MindSwitch Mondays Issue #14 Storytelling Builds Connections
Captain Asparagus and The Black Pearl!
Hola!
I am sitting on the porch of my family’s home in Cabañas, Galicia observing the Ria Ares as I write to you. This is a town in the north of Spain. Beautiful scenery, delicious seafood, and cool weather all year long.
Spending the last few days visiting friends and family has made me think about the importance of building connections.
If anything this pandemic has taught us is that relationships matter.
Here’s what I want to share this week:
One of the best ways to build connections with your kids is by Storytelling.
Storytelling is a form of public speaking that promotes creativity, personal expression, and unique perspectives. Kids love storytelling, whether it is a real or a fantasy story.
We have started storytelling at home. It has become an exciting and magical bonding time for us.
Captain Asparagus and The Black Pearl
My husband, the main narrator, lets everyone name two to three elements to be included in the story. The main character, however, remains untouched. Captain Asparagus, and his boat ‘The Black Pearl’ set off on different adventures. They have traveled in spaghetti oceans and hidden candy caverns. And we have two mermaid-loving daughters, so a mermaid is always part of the stories.
Once, we used the Discovery Channel Star Lamp, to simulate the starlit ocean the Black Pearl was navigating in. Lights off, the kids snuggled up in bed, the story began in the ocean of outer space!
No one wants to miss these stories. Everyone gets a chance to spice up the story in their own way. Captain Asparagus has become an important part of our family, and I hope he continues to promote creativity, self-expression, but especially the connection between us.
I am now recording these stories, hoping to share them sometime in the future!
My dear friend Gayatri sketched the first version of our captain. I am sharing it here but will continue to polish the image of Captain Asparagus to include what we all picture it to be.
Why should we build connections with our kids?
Building relationships within the family prepares kids for their own personal relationships.
Kids who grow up with healthy family relationships feel more confident to take risks, learn, and solve problems. These are all skills that do not need a teacher, but a loving guide, to grow.
“Listen to anything your children want to tell you. If you don’t listen to the small stuff now, they won’t tell you the big stuff later” #Goals
How can you make the most of the time spent together as a family to build strong connections?
Share “Screen-free” family meals where everyone shares how their day went, what they learned. It’s hard to make this time together, so scheduling it ahead might help everyone come together.
Play board games that are fun and learn together such as Uno, Monopoly, Sequence, Memory
And best for the last, Have Storytelling Time!
Have an awesome week!
See you next week.
Stay Safe, Stay Healthy,
Alexandra
P.s. Want to learn more about storytelling? Hit the reply button to let me know!