Letting Imagination Fly
“Brrrrrm, Brrrrm, Brrrrm, Brrrrm, Brrrm, chhhhugg chhhuggg chhhugg chhhuuuggg chhuuugg Chuggg chhhhhh eeeeeeeeeeeeeeekkkkk ahhhhhh…” Hamir aged 5 Hamir is a 5 year old boy I met a couple of years ago in a Reception classroom in Tower Hamlets. His first language was Bengali and he spoke very little English. It was September, and Hamir had … Read moreCatching a Story: EAL Learners in the Early Years
One of the questions I am asked the most about Helicopter Stories is how can we enhance children’s language acquisition if we are scribing their words verbatim? I have always believed that if children grow up in a language rich environment and regularly engage in conversations that are meaningful to them, then their language will … Read moreMagic that is older than the hills:
Guest Blog: Bonnie Mendoza Head of EYFS – Ark John Keats Academy Bonnie is one of MakeBelieve Arts Helicopter Stories Champions What do Hulk, Paw Patrol, a Unicorn, Mummy, Black Spiderman, a Gorilla, and Goldilocks have in common? Answer: They are all popular features of children’s Helicopter Stories. However, there is so much evidence that … Read moreHelicopter Stories: A wonderful tool for showing amazing progress
Ggggggrrrrrh, Ggggggrrrrrh, Ggggggrrrrrh, Ggggggrrrrrh, Ggggggrrrrrh, Ggggggrrrrrh, Ggggggrrrrrh, Ggggggrrrrrh, He scares the people away. He scares the people in the garden. My monster is Raah. Then he scares my monster away in the house. The story above was dictated to me by Zandra aged 4. Every time Zandra growled, I repeated her sounds exactly as she … Read moreMy Monster is Raaah: How Helicopter Stories Supports Children with Delayed Language Development
Guest Blog: Isla Hill Education Director MakeBelieve Arts Chelsea’s Story* Once there was a little boy called Oscar. He went to the park with Riley. And he went to see Chelsea. And she went home to see Oscar. And Oscar loves Chelsea. Then they all went home to see my dad because he went up … Read moreHelicopter Stories – Helping Children Make Sense of the World…