Tales Conference, Glenaeon School,
Sydney
Bryant, S.C. 1910 –
“How to tell stories to children”
George G. Harrap & Co Ltd, Sydney
De Saint-Exupery, A. 1945 –
“The Little Prince”
William Heinemann Ltd, London
Forster, E.V. (N.D.) –
“Tapping the Real Magic in Fairy Tales”
Nature and Health Magazine, Australia
Meyer, R. 1981 –
“The Wishdom of Fairy Tales”
Floris books, Edinburgh
Meyerkort, M. 1983 –
“The Hidden Treasure in Fairy Tales”
In “Lifeways” ed. By Davy and Bons Voors,
Hawthorn Press, U.K.
Saxby, M. and Winch, G. 1987 –
“Give Them Wings”
MacMillan, Melbourne
Skewes, D. 1995 –
“Gender Issues in Waldorf Education”
in Musagetes”, Vol. I, No. 3, p.p. 15 – 21
Steiner, R. 1908 –
“The Interpretation of Fairy Tales”
“The Poetry of Fairy Tales:
ed. By Pusch, R., Mercury Press, N.Y.
Suzuki, D. (n.d.) –
“Ten Years to Change our Ways”
in The Sydney Morning Herald
Wittig, R. 1983 –
“Books – a working document”
Ghilgai School Ltd, Melb.
Rusch, R. 1993 –
“What to do about Witches”,
An Overview of the Waldorf Kindergarten,
Vol. I, p.p.51 – 55 Silver Spring, M.D.
Perrow, Susan
www.susanperrow.com/

“The need for imagination, a sense of truth and a

feeling of responsibility – these are the three
forces which are the very nerve of education.”
Rudolf Steiner
There are magical powers in telling stories,
as we know, but do we really value what we
are sharing with the listener? The impact is
powerful and has a lasting effect so let’s
ponder how and why we tell stories at any
given time.
In many homes, when the child is but a
babe, we sit happily together chanting
well-loved story books and rhymes created
many eras ago. We enliven picture books,
preparing the ground for reading and the
world of literature.
We chatter away reminiscing from the
past, tell stories to tiny ears and minds, too
young to understand or respond. However
our dedication is there, we want to share
our world with them and communicate what
is familiar and has been done for as long as
we know, with best intentions and our
innate love for story as a form of
communicating.
Stories are integrated with learning themes
and weave through activities presented to
the children throughout the day.
In a time of need we create or find a story
that is therapeutic, to work on a soul level
with specific issues, such as a dispute
between play spaces. Usually these stories
are not directly relating to individuals, but
skirt around the subject and touch the
emotional life of the children. Animals may
take the place of humans to emphasise
character traits or behavioural tendencies,
such as a cunning old fox or a meek and
mild lamb. Discussions often ensue as
images come alive to the group or as they
relate to the content with growing
understanding, empathy or sympathy.
Solutions are often discovered. We don’t
often overly dramatise stories for the
children. We leave the dramatics to their
imagination.

When the child arrives at school they are

introduced to a different routine and rhythm
to that of their home, usually because
teachers are on a mission to integrate
children together as a group. Story telling
becomes a tool to gather and educate the
group.

Children eagerly listen attentively to stories

shared by their teacher. We may share a
tried and tested classic on an afternoon,
while the children rest after lunch and play.

During the morning lesson, however, our

Main Lesson story is learned and told by
the teacher from a heart space, with intent
to share specific information that is geared
to bring a point home.
Sometimes we find a group of children for whom tried and true stories don’t appeal or for
some reason the class teacher feels a story arising from within to meet the children in their
care.

These stories are a gift for the children who joyfully experience the characters and the
context within the story on a deep level, touching the hearts of the listener over sustained
periods of time.

Through the years classes often fondly recall stories and characters from early in their
school life as seeds of learning grow to flourish into complicated concepts. Stories lovingly
shared leave a deep impact in fertile soil for future reference. The rewards are lasting and
valued by all.

Remember as parents and grandparents, we are all story tellers extraordinaire, relish the
time, the requests to listen to stories over and again. Discover the passion and yearning to
hear details, never tire of telling tales they love to hear, for soon they grow up and then you
can all recall those stories that brought you close together.

