Story Power: Help Children Grow and Thrive in Today's World

Parents and educators have extraordinary power in young children’s lives, and we know it.

We offer children our careful attention to meet their needs, safety, learning and joyfulness.

We want our children to grow and thrive - whether they are in our homes, our care, or in our learning programs or classrooms.

Yet I remember the uncertainty I felt as I began my career as an educator. Over the years, in my various roles as a daycare and preschool teacher; as a resource consultant working with families to support their children’s special needs/rights; as a teacher in kindergarten classrooms; and as an early literacy specialist working with parents, educators and young children, I have been aware of the limits of my knowledge.

When I became a parent, even though I had educational and experiential background in children’s early learning, I felt that same uncertainty. I was keenly aware of what I didn’t yet know about being a parent.

I am increasingly aware, too, that our world is changing rapidly.

The global COVID-19 pandemic is poignant evidence of how quickly what we think we know becomes unknown; and what seems solid, tried and true, can abruptly crumble. We often look to the past for how to parent and how to teach, but are assumptions and strategies that are rooted in the past helpful for the present and future?

Our young children are facing environmental challenges, for example, that we and our predecessors exacerbated rather than resolved.

Though our teaching and parenting knowledge does grow with intentional study and experience, our knowledge will always be incomplete because no two children are exactly the same, and the circumstances in which we live are ever changing. Rather than focus on knowledge, I believe we need to focus on the ways in which we empower children as learners, problem-solvers and carers of one another and the world.

Children learn through relationships – relationships to us, to others and to the environments in which they live. Our disposition to be curious learners alongside our children is what will help them thrive.

The stories of wonder and discovery that we create, share and tell with children each and every day shapes their engagement as learners, understanding of themselves, and relationships to one another and to the natural world.

In this course we will explore ways in which parents and educators can be more intentional about affirming and building qualities within young children that nurtures their thinking and problem-solving, their creativity, empathy and resilience in a world of rapid change.

This course features:

• a series of 13 sequential lectures

• 12 PDF resource file downloads

• stories of young children and youth

• research findings and theoretical perspectives

• multimodal reflective activities

• invitations to personalize topics explored in each lecture

Upon completion of this course you should have:

• increased awareness of how our words and stories nurture children’s thinking, empathy, creativity and resilience

• practical and playful strategies for nurturing children’s unique interests, abilities, and learning

• greater confidence as an educator or parent that you are offering children the foundational tools that they need to thrive in a rapidly changing world

• a sense of joy in being a parent, educator, and learner with children

Children are the main characters in the story of their life.

Can we help them identify their central character as being filled with creativity, empathy, cleverness and resilience? Will the stories we share with them about how we see them help children find comfort and pride in who they are and are becoming? The stories we tell, share and create with children are powerful in shaping children’s identity and learning.

What You’ll Learn:

• How our values and beliefs underpin what we communicate to our children

• How our view of children impacts the ways we communicate and affirm children’s interests and strengths

• How business talk and play talk impact children’s sense of self as thinkers and problem solvers

• How listening and perspective-taking skills deepen children’s empathy and resilience

• How sharing stories in books, nature and in conversation can grow children’s resilience

Who this course is for?

• Parents, grandparents, adoptive and foster parents of children from birth to early primary school-age

• Early leaning educators in childcare, preschools, and intergenerational programs

• Educators in kindergarten and early primary classrooms

This course is intended for adults who:

• Live, work, or care for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, or young children

• Want to nurture thinking, problem-solving, creativity, empathy and resilience in young children now and in the future

• Want to prepare children to face the challenges of a rapidly changing world

The course is divided into 10 lectures. Lectures run on average for approximately 15 with additional time required for reflective activities. Each lecture ends with an invitation to personalize the ideas to students’ unique context.

Students are encouraged to record their reflections in a journal or digital file, and to engage in conversation with one another in the discussion section. Self-reflection and conversation with others are key to deepening students’ learning.

Please join with me to explore Story Power: Growing Resilient Children.

I look forward to meeting you in the course - enrol now!

Susan Ramsay