Kidsfirst Kindergartens Bush Street Centre of Innovation - 2006-08

Chapter 3 Central character

Central character story is a valuable gift we did not seek, yet have discovered, treasured, and developed to link personal stories together. Central character story times create a time and space, full of learning and meaning, that we embrace with enthusiasm, as do the children and their families.  

When you tell a story, you are giving your listener something to think about, so you may as well give him or her the time to think about it as well – even if it’s a lifetime. (Maguire, 1998, p. 221).

3.1 Introduction

In this chapter we look at the concept of a central character, where it emerged from, how the idea works and what we are able to do through its use in story.

The central character stories discussed in this report represent our current thinking and our research based analysis of our central character story practice. We highlight the way the concept has evolved as our understanding of it has increased. The teachers have been working together for five years, and acknowledge how the continuity in our teaching and learning together has played a part in how central character story has evolved for us.

3.2 Central character

Each term we ‘bring to life’ a new central character who lives in the kindergarten for a term (approximately ten weeks). While the central character is fictional, it is related to the children; indeed it is based on their realities. The central character concept is not a theme or project but rather a catalyst that becomes the connecting link for a multitude of subjects and stories from children, teachers, families and community. The central character story time provides the space for us to come together at a regular time for sharing, recalling, weaving and developing a multiplicity of story threads. Central character story time is the place where an individual story stimulates story in others - adults and children. This learning integrates the individual and the community, and within the individual integrates feeling, thought and action.

A model of teaching and learning that reveals how the paradox of thinking and feeling are joined – where heart and mind work as one. When a person is healthy and whole the head and the heart are both – and not either or, and teaching that honours that paradox can help make us all more whole. (Palmer, 1998, p. 64)

3.3 Where this idea came from and how it evolved

Kay writes:

When Kay and Helen began teaching together at the kindergarten in 2002, Helen was introduced to this concept. Helen writes:

Over the next few years, the use of central characters became an integral part of teaching and learning life at Bush Street. This approach is ongoing, exciting and challenging, and, as new people join the team, new perspectives are woven into it.

A culture of story has emerged that we are able to share with others such as teacher trainees, and visiting teachers. Beccy Cresswick who was a teacher trainee on placement at the kindergarten for five weeks became involved in our central character story practice and commented at the conclusion of her placement :

Beccy’s comments have also been reflected in feedback from a range of people including parents, grandparents, and many others as they have been exposed to, and involved in, central character story.

3.4 Meet the central characters in our research

Character stories used at Bush Street - Term 1, 2006 to Term 4, 2008.

The versatility of central character and the overarching ideas which led to each term’s central character are given below. The “central character” is usually a person or a couple of people, but on occasion is mythical (see 2006, term 3).

2006 Term 1: John and Jane

John and Jane are based on the historical arrival of the Deans family as early settlers in Canterbury. Their stories enabled children to learn about life before electricity, to imagine what this land was like before the city of Christchurch was built and to explore where food comes from and what it is made with. We started our research here as John and Jane sparked the ‘central character story’ concept and programme.

2006 Term 2: Doug and Fern

Building on the knowledge about the land to which John and Jane arrived, we met Doug and Fern. These characters were interested in environmental issues and highlighted stories about spiders, whales, trees and Tāne Mahuta, the Māori guardian of the forest. A painting of Mount Grey, our local mountain, was painted and brought this landmark to the attention of our families. A visit to the local river to sing songs and cook sausages took children and families into the local environment where Department of Conservation staff were invited to join us and share their knowledge.

2006 Term 3: Ana and Maunga Taniwha

Teachers learning and sharing their knowledge enables others to learn and contribute their understanding. This happened in the stories of Ana and Maunga Taniwha. Stories were brought to our attention by the characters of Māori myths and legends. Teachers researched stories of local significance, often related to landmarks, rivers, mountains and beaches. This character story invited learning on levels such as geography, culture, history and language.

