Bedtime stories

A friend of mine suggested I blog examples of the bedtime stories I tell Miya. Perhaps she was hoping for imaginative adventure tales. But sadly, apart from the story of Goldilocks and the 3 bears, my little girl’s two favourite stories are roughly as follows (please bear in mind that she is 2 ½ years old and repetition and familiarity are very important).

Story #1 – Miya and the rocks.
Once upon a time there was a little girl named Miya. One day, she opened the back door of her house and went outside. She found 4 rocks. “These are beautiful rocks,” she said. “I think I’ll share them with my friends.”

So Miya put the rocks in her jacket pocket – 2 on one side, 2 on the other. Then she walked with her mommy down the driveway, onto the sidewalk, around the corner, up the street, past the park and to her friend Sophie Mala’s house. She walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. Ding-dong.

Sophie Mala opened the door. “Here is a rock for you,” Miya said.

“Thank you,” said Sophie Mala.

“You’re welcome.”

Then Miya and her mommy went down the street, around a corner and up the hill. They came to her friend her friend Gwyneth’s house. She walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. Ding-dong.

Gwyneth opened the door....

(I think you can imagine the rest. She takes rocks to two more friends and goes back home.)

Story #2: Chilly and her colourful feet

(This story is not much a narrative tale; it’s more about nailing down the description.)

Once upon a time there was a little girl named Chilly and she had colourful feet...
What colour are her feet? I ask Miya. She will deliberate and pick a colour, or two, or one colour with another colour of spots, or stripes or flowers... We then go on to describe Chilly’s socks, pants, skirt, shirt, jacket, hats and mitts. Then we talk about what Chilly likes to do with her colourful feet (walk, dance, jump, hop, climb).

To adults these may sound incredibly dull – but I’m sure early childhood educators would tell you why they’re big hits.