Linda Mayer

Hodja Story
One day, the tax collector of Aksehir and surrounding towns fell
into the river. Since he didn’t know how to swim, he was about to
drown. The villagers gathered by the river bank trying to save him.
‘Give me your hand, give me your hand.’ they were all shouting. But
the man was not extending his hand. At that time Nasreddin Hodja
happened to be passing by.
‘Hodja Effendi,’ said the good Samaritans, ‘the tax collector fell into
the water. He is going to drown. He is not giving his hand.’
‘Let me try.’ said the Hodja. ‘Effendi, effendi,’ he yelled to the man
bobbing in the water, ‘take my hand!’ To this, the tax collector
immediately extended his hand and grabbed Hodja’s arm. The
Hodja and the people around were now able to pull him off the
water.
‘You see,’ the Hodja clarified, ‘he is a tax collector, he is more
practised in taking than giving.’
 Story Time

‘Storyteller, storyteller tell us a lovely story.

Storyteller, storyteller, tell us a lovely story’

Children benefit from rhythmic routines …..

“Regular story times create a loving atmosphere in which
to grow”
Nancy Mellon – Storytelling with Children
Story Telling Suggestions….

It is important for parents and educators to tell stories that

are appropriate for the age of the child.
Three Year Olds
The three year old is happy to listen to nature stories and simple stories about daily life in the
home. Adults can easily make these up or simply retell the day’s events. Older threes are
often ready to hear “sequential” tales such as “The Enormous Turnip,” where Grandfather
grows a turnip so large that he cannot pull it out of the ground and calls on Grandmother,
grandchild, dog, cat and finally mouse. All together they succeed in pulling the turnip out.

A collection of tales suitable for this age includes the following:

Sweet Porridge (Grimm)

Goldilocks and the Three Bears
The Giant Turnip (Russian)
The Mitten (Russian)
The Gingerbread Man
The Johnny Cake (English)
The Hungry Cat (Norwegian)
The City Mouse and the Country Mouse
At this age the child loves repetition and a story that has a repetitive nature is ideal. In fact it is
building auditory processing skills.

Four Year Olds

The next category of tales is slightly more complex, but the overall mood is usually cheerful
and without too much sorrow or struggle. These tales are generally suited to four year olds
and younger five year olds.

Billy Goats Gruff (Norwegian)

Three Little Pigs (English)
Wolf and Seven Kids (Grimm)
Pancake Mill
The Shoemaker and the Elves (Grimm)
Stone Soup
The Little Red Hen
Jack and the Beanstalk
Stories with simple conflicts and easy resolutions affirm the child’s need for order in the
universe and show that goodness wins.
Story Telling Suggestions….

Five and Six Year Olds

The third category includes many of the tales we commonly associate with the term fairy tales.
Those listed are best suited to five and six year olds as they contain more challenge and more
detail. Although obstacles are encountered they do not weigh too heavily on the child.

Stories suited for this age include:

Little Red Riding Hood (Grimm)

The Frog Prince (Grimm)
Rumpelstiltskin (Grimm)
Jack and the Beanstalk
Hansel and Gretel (Grimm)
Little Briar Rose (Grimm)
The Golden Goose (Grimm)
Star Money (Grimm)
Frog Prince (Grimm)
Queen Bee (Grimm)
Snow Maiden (Russian)
The Seven Ravens (Grimm)
Snow White and Rose Red (Grimm)
Puss in Boots
Tom-Tit-Tot (English) Story by Nienke van Hitchtum,
Rapunzel (Grimm) illustrated by Marjan van Zeyl
Jorinda and Joringel (Grimm)
Floris Books
Cinderella (Grimm)
Mother Holle (Grimm)
Bremen Town Musicians (Grimm)

Other authors and titles suitable for younger children

The stories of Elsa Beskow (published by Floris Books) offer a delightful range of nature and
home stories

Daniela Drescher’s beautifully illustrated stories are a visual delight (Floris Books)

Libraries and bookstores offer a range of wonderful nursery rhyme collections

Simple chapter books include Enid Blyton’s Magic Faraway Tree series and Joyce Lankester
Brisley’s Milly Molly Mandy books.
Story Telling as part of our Curriculum

Within the body of the Australian Steiner Curriculum Framework ASCF, there are
many references to stories told widely at different stages of school age on human
development within Steiner education. For your interest, following are some
adapted excerpts from the ASCF documents, relating to primary classes.

Kindergarten
children
retelling a story
told by the
Class Teacher.