2006 Term 4: Professor Plum

Professor Plum arose out of a child’s interest in rocks and his mother’s interest in experiments. They made a home movie for us to watch, which children requested many times. Professor Plum was also interested in healthy food - an opportunity to highlight food teachers valued, to include input from local authorities and to have a shared lunch together. Professor Plum also went camping and introduced us to various ways of acknowledging Christmas.

2007 Term 1: Sackson

The character of Sackson evolved from a teacher remembering a storytelling technique she had used in the past. Sackson’s sack was used as the canvas to start and add to story over the term. Sackson was able to acknowledge children’s stories from the Christmas break, to explore and expand on the vegetables that were growing at home and the experiences children were having outside kindergarten such as travelling to the mountains, going boating and camping.

2007 Term 2: Grandpa Sydney

Grandpa Sydney started as a way to acknowledge ANZAC day. We planned to have two characters but the second never evolved. An older character elicited stories from home about children’s experiences and relationships with older family members. For some, it was an opportunity to acknowledge grandparents remembered but no longer around, for others, ways to keep in touch –letters, telephone and internet. Grandpa Sydney told us stories about other countries in the world that he had visited.

2007 Term 3: Mother Goose

Language and literature was supported through children and parents sharing bedtime stories and routines through the character of Mother Goose. These stories supported families who were finding bedtime routines challenging. The painting of a night time mural also acknowledged the changing seasons and brought to the fore children’s knowledge about night time.

2007 Term 4: Sam and Sally

Spring time, an invitation to enter a scarecrow-making competition and a child’s love of his overalls were the creative impetus behind Sam and Sally. This story invited children to attach items from home to the scarecrow and share stories behind the items with the group. Sam and Sally also facilitated the planting of vegetables, children tasting vegetables as they grew, and caring for the environment, including birds and visitors to the garden.

2008 Term 1: Julie and Andrew

The starting point for Julie and Andrew was the teachers’ love of The Sound of Music. This led to the sharing of favourite things, the creation of a new Mt Grey picture, visits to Mt Thomas and the local beach. Gathering harakeke to weave into baskets for collage materials led to an opportunity where parents could learn to weave. This story finished with a fundraising evening where families came dressed in their favourite things.

2008 Term 2: Rata and Harrison

These characters were a collaborative character development among three teachers. We each wrote a page on what we thought might happen and emerge. The result was a blending of teachers’ ideas which incorporated children and family stories. The name Rata refers to a tree that had been significant on a family holiday and Harrison was linked with the latest movie release.

2008 Term 3: Kupe

This character was developed by Melinda in consultation with the other teachers. The team were engaged in professional development that included stories about historical Māori experiences. Melinda wanted a way to share our learning with the children through stories that relate to today such as navigation, fishing and adventures.

2008 Term 4: Farmer Brown and Tom

The character of Farmer Brown created links to the A&P shows which are a feature on the community calendar at this time of year. Farmer Brown had a son called Tom who was about to turn five. This provided the framework to explore and support children in the process of transition to school. Workshops were also held for parents about children starting school.

3.5 The central character stories are part of day-to-day teaching and learning

Central character stories do not sit in isolation – they build on what’s already there. The personal stories, which become part of the central character stories, are all part of our day-to-day practice and the relationships we build amongst teachers, children and their families. The use of central character story time in the morning session with the older group of children is a strategic decision because the children by the time they transition to morning sessions have been at kindergarten for a while, and have had experience in sharing their stories in other ways. They know that the teachers are really keen to listen to these stories. The Common Threads of Learning (p. 10 , above) lists things that are part of day-to-day practice in both our own and other early childhood contexts. These threads allow us to offer evidence of the layers of stories within a central character story line and how central character story does not sit apart but is totally integrated into the daily life at the kindergarten. They are often the basis of conversations among other teachers and visitors who observe story and are interested, challenged or intrigued by this way of teaching and learning. Whilst the central character differs each term, we found from an analysis of each of the central character stories that the threads of learning ran through all stories.

