Wednesday Window: National Storytelling Week

Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin...

Did you know it's National Storytelling Week this week? It's the brainchild of the Society for Storytelling, which exists to celebrate and promote oral storytelling, surely one of the most ancient of arts.

The idea of National Storytelling Week is to encourage ordinary folks like you and me to put away our printed books and have a go at winging it, out loud. To quote from the Beginner's Guide to Telling Stories: 

We are all storytellers! We tell each other stories quite naturally as part of our everyday life. We need look no further for proof of this than the snatches of conversation overheard in the workplace, the playground, or on the bus.

Telling stories gives us the opportunity to express emotion and to use our imaginations with a freedom no other medium can offer.  

Telling stories to children enables them to learn the art of listening, in an age when many are lacking this skill. Encourage them to tell stories and they will gain confidence, improve their vocabulary and their literary skills.  

I find the idea of just launching into a story, even a well known one like a fairy tale, quite intimidating, but there's a useful guide to getting started on Family Storytelling which you can download from the website. Do let me know how you get on!