Class 1

“The first thing we need to consider when we welcome children in to the first grade is
to find appropriate stories to tell them and for them to tell back to us. In the telling
and retelling of fairy tales, legends and accounts of outer reality, we are cultivating
the children’s speech. By making sure the children speak correctly we are also laying
a foundation for correct writing.” Rudolf Steiner

Quality stories express ethical dynamics which provide a template for individual choices in
later life. Folk tales develop empathy for culturally diverse values and experiences, which
translate in adult life to tolerance and a sense of connection with a wider humanity
community.
Class 2
Students retain an urge to experience the world with a “magical” content, hence their
enjoyment of stories where magical possibilities resound. The stories of the Celtic tradition in
particular display a blend of the everyday realities of the natural world into which the growing
child is now moving, along with a joy in the sudden emergence of a transcendent reality.

Cultures have personified the range of human characteristics, from the wise to the foolish,
from the ethically inspiring to the ethically questionable, through the image of animal qualities
such as those found in Aesop’s fables. These stories continue to provide valuable lessons in
ethical education.

These imaginative renditions of human foibles are examples of how traditional cultures
provided collective groundings in emotional intelligence. These narratives distil observations of
human faults and failings into simple imaginative pictures which become part of the growing
child’s emotional repertoire of understandings of their social world.
As an uplifting contrast to the world of human foible, there are also human lives that are
inspiring and seem to reach beyond the limits of the everyday human nature. These stories
are metaphors in which the self-realised nature of such individuals overcomes and transforms
the animal element. Called Saints in some cultures, these great individuals manifest a self-
realised nature that although based within one cultural tradition, speaks to the universal
human beyond particular cultures. The great lives manifest the classical ideal of Truth, Beauty
and Goodness.

Class 3
Around the age of nine an existential experience of separation of self and the world can be
experienced and the growing child now looks at the world as a more self-conscious individual.

This moment provides an opportunity to consider the great themes of humanity:

Creation, Tradition, Authority and how they impact on the burgeoning individuality. In the
history of humanity these themes have been expressed in some of the great narratives of
ancient human cultures, and stories from these cultures are valuable narratives for the child to
experience and to explore at this particular age. These narratives are treated as oral and
written literature, great stories, as myths from classical traditions that speak to the growing
child’s imagination: they are not treated as statements of presumed fact or faith.

Narratives of Creation express the sense of beginnings that an individual starts to confront and
question as they look at the world as a self- conscious entity: how did things begin? Where do
I come from? These narratives do not answer the questions directly for individuals but pose
expressions of earlier and traditional answers in the form of myth and literature.

Early traditions enshrined the community laws in divine authority: one example from history
and mythology is the proclamation of the Ten Commandments and the establishment of
rulership among the ancient Hebrew people. From this historical/literary source the learning
experience can be extended to an understanding of the role of authority vested in responsible
adult carers such as teachers, and working with the laws/rules which govern classroom
conduct.
Class 4
Around the age of ten a confidence can be observed in the child’s relationship with the
world: after the existential sense of separation around nine has passed, the child confronts
the world in a more confident way, confident in a newly established relationship with the
surrounding world.

The myths of the Norsemen provide a literature that meets this new found confidence: the
robust resilience of these sea-faring peoples in their journeys was fired by the imagery of
their mythological world.

The growing child now moves into the world of adult rationality on a healthy foundation of
confidence and strength.

Class 5
Having lived in the world of the fairy-tale, legend and myth in the first four years the children
now are ready for the borderland between mythology and history proper. Through vast pictures
of human evolution we move from the ancient culture of India to the eastward campaigns of
Alexander the Great.

Through the great epic stories of the cultures of the East (Mahabharata, Ramayana and the
Gilgamesh epos) the children experience the struggle between good and evil, the worldly
realm and the realm of the gods and experience on an imaginative level the striving of man to
find his place in the bigger order of things.

From the tale of Troy (Iliad and Odyssey), we journey to the development of the city-states
and daily Greek life. From Plato, who thought in cosmic images, we move to Aristotle, who laid
the foundations for the rational, logical world to come.

Class 6
The stories in class six span the historical distance between the mythical world and events
whose monuments stand still in our own time.

Ancient Rome with its origin in the legendary foundation by Romulus and Remus provides the
story telling framework for this age group. From legend to the documented times of history,
stories span across the time of the Seven Kings, the Republic and the rise and fall of the
Roman Empire.