Central character stories stimulate our thinking and passion for what we do and give us a tool to voice special features of the curriculum at Bush Street. They are a strong influence on how we view teaching and learning. Through central characters, we can actively engage children, parents and teachers in learning and teaching where hearts and minds, thinking and feeling work together - emotions are not removed from actions. Children see adults role modelling actions and emotions as stories are shared, and children are able to re-enact these themselves through the central character. Children are able to build on their emerging knowledge, skills and attitudes alongside teachers who are doing the same (see the Wall of Strategies, on page 43 , below).

All the central characters represent some notion of a hero or heroine and good human qualities, and the values we have identified that are important in our teaching practice. Through the central character stories, we are able to bring to the fore, make visible, and role model learning dispositions we aspire to for children and for ourselves as teachers and students. The central character can model courage, playfulness, trust, perseverance, honesty and confidence. The central character stories support children to cope with change and difference, find out about new things, practise established skills, connect places and experiences, develop relationships with adults and peers, and take responsibility.

Most days, the routine that occurs before a central character story session includes the children playing a name game and sharing personal stories (some settings may refer to this as news time). Our teachers work together to encourage children to share things that a parent may have highlighted to us such as an upcoming trip or celebrating staying in bed all night. Teachers work together to keep this time forward moving and relevant while at the same time allowing space to pause and ponder. The stories shared at this time are used as a springboard for that day’s central character session and elements from these personal stories are included.

3.6 How we develop a central character

As we consider who (or what) could be the central character for the coming term, we are aware of things happening within and beyond the kindergarten community for individual children, groups of children, families, teachers and others. We remember our taonga (physical environment and whenua), our values and our reoccurring threads of learning, then ask ourselves:

• What are the current issues for children?
• What child and family stories are emerging?
• What are our emergent stories - personal and professional?
• What do we, collectively, want to learn about this term?

Towards the end of a term or perhaps during the term break, we ponder these things, wondering who might be our next central character. We share ideas and have fun sparking the creativity within ourselves and in each other as we explore possibilities. Sometimes one person takes the responsibility alone. It used to be Kay, but now it is a shared process. When we develop a central character we think about many things, for example:-

• What central character for the new term will be able to link many things?
• What is his/her/their name(s)?
• What is the reason for that name?
• Where does he/she live?
• Why does he/she live there?
• Who are his/her friends?
• Why are they friends? What brought them together?
• What does he/she wear?
• Why does he/she like to wear these clothes?
• What does he/she like to do and why?

We know we can weave all sorts of things into central character stories, and we know the weaving needs to be respectful and full of meaning and relevance for those taking part. We think about the ways we like to learn and work together as a team. This understanding gives a base on which to answer the above questions and to plan a central character who will allow various stories to emerge during the term and facilitate consequent learning for children, families and teachers.

Our understanding of Te Whāriki and its sociocultural principles sees learning immersed in the contexts in which it takes place. Central character story stimulates creativity as other contexts can be recreated through a central character and brought to life through a central character storyline.

In this planning of a central character for a term, we are setting up a space where great stories can emerge. We do not know what those stories will be, but we know we are developing a character who can adapt to the happenings that we might need to address with our children as the events of a term unfold.

We know we do not need to portray the whole character or set the whole storyline up at the start because the character and overall story will grow through the term as events unfold. The character needs to be adaptable to allow for that development and the setting up needs to be rich in possibilities and ideas.

Teachers at workshops have told us about how they use imaginative tools such as dolls or puppets to add voices to their own, or how they wear hats or cloaks to adopt an imaginary persona. They do not speak of overseas educators, for example, Brown (2001) whose wonderful work on combating discrimination uses persona dolls, but they are doing similar things. This reminds us that ours is only one innovative practice and that many other centres are doing exciting things that deserve to be shared. Just as our innovation deepens learning by building on the personal stories of children, the COI programme has shown us the potential for ongoing teacher education through building on the personal stories of innovative teachers.

3.7 How the story of a central character is introduced

The clothing and the basic props for the start of a central character story are placed in the suitcase which is unpacked with the children as the new story begins. By the time the props are packed we have identified the children whose individual stories will start the term’s process off. We know that plans can change, so we are always flexible and open to new ideas.

