Narratives in the Early Years

Narratives are woven through play, art, conversations, and daily routines. All opportunities for us to make meaning and communicate.

Narratives in early years refer to the ways we understand, create, and share stories. While working together with an alphabet reference chart, Rebecca and Luka experience narrative through language and through expressive forms. As they explore letters, sounds, and symbols, they use spoken words to communicate ideas, negotiate meanings, and build shared understanding.

Emily sweetly shares with Ryan a funny game of “Run around the garden like a teddy bear”. It is the first line of a popular children’s nursery rhyme that involves making a circle on a child’s palm and then walking our fingers up the arm.

In return, Ryan corresponds with smile to continue softly saying, “One step, two step” and ends with a tickle, creating a playful and interactive game for friends.

Narratives in our context is a process of meaning-making that grows through everyday interactions, play, and exploration. Through our observations, we gain insight into where each of us in our relationship-building journey and how we use language, symbols, and shared experiences to communicate and connect with one another.

Working with narratives, we include a sequel to “What Do You Do With An Idea?” by Kobi Yamada, with “What Do You Do With A Chance?”. This story inspires us to be effortful and courageous in our attempts. Whenever we encounter challenging situations, we often find ourselves thinking of strategies. In this way, a "chance" means it is an opportunity for us to try, to learn, and to grow.

Emily shares that twirling her hair as one of her strategies when working with a chance. This simple action reflects how she comforts herself and thinks through uncertainty, showing that taking a chance can involve both emotional regulation and creative problem-solving.

Ryan, on the other hand, mentions that saying "thank you" is his strategy when taking a chance. Through this expression of gratitude, he acknowledges each experience, whether it brings success or challenge, as meaningful.

Luka expresses his strategy in working with chance by sharing a hug, showing how connection and care for others can support courage and confidence when taking a chance.

Anthony demonstrates his strategy by deliberately sharing his toys with friends when he is done with his work, reflecting thoughtfulness and generosity as part of his learning process.

Together, friends remind us that working with a chance looks different for each of us. And that that every attempt, no matter how small. can be a step toward confidence, learning, and growth.

We love to share our imagination and stories. We make connections from what we hear and see around us to our play. Through this moment we see how imagination helps us express our understanding of the world around us.

Rebecca is carefully cutting slices of her "blueberry pizza." Through her idea, she mixes imagination with familiar experiences, showing how our storytelling ability can turn simple materials into something meaningful.

We love stories. Stories, in the early years, help us make sense of the world. Hearing a story with a beginning, middle, and even gives us a sense of security. 

We often start forming "mini-narratives" when we experiment with small words like cat, dog, sun.

Counting objects one-to-one (pointing to each item while saying its number) is a key early math skill.

This practice introduces structure and order, much like a narrative has a beginning, middle, and end. Even the act of counting becomes a story of "how many things are there?" with a logical progression, giving us a sense of cause, effect, and consequence.

Through the narratives, we connect. We connect with nature when we attempt to draw the sound of the rain we hear around us. This is the earliest form of storytelling, turning raw perception into something others can understand.

“Rain” by Rebecca and “A colourful and busy rain” by Rain.

Luka and Rebecca explore their way of doing tree pose. Some moments are steady and others are wobbly and through practicing yoga they discover how movement and stillness can exist as one.

Breathing deeply along with the movements of the expanding ball, Luka explores cause and effect. Through this investigation, Luka discovers the connection between his breath and the ball.

​We begin our morning with a cheerful song called “Caterpillar Lalala”. We joyfully sing along and giggle as we choose a body part for the caterpillar to rest on — “now it’s on my head!” or “now it’s on my knee!” The song encourages body awareness, rhythm, and creativity, as friends take turns suggesting new spots for their little caterpillars to crawl.

We gather together to read The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister. Through the story, we talk about how sharing can make friendships brighter. ​

Emily shares, “If someone has a new toy, we can ask nicely,” and connects it to the story, saying that if the other fish has asked the Rainbow Fish politely, maybe he will have shared his shiny scales. 

When the Rainbow Fish says “Go away” friends immediately notice that it is not kind. Luka suggests a better way: “We can say, ‘Sorry, I’m not ready right now'".  Luka's suggestion models a kind, assertive, and honest way to set boundaries.

We also reflect on how being thankful strengthens our friendships. Anthony mentions how we say thank you when friends help us — whether it’s serving lunch, handing us our spoons and forks, or passing our water bottles.

Emily adds that once the Rainbow Fish is ready to share, the other fish wants to play with him again — showing how kindness and gratitude bring friends together.

We explore a science experiment with invisible ink! We are curious from the very beginning — “How can we paint if we can’t see the color?” one friend asks. We mix baking soda and water together to make our “secret ink.” Each one of us brings a paintbrush  to draw or write on our white paper. After painting, we use a blow dryer to dry it.

​Once dry, we prepare our “magic potion” — a mix of turmeric and rubbing alcohol. We notice its bright yellow color and strong smell. One by one, we brush it gently over our papers. Gasps of excitement fills the room as our invisible designs start to appear in orange and brown shades. Friends proudly point out our secret drawings.

Kindest,
Children & Friends.