Biographies of Roman leaders, thinkers or slaves provide new insight into human foibles and
greatness in a more concrete way. Compared to the generalised picture drawn through the
fables in class two these characteristics are now personal, they are historic figures who have
lived and left their imprint on the world for us to see.
For the first time the children get a glimpse of how history shaped aspects of the world they
know as theirs
Main Lesson drawings

Rapunzel
 On the Importance of Fairy Tales
Should we continue to read these often frightening stories to our children?
Fairy tales, of course, have been with us
for a long time. Some of the earliest were
written in a Neapolitan dialect by
Giambattista Basile in Italy the early
seventeenth century: Lo cunto de li cunti
overo lo trattenemiento de peccerille
(Neapolitan for "The Tale of Tales, or
Entertainment for Little Ones"). These
original versions of stories like Rapunzel,
Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella are
more violent and more overtly sexual than
the later versions. They were taken up
again, made more respectable, and added
to by the Brothers Grimm in Germany and
also by Charles Perrault in France in his
Mother Goose Stories.
Some of these stories, like Cinderella, are
truly universal, existing all over the world in
all languages from Zulu to Swedish, with
slight variations: the glass slipper may
become a grass one, for example, but in
them, surely, we find proof of our common
humanity.
Still, is this a good reason why we should,
you might wonder, continue to read these
old and, after all, often frightening tales
(children lost in woods and found by a witch
who fattens them up to eat them in Hansel
and Gretel, or wolves chopped open by
hunters so that grandma can escape in
Little Red Riding Hood) to our little ones?
Yet it seems very important to me, perhaps
even more important today, that these
ancient stories should be repeated again
and again. The violence within them is
always contained within a satisfying
structure with a reversal, and the requisite
happy ending.
Here good and evil are so conveniently and
completely separate. villain: the step-
mother, the wicked wolf or the witch.
There are no grey areas in the fairy tale.
The appearance of the villain allows the
child to freely project his own violent
feelings onto these separate and
satisfyingly wicked beings. Unable to
express anger or hatred directly toward
those adults on whom the child depends,
he/she can displace this natural aggression
and give free reign to it personified by the
This reversal which so often lies at the
heart of any good story (think of Jane Eyre
who ultimately marries Mr. Rochester, a
damaged Mr. Rochester to boot, in
Charlotte Bronte’s masterpiece) is
particularly satisfying to the small, helpless
and completely dependent child. Here, in
these ancient tales, the small boy or girl
can through the hero/heroine triumph over
the large and often dangerous-seeming
adults around him or her.
Perhaps even more importantly, the fact
that these tales are read or told by the very
adults that the child both loves and fears
enables this transaction to take place so
comfortingly again and again within the
safe perimeters of the home. There is
something essential about the repetition of
the same words which soothes the child,
nurtures the imagination and assuages his
fears.
So let us take up these ancient stories and
lift our children and grandchildren on our
laps to hear them once more.
Sheila Kohler
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/dreaming-
freud/201406/the-importance-fairy-tales
 The Science of Storytelling
What Listening to a Story does to our brains…..

In 1748, the British politician and aristocrat John Montagu, the 4 th Earl of Sandwich,
used a lot of his free time for playing cards. One of the problems he had was that he
greatly enjoyed eating a snack, whilst still keeping one hand free for the cards.

So he came up with the idea to eat beef between slices of toast, which would allow him to
finally eat and play cards at the same time. Eating his newly invented “sandwich,” the
name for two slices of bread with meat in between, became one of the most popular meal
inventions in the western world.

Now you are very likely to never forget the story of who invented the sandwich. Or at least,
much less likely to do so than if it had been presented in bullet points or another purely
information based form.

For over 27,000 years, since the first cave paintings were discovered, telling stories
has been one of our most fundamental communication methods.

Here is the science around storytelling and how we can use it to make better decisions
every day:

How our brains become more active when we tell stories

We all enjoy a good story, whether it’s a novel, a movie or simply something one of our
friends is explaining to us that they’ve experienced. But why do we feel so much more
engaged when we hear a narrative about events?

It’s quite simple. If we listen to a PowerPoint presentation with boring bullet points, certain
parts in the brain get activated. Scientists call these Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area.
Overall, it hits our language processing parts in the brain, where we decode words into
meaning. And that’s it, nothing else happens.

When we are being told a story, though, things change dramatically, according
to researchers in Spain. Not only are the language processing parts in our brain activated,
but any other area in our brain that we would use when experiencing the events of
the story are too.

If someone tells us about how delicious certain foods were, our sensory cortex lights up. If
it’s about motion, our motor cortex gets active:
“Metaphors like “The singer had a velvet voice” and “He had leathery hands”
roused the sensory cortex. […] Then, the brains of participants were scanned
as they read sentences like “John grasped the object” and “Pablo kicked the
ball.” The scans revealed activity in the motor cortex, which coordinates the
body’s movements.”