Firstly, we decide on some simple props to support the character. The props may grow over time, but to start with they would include the costumes that the child who is acting as central character for the day will wear. On a couple of occasions a backdrop has been created especially for the character. More commonly, routine resources from around the kindergarten are used. For example the bed from the family corner was included when Mother Goose was the central character.

• We were able to integrate the magic of bedtime in the winter through Mother Goose, with talk of stars, the moon, frosty nights and mornings, hot-water bottles, and special bedtime stories with parents, and family cuddles under the blankets. We heard some of the stories our parents and grandparents had listened to and knew about when they were little, as they shared them with us through Mother Goose. As different people told their stories, they also brought with them the props to complement the process.

Secondly, start to weave the story. Introduce the children to the central character during a routine time together. Take it gently, not too much at one time – entertain, tempt children to talk and build on their ideas and questions – this is teaching.

• Example: Starting story
• A suitcase containing the clothes and props of the central character is brought to the fore. A child is chosen or volunteers to be the central character. The transformation of the child into the role of the central character happens as the clothes that represent the central character are put on. Other props that represent the central character’s developing persona may be present at this time. You can then start to tell the first episode of the story. Sow seeds and ideas – hold the idea of the story loosely – listen intently.

Thirdly, listen to children’s ideas and create stories that weave experiences together. This is a strategic and creative process that we are trying to describe in this report. Some observers see the facilitation of central character as a teacher dominated activity. It is, deliberately so! But as we do this, we encourage participation through questions and pauses, and body language that invites involvement. The content supports learning at home and kindergarten. While most of the stories start from children and their family’s personal stories, they are often interspersed with other content from the following: teacher’s stories and interests, events in the community, global and historical events, myths and legends, fact and fiction.

The story emerges in a way similar to a soap opera development. Teachers weave ideas and personal stories into an ongoing saga while at the same time using the central character to maintain continuity. If it becomes too complicated it is often because we are thinking too hard rather than letting the process flow. When we first began using the central character concept we found we needed to plan carefully as we were still developing our skill in weaving ideas together. Gradually our skills have increased so that we are now more spontaneous and better able to be creative in how we blend our stories. The character develops in ways that we had not planned but which address the questions that arise for children. As experience develops it becomes easier to embrace creativity in the midst of working with children and their families in the story sessions. We sow many seeds of ideas that may grow or may show up later when least expected. The keys are careful listening and the skill to think quickly, in the moment, so as to weave children’s ideas into the story. Teachers act as knowing participants who provide thoughtful leadership by creating links to past events and by opening up future possibilities for fresh stories.  

It is taking children’s interest seriously and becoming co-players with them. A good topic is one of interest to the adult as well as to the children. (Jones & Nimmo, 1994, p. 87)

Jones and Nimmo highlight the importance of engaging in a mutually interesting task, in our case creating a story that allows children and teachers to spark off each other. The interest of the other party soon fades if the topic in question is only of importance to one person. In selecting our central character and the topics that are explored, we try to balance ideas that have wide appeal with new concepts that may be known only to a few and thus stretch the thinking of many. We want to expose children to new ideas and ways of thinking while at the same time building on the familiar. The aim of central character story is to support and extend the learning for both children and adults.

3.8 An insight – the metaphor of theatre-sports (a form of improvisational theatre)

On any given day, a kindergarten teacher has to deal with multiple issues: family matters, meeting regulatory requirements, unexpected crises, and children wanting to tell what they have been doing at home.

What do teachers do with all these things? The metaphor of theatre-sports acknowledges the speed and energy of what happens in a day or at any given moment, involving decisions about what is most important. At story time, the metaphor is particularly apt. In the microcosm of the kindergarten world, the teacher asks herself, what will contribute to the ongoing life of this story, what can be discarded for the moment, what are the most important issues?

Central character story times provide a time and a place to address issues, acknowledge and honour the personal stories that have come in from home, explore values and take time to share. Many story ideas can be explored and shared at once through the use of a central character. The storyteller can be likened to the improviser who weaves all the ideas given to them into a coherent whole by using a character and shares them with a wider audience. As in improvisation, there is no script to be followed.

