Story Telling - The Ancient Entertainment

It is National Storytelling Week every year for the first week of February and round the country there are hundreds of story telling events, competitions classes and gatherings of story tellers swapping tales. The UK’s First Laureate of Story was Taffy Thomas and he said that the best gift you can give to anybody is to give them a story. If you give them chocolates they eat them, if you give them wine they drink it, but if you give them a story they will have it for life and they can swap it for another story, and another. 

I love stories and spent a happy evening in London with a story telling group where we tell a story, either our own or one from other cultures, and give each other feedback. One ghost story was told in the dark, with only the light of a candle in the room. That reminded me of the days when I was small and lived in Kenya.

Every evening an old African watchman would come on duty and would light a small fire to heat his evening meal. In the darkness he would squat beside the fire and I would squat next to him listening to his stories. The sparks from the fire were swallowed up by the night and the old watchman’s face and crouching form were part illuminated by the red glow. When he spoke in Swahili I could understand, but when he became particularly involved in the story he would revert to his tribal language and I could only follow the gestures. He was brilliant at mimicking the actions and sounds of animals.

Do you enjoy cuddling up with your children reading stories, or telling ones of your own? The Story Museum has 1001 stories to listen to and download and is a rich source of free stories from all round the world.

A story game I used to play with our daughter was telling stories from a Story Bag if you go to our FaceBook video channel there are some short videos there with stories, and making a Story Bag. We keep adding videos so please come back and visit again.

Do You Rock?

Rocking is such a natural and soothing motion. From the very first days of cradling your new born babe and soothing them to sleep, comforting them when they cry, or rocking from one foot to the other as you hold them against your shoulder.

Cradles, traditionally, were mounted on rockers. In medieval times they were just a box on rockers. The rockers were placed across the foot and head of the box and the cradle was rocked from side to side. Some Scandinavian cradles had the rockers placed lengthwise along the box and the child was rocked with the head and foot rising and falling. I wonder which is the most soothing motion – gently from side to side or gently up and down?

Lying in a hammock and swinging gently, or sitting in a garden swing seat – both are pleasing and relaxing. Especially if you add the sound of sea gulls, warm sunshine and a cooling drink…… The pace of the swing, smooth, slow and rhythmic is what is so soothing; almost mesmeric. In fact hypnotists in dramas are often depicted using a swinging pendulum to lull their patient into a state of receptive somnolence.

Swings are a favourite part of playgrounds and a garden swing at home can amuse a child for hours. This time the swing can become not just soothing, but exhilarating as well. Standing on the swing instead of just sitting, swinging as high as possible or leaping off the swing at the height of the forward arc all add to the experience.

Another well known childhood favourite, the rocking horse, provides the same soothing motion. Rocking toys have never been in such abundance as now. Even tiny toddlers have rocking animals and rocking seats. I confess that I rode our rocking horse even more than my daughter and was so sad to see it leave us.

And so to rocking chairs. There have been rocking chairs in the UK since medieval times, but they have not become part of our culture as they have in America, and the tropics. Perhaps our climate has something to do with that. Here the chair was associated with the elderly sitting by the fire, and now as nursing chairs mounted on gliders rather than rockers. Yet if you search under “Rocking Chairs” and then click on “Images” in the top left hand section of the browser bar you will be shown pages and pages of innovative designs.

As adults it would seem that we are a sedentary, but still nation. We loll, lie, sprawl but not rock; either in the garden or the house. It is as children that we enjoy the rocking chair the most.

Is Imaginative Play Being Eroded?

Imaginative play is acknowledged to be a very important part of a child's development and there has been much written about it and how the pace of modern life is squeezing out the time for free play. A child will play with almost anything from simple found objects, the box a gift came in, or by making a den from chairs and a blanket.

It is so important for the free, unstructured imaginative play to be allowed to develop. Playing organised games, although of value for learning to play together, developing co-operation and physical and mental development as well as for enjoyment, does not leave a child's mind free to follow his own creativity; nor does the use of computer games.

Children enjoy all computer related objects from the mobile phone, now so full of beguiling applications, to the hand held games and TV. They have an uninhibited natural ability to work with them. However there have been some disturbing findings about the use of computers and the developing brain For example there are noticeable behavioural traits showing short attention span, impatience, superficial thought process, dislocation from reality, inability to emphasise, inability to articulate thoughts or emotions and isolation.

As a species with a fundamental need to communicate and the ability to communicate in so many, many ways via all our senses, we become insular and isolated, spending more and more time confronting one screen or another. When social communication is sought it is so often dysfunctional. Face to face communication is awkward. We are forgetting to talk with one another. It is easier to invent and re-invent ourselves on line.

A child's room may be a place they can withdraw to for quiet imaginative play, to read, draw and colour or play with friends. It is also a very personal space and children love their own special things, not just toys but things that capture their imagination - a bedside lamp, a rug they can play with, bookends, measuring charts. It is also a place where their toys are kept, played with and shared.

After the bed the chair is the most frequently used object. Why not make that a toy as well, not just a piece of furniture? Children are delighted by there own special furniture, although reduced sized adult furniture has a limited appeal. For example, watch a child's reaction to the small tables and chairs in a coffee shop or shop. They run towards it, pick it up (boys turn it over) and then they lose interest and move closer to be near their parents. Their imagination is not engaged by the furniture; it's just a chair.

Childhood is such a beautiful, fragile and wonderful time, never to be repeated. The child's fresh unstructured way of seeing things of reacting to objects and ideas is a joy to see. Their imagination is boundless, fresh and of immense importance to their development.

Isn't it delightful to see a child acting out their imaginative games? It makes lovely memories for us to store away as they grow up.

