This course is designed to help you become a better storyteller. Yes, it would be possible to simply show these stories to students, because they are presented in full as if being told to an audience. However, we hope that most will attempt to tell the stories because it is such a lively experience to share that process with children young and old.  

The telling of and listening to the story is the foundation of almost all of the work done in Waldorf education. So, when we are able to tell stories in a way that supports the imagination process, we give the student the best possible foundation on which to build. 

This is an important point to fully appreciate. We are attempting to support the child's imaginative process, the inner activity of building the images, the scenes, and events within a story. By contrast, we are NOT attempting to merely entertain the child. When we try to entertain, we make ourselves too much of the focal point. Instead, it is far more beneficial if our storytelling is in service to the student's inner, creative process. The student needs to be involved in two worlds. They have "one foot in this world" listening to the story we tell, and "another foot in their inner world" where they engage in the wonderful activity of imagination. If we take an undue amount of the child's focus, we actually distract their attention from what is far more important.  

These 36 complete story presentations will demonstrate the skills and techniques gradually so that you can practice and improve with ease and confidence, while also supporting the student's imagination--and your own!