There is also a pace about this event – not getting stuck on any one thing, keeping the story moving, and listening for the next cue from the child actor in costume or the audience as to which direction to take. Whilst the story is flexible and moves with the participants in response to the situation, the improviser needs to retain a strong storyline that captures the audience.

• Example: Weaving stories beyond topics and themes
• We had visitors today - teachers from another centre came to see us working with central character story. We showed them our Common Threads of Learning sheet before they watched the action, and afterwards they were able to see how many of these threads had been included in the story. We carried on talking about what might happen next, tomorrow. The teachers lit on an idea that had been mentioned in the story that day. It was about babies, because they saw how babies could become a theme. We realised how hard it is for other teachers to move beyond topics and themes. We were in a different head-space, however, thinking about how to work with the complexity of carrying multiple threads through story.

This account highlights the importance, and difficulty, of moving beyond a focus on one thing at a time as a topic or theme to being able to create a learning setting where many emerging personal stories and interests are addressed at one time within a central story line. Moreover, one episode is not a stand-alone story with a beginning, middle and end. It is the middle of a long-lasting, multifaceted, untidy and complicated story, (which is why the soap opera metaphor came to our minds). Multiple interests are catered to concurrently.

3.9 Mood, ‘magic’ and spirituality

In Western culture it is not common to talk about spirituality and magic because of the connotations these words hold. We use these words in this section to talk about a connectedness between people and events, a feeling that something out of the ordinary has occurred on these occasions - a connection that belongs to the group of people at that particular time.

On any given day the central character story will be different, not only in the type of story being told, but also in the mood and the feelings that surround it. Central character story times may also vary in length from 5 to 25 minutes although they would typically last 10-15 minutes. The stories are told to amuse, delight, inspire and inform. They are told to draw people together, to share in experiences and thereby build relationships.

A story time can encompass major world events such as the Olympics or 9/11 or indulge a child’s interest in fairies. As these ideas are explored the mood can change. Many things contribute to the mood or feeling that surrounds a central character story session such as the composition of the group, the spontaneous contributions of children and adults, the setting in which the story occurs, relationships within the group and events that occur before the sharing of the story.

There are times when the children, family, teacher and community stories come together and there is a feeling of ‘magic’ or a surrounding energy. This feeling cannot be planned but some of the events that occur before the story begins seem to add to the possibility of this occurring. Things that seem to contribute to the magic are the children and teachers exploring a common interest, teachers listening and learning from children and children being respectful and learning from others. It does not have to be serious.

• Example: A story built on an interest in fairies
• The children were invited to dress up as something you find in the garden. The next day we had fairies, a tree, cats and dogs, a ‘bad man’, super-heroes and a barbecue to weave together. All these characters were woven together, with a teacher accepting ideas from the floor, into a story about a garden, and all the characters having a barbecue at the end. Parents who had stayed to watch were soon drawn in, as pieces of material were used to transform them into a pond and a sun.

The teacher held the story loosely as the characters were drawn into this event. The energy between people could be felt, yet the story had no purposes in mind but to honour a child’s interest in gardens and to include all who were there. We had a lot of fun that day. The feeling that surrounded this moment was described as magic; some would call it spiritual as hearts and minds connected.

Another occasion that shows mood, feeling and magic was a very sad one.

• Example: ANZAC
• We had been talking about ANZAC day and shared a story based on Jennifer Beck and Robyn Belton’s (1996) “The Bantam and the Soldier”.
• We talked about death and remembering those who have died. On return to the kindergarten, after the public holiday, we found Rosie our canary had died. This event had more significance because of events that had preceded it such as acknowledging ANZAC day. A child had been taking the bird back and forth between her house and her grandmother’s daily over the term break. There was a feeling of sadness as children related their own experiences of relations and pets that had passed away and their involvement in ANZAC parades. For some children it was their first identifiable experience of death. As part of the central character story that day we had a funeral with a parade and said goodbye to Rosie.