An Up and Down Month

Well, it's been an interesting month so far, full of ups and downs. My "horror-scope" did warn me that "this month it will be one step forward and two steps backwards" and so it has proved. On the wholesale side we have had orders placed and then cancelled and then, almost immediately a new order placed, much bigger, - and then reduced.

There have been days wasted dealing with an on-line scam which, this time, also involved a re-seller. Fortunately both the re-seller and I had "feminine intuition" warnings and so eventually there was no great loss. Coping with a scam always involves so much precious time because you can never be quite sure, with the clever ones, if they are genuine or not. If the order is genuine, in spite of the warning signs, you end up with an irate customer, a disappointed child and a some bad friends who are unlikely to recommend your company. Wikipedia has lots of information about on-line scams, so be aware.

It's great fun running a company where you wear many hats, two of mine are PR and Marketing. In keeping with this month's trend I had three articles accepted and then two refused and four interviews with journalists trying to pitch an idea to magazines. One was accepted, two refused and one is still waiting. See what I mean by one step forwards and two back? This has happened so many times I begin to feel like the Grand Old Duke of York.

However, it's fun and there is nothing that I would have done differently, even with knowledge of hindsight. If I could have changed anything? I'd be greedy and have all the steps forwards and none backwards. I wonder what next month will hold?

There was a lovely phone call from a customer who had bought the elephant chair for her granddaughter and she said "the elephant chair is the most beautiful chair I have ever seen."

Thank you so much. I hope the little girl loves it to bits and enjoys the story book that goes with the chair.

Does our Dog Rocking Chair have Something Special?

On-line selling can be a rather lonely occupation as you don't have the pleasure of meeting your customers face to face or watching the children react to and interact with the products you have created especially for them.

Watching children using the chairs, carrying them about, sitting or rocking, at first tentatively and then with enthusiasm, has always given me enormous pleasure. I love it when the child starts to play in their imagination and you can see them talking to the character on the chairs. It's a beautiful sight seeing children engrossed in their play and acting out their fantasies.

So it's especially nice when a customer goes to the trouble of giving you information about their purchase and whether they liked it and how the child likes it. I have recently been told by two customers how their sons reacted to the Dog Rocking Chair, or "Bumble The Dog" to his friends.

The first came from a man whose son of 3 years old had the dog rocking chair and he said an amazing thing had happened. The little boy was a typical active, restless, energetic boy who didn't care for reading or looking at books and didn't really like to be read to for long - too restless and too active he much preferred to run about.

There was a long and unusual silence from his bedroom and so, peeping through the door, they found him sitting in the rocking chair and "reading" (he was only 3) He was reading the Bumble the Dog story book out loud, and then he would get another book and return to the chair to rock and read out loud. His father said "We couldn't believe it, he was reading to the dog, reading book after book. Sometimes he rocked in the chair just talking and sometimes he sat on the carpet beside the chair and rocked the chair by hand and it seemed as though he was pretending to be the dog"

The other came from a customer, Jenny, who wrote on my website the following review.

"I bought Bumble the Dog chair for my (small)8 year old son who has additional learning difficulties. Ryan jumps and claps noisily in front of the TV, video or DVD which meets some unusual sensory need of his and drives me mad!! I had a feeling that the movement of the rocking chair might help to replace the clapping and be better for us both.

Ryan doesn't often rock Bumble, but he does understand that Bumble is the place to sit quietly and will sit in Bumble with a big soft toy to cuddle (which occupies and separates his hands) or a soft blanket wrapped round him. Which is different from the small wicker cane chair which he sits in to eat quite often.

Although it is difficult to know how much Ryan understands, he knows that Bumble is HIS special chair and it's for QUIET sitting. Thank you Zandra!"

Thank you, Jenny.

Children's Rooms Ideas

Of all the rooms that should be filled with creativity and character, it has to be a child’s bedroom or playroom. Children spend a good amount of time in their own rooms and it should therefore be a fun, memorable space.

Children’s rooms should be safe, inspiring and functional. Creating a functional space involves an ideal solution for every activity carried out, i.e. sleeping, playing, reading or simply relaxing with friends.

Children are stimulated by bright colours. While painting the walls is a sure-fire way to introduce colour to a room, it is not the only way. Colour can be introduced via soft furnishings like bedding and window treatments and also via accent furniture and décor. This is a great way to reach a compromise on colour as children tend to prefer bright colours that may not necessarily go with your existing home interiors.

Creating a room that grows with your child allows you the freedom to add and remove accents as you see fit. For example not everyone likes the idea of themed wall paper, plus you may be looking at keeping your child in their room for a few years. If that is the case, plain walls with bright pieces like the Elephant Chair will strike the right balance. Brightly coloured and themed children’s furniture table & chairs are aesthetic, fun and functional. Accent children’s furniture like the one in the picture will be loved by your child as they’ll regard it as “their very own chair”, so choose one that they can identify with.

Colour can also be introduced through fun children’s rugs. Rugs should be non-slip and safe, options include acrylic rugs; hardwearing, soft and great for children with allergies and wool. Which is soft and natural.

Soft furnishings like window treatments and bedding can be made or purchased in coordinating fabrics. There is a plethora of choices out there from traditional ginghams and stripes, to plain white bedding with a coloured border. Where possible choose 100% cotton for your bedding as that allows the skin to breathe.

Toks Aruoture is an interior designer and the owner of

Punkin Patch Interiors, a boutique for fine children’s furnishings

www.punkinpatch.co.uk

Thank you to Toks Aruoture who has some lovely ideas for making children's rooms a delightful place to be. We wish we were young enough to have a Toks bedroom!