A story can put your whole brain to work. (…)

Evolution has wired our brains for storytelling – how to make use of it

Now, whenever we hear a story, we want to relate it to one of our existing

experiences. That’s why metaphors work so well with us. Whilst we are busy
searching for a similar experience in our brains, we activate a part called insula,
which helps us relate to that same experience of pain, joy, disgust or else.

The following graphic probably describes it best:

We link up metaphors and literal happenings automatically. Everything in our brain is

looking for the cause and effect relationship of something we’ve previously experienced.

Photo credit: Nytimes

https://blog.bufferapp.com/science-of-storytelling-why-telling-a-story-is-the-most-powerful-way-to-
activate-our-brains
The Fisherman and His Wife
A Grimm Fairy Tale ……
The Queen Bee
Two kings’ sons once went out in search of adventures, and fell into a wild, disorderly way of living,
so that they never came home again. The youngest, who was called Simpleton, set out to seek his
brothers, but when at length he found them they mocked him for thinking that he with his simplicity
could get through the world, when they two could not make their way, and yet were so much
cleverer. They all three travelled away together, and came to an ant-hill. The two elder wanted to
destroy it, to see the little ants creeping about in their terror, and carrying their eggs away, but
Simpleton said: “leave the creatures in peace; I will not allow you to disturb them.” Then they went
onwards and came to a lake, on which a great number of ducks were swimming. The two
brothers wanted to catch a couple and roast them, but Simpleton would not permit it, and said:
“Leave the creatures in peace, I will not suffer you to kill them.” At length they came to a bee’s nest,
in which there was so much honey that it ran out of the trunk of the tree where it was. The two
wanted to make a fire beneath the tree, and suffocate the bees in order to take away the honey,
but Simpleton again stopped them and said: “Leave the creatures in peace, I will not allow you to
burn them.” At length the two brothers arrived as a castle where stone horses were standing in
the stables, and no human being was to be seen, and they went through all the halls until, quite at
the end, they came to a door in which were three locks. In the middle of the door, however, there
was a little pane, through which they could see into the room. There they saw a little grey man,
who was sitting at a table. They called him, once, twice, but he did not hear; at last they called him
for the third time, when he got up, opened the locks, and came out. He said nothing, however, but
conducted them to a handsomely-spread table, and when they had eaten and drunk, he took each
of them to a bedroom. Next morning the little grey man came to the eldest, beckoned to him, and
conducted him to a stone table, on which were inscribed three tasks, by the performance of which
the castle could be delivered from enchantment. The first was that in the forest, beneath the moss,
lay the princess’s pearls, a thousand in number, which must be picked up, and if by sunset one
single pearl was missing, he who had looked for them would be turned to stone. The eldest went
thither, and sought the whole day, but when it came to an end, he had only found one hundred, and
what was written on the table came true, and he was turned into stone. Next day, the second
brother undertook the adventure; but it did not fare much better with him than with the eldest; he
did not find more than two hundred pearls, and was changed to stone. At last is was Simpleton’s
turn to seek in the moss; but it was so difficult for him to find the pearls, and he got on so slowly,
that he seated himself on a stone, and wept. And while he was thus sitting, the King of the ants
whose life he had once saved, came with five thousand ants, and before long the little creatures
had got all the pearls together, and laid them in a heap. The second task, however, was to fetch
out of the lake the key of the King’s daughter’s bed-chamber. When Simpleton came to the lake, the
ducks which he had saved, swam up to him, dived down, and brought the key out of the water. But
the third task was the most difficult; from amongst the three sleeping daughters of the King was the
youngest and dearest to be sought out. They, however resembled each other exactly, and were
only to be distinguished by their having eaten different sweetmeats before they fell asleep: the
eldest a bit of sugar; the second a little syrup; and the youngest a spoonful of honey. Then the
Queen on the bees, whom Simpleton had protected from the fire, came and tasted the lips of all
three, and at last she remained sitting on the mouth which had eaten honey, and thus the King’s
son recognised the right princess. Then the enchantment was at an end; everything was delivered
from sleep, and those who had been turned to stone received once more their natural forms.
Simpleton married the youngest and sweetest princess, and after her father’s death became King,
and his two brothers received the two other sisters.

Source
Routledge & Kegan Paul (1948) Grimm Complete Fairy Tales