Story and Audio by Anna Grace Freebersyser
Dolly Parton is doing it. Levar Burton is doing it. The internet is full of celebrities reading books for kids. But virtual storytime isn’t just about entertainment or education. For some, it’s a way to maintain connection in a time of isolation.
Here’s Anna Grace Freebersyser with the story.
McKinney Advertising Agency in Durham is all about story-telling. Elanah Sykes Abrams, Director of Employee Experience says that, combined with the company’s culture, made a virtual story hour the perfect fit for bringing employees and their kids together during social distancing.
SYKES ABRAMS: WE NEEDED TO HAVE A TOUCH POINT THAT BROUGHT COMMUNITY INTO THE HOMES. SO THIS IDEA CAME ABOUT FROM THAT. WE SET UP A DAILY STORY TIME THAT HAPPENS FROM 1:30 TO 2 p.m. EACH DAY.
Employees from their firms in New York, Los Angeles and Durham take turns as guest narrators, telling children’s stories. Sykes Abrams says it’s been a great way to bring the whole company together.
SYKES ABRAMS: WE’VE HAD SUCH AN OVERWHELMING INFLUX OF PEOPLE WHO WANT TO PARTICIPATE AND BE A PART OF THIS. AND WHAT’S REALLY INTERESTING IS WE’VE HAD A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO DON’T HAVE CHILDREN WHO ARE PARTICIPATING, BECAUSE IT’S A GREAT TOUCH POINT THAT THEY CAN KNOW THAT THEY’RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO SEE THEIR CO-WORKER’S FACES. AND IT ALSO GIVES THE KIDS A CHANCE TO SAFELY INTERACT WITH OTHER CHILDREN AND TO SEE THESE ADULTS THAT THEY’RE USED TO SEEING
Sykes Abrams, herself, has been participating along with her five-year-old son. It’s become a big part of their day.
SYKES ABRAMS: OH HE LOVES IT. HE, I MEAN, HE FEELS LIKE IT’S HIS TIME.
Kelley Hoover has found that story-telling is an essential part of how children process the world. She’s a second-grade teacher at Windsor Charter Academy in Colorado. Hoover and her colleagues are still adjusting to teaching from home.
HOOVER: I MISS THOSE KIDS WITH ALL MY HEART AND IT HELPS TO SEE THEM ON THE ZOOM RECORDINGS, BUT IT’S STILL NOT QUITE THE SAME.
To replicate the feeling of getting to greet her students each morning and ask them how they’re doing, she has her students fill out a Google form in the morning, filling her in on their lives.
HOOVER: WHAT DID THEY HAVE FOR BREAKFAST? HOW DID THEY SLEEP? WHAT FUN THINGS HAVE THEY BEEN WORKING ON? THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT I WOULD NORMALLY ASK THEM. KIDS ARE SUCH STORY-TELLERS. AND, I MEAN, IF THEY’RE NOT GIVEN THAT OPPORTUNITY, THEY STRUGGLE. SO A GOOD PORTION OF A TEACHER’S DAY IS LISTENING TO A BILLION STORIES AND SO IT’S, IT’S FUN THAT WE’RE ABLE TO STILL HAVE THAT PIECE THROUGH TECHNOLOGY.
And through technology, Hoover still gets to be a story-teller for her students.
HOOVER: SO I CREATED A YOUTUBE CHANNEL. SEVERAL OF THE TEACHERS AT MY SCHOOL HAVE DONE THIS. BUT WE USE IMOVIE AND KIND OF PIECE TOGETHER PICTURES OF THE BOOK AS WELL AS A VOICE RECORDING OF US READING. WE ALSO USE ZOOM TO RECORD A BEGINNING AND ENDING MESSAGE TO PUT IN THERE. THAT WAY THE KIDS CAN SEE US AND STILL GET THAT READ ALOUD FEEL, YOU KNOW, THAT WE DID ON A DAILY BASIS.
That combination of pre-recorded and live interaction is characterizing all Hoover and her colleagues are doing these days. So many student’s parents are still working or adapting to schooling multiple young children at home all day–making flexibility a must.
But other parents are trying to recapture some of their routine, and Cindy Black, or Ms. Cindy as she is better known, is there to help. Ms. Cindy is an early childhood educator and developmental specialist based out of Florida. For years, she’s done Mommy and Me play time in her community, working with young preschoolers.
BLACK: A LOT OF MY BABIES COME TO ME ONCE OR TWICE A WEEK. IT’S A PART OF THEIR ROUTINE. AND A COUPLE OF THE MOMS IN MY CLASS HAD REACHED OUT BECAUSE THEY HAD OLDER KIDS THAT WERE DOING ZOOM CLASSES WITH THEIR PRESCHOOL SLASH ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. AND WERE CURIOUS IF I WAS ABLE TO DO THAT.
So every Tuesday and Thursday morning, it’s circle time with Ms. Cindy.
Each child is welcomed by name, there are songs, hand puppets, and there’s story time.
Stories are a way for young children–especially preschoolers–to pick up ideas that help them understand the world around them. Ms. Cindy says that she tries to highlight those elements for parents and how they can be incorporated into their day.
BLACK: I JUST TRY TO LIKE EMPHASIZE TO THE MOMS AND THE DADS OUT THERE THAT YOU KNOW, THERE’S WAYS THAT YOU CAN TEACH THEM THINGS IN A REALLY FUN WAY. WE JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU JUST KIND OF ARE FILLING THEIR LITTLE HEAD WITH LITTLE THINGS AND GIVING THEM THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE THINGS BUT ALSO TO THINK, AND THEN MAYBE EVEN AS A QUESTION OR TWO.
She hopes it lessens the stress for parents–makes it easier for them to enjoy the time with their kids. And she hopes that preserving old habits and connections makes it easier for kids to adapt to new norms.
In Chapel Hill, I’m Anna Grace Freebersyser.