Although this event was sad, it was another day where we felt the magic and energy of the group come together. An unspoken connection was felt around a shared experience.

These two examples illustrate a connectedness among people and a collective experience that is significant. This connectedness does not always occur in central character story work. Sometimes the central character story is a functional bridge to move the story from one place to another. Sometimes the group is restless and unsettled.

In our research, we have identified some things that contribute to the mood that surrounds a story. Many of these, such as group composition and events before the central character story, are not of our making but the coming together of many factors that we cannot control. It is exciting when ‘magical/spiritual’ stories occur. We know when they occur and they stay in the hearts of those who were there.

3.10 What the central character story enables us to do

The evolving central character story enables us to weave events from the lives of a child/family with those of others in the kindergarten. A child’s place in his or her family and the wider community, as well as traditions, celebrations, values, and beliefs are able to be shared through the use of a central character story. Central character stories also celebrate the resources around us, and treasure our natural environment. The central character story sessions allow us to address a multitude of stories and issues in a term whilst ensuring learning for the whole child. It caters for diversified learning styles within the group.

Data has been drawn from central character story sessions, self review, feedback from participants (parents and children as well as other teachers, relievers and visitors to the kindergarten) and intensive periods of discussion and writing. Through analysis of how central character story encourages learning for children and their families we found:

• Though the teacher may be facilitating the story, children also become the teachers. Their stories are being woven into a collective whole and children can, and do, contribute further ideas as the story session is occurring
• The role of leader/learner can be easily interchanged between adults and children
• Children take on roles to the extent that the fiction becomes their reality. When they are dressed up they become the central character. Pretend play is not foreign to them – they often become other people - but this character is relatively constant for a term
• Children are introduced to experiences that are different from their own in a visual and real way that invites their curiosity and exploration
• The character is not the focus of the whole session on the mat. The character provides continuity and puts the spotlight on particular experiences
• Children are able to use dress up clothes and props to create their own stories and explore the character themselves for the rest of the morning
• Central character gives parents a ‘hook’ into what has been happening on any particular day and gives them a specific to ask their child about, rather than the broad question, “what did you do today?
• Parents become interested in the developing story and can build on the experiences talked about at home
• Central character story gives teachers a time and space to weave together the planned and unplanned events that occur in the kindergarten
• Central character story can be a trigger for future events to happen, such as a trip, or inviting visitors that are related to the storyline to join us
• Trips and social events that are part of typical kindergarten life are woven into the story and integrated in meaningful ways
• Children’s memory of kindergarten seems to be enhanced through the central character process. Parents tell us about remembered central character stories that their school age children talk about
• The sharing of self through central character stories allows children, families and teachers to flesh out their identities
• Teachers are able to integrate their own professional learning journeys such as learning to play a musical instrument by having a central character learn to do the same
• Parents are able to share their experiences, ranging from high points such as catching a big fish, learning to weave and shifting house, to the sharing of simple rituals of bedtime, a camping holiday or a walk on the beach, by joining in story times, either ‘on stage’ or as interactive members of the audience.

All these happenings contribute to the central character’s story. Many happenings are not unlike what happens in most early childhood education settings. What the central character story does is to draw all these events together to a central place where they are noticed and responded to in a unique social setting. Parents often stay to watch central character story sessions. Parents tell us that they like the way these story sessions link home life into the kindergarten.

3.11 Summary

In this chapter we have explored some of the features of central character stories and how they develop out of the community in which we live.

Central character story lines develop and change in response to current issues and emerging ideas.  As teachers we are able to be creative and we work together to develop stories.

Central character story was started by Kay around 1996: she dressed children up in costumes as a way of making teaching an historical topic more interesting. It has developed into a way of weaving personal stories around a character in a costume.  

Each term the teachers create a fresh central character based on their knowledge of the learning interests of the children and their families, and the creativity of the teachers. The character grows out of the existing environment, resources, and people. The goal is to create a character who is flexible and open enough to grow through the term and whose story can address many issues.