For most of us, in a corner of our minds, lingers the memory of the stories our parents told us when we were little. What child has not been amazed, transported and captivated by these stories?

Apart from transporting the child into the realm of imagination, the benefits of this activity extend far beyond that. Here are some examples of the benefits of stories in the construction of learning and cognitive awareness in children.

It is a sensory stimulus:

Listening to a story is not only a question of hearing but of stimulating several senses because the child who listens will at the same time look at the pictures and touch the pages or the screen in the case of a digital medium.

A curiosity and inspiration booster:

Children’s books are full of all kinds of drawings, which provides an opportunity for children to develop their curiosity by asking questions, thus learning new things. Stories give children plenty of different ideas that can inspire them later.

Vocabulary, language and literacy development:

Stories help diversify a child’s vocabulary and foster language acquisition and mastery. Through mimicry, children are also encouraged to repeat the words in turn. Moreover, it is a way for the child to understand that written and spoken words are linked.

Allows a better knowledge of oneself:

The adaptation of children’s books allows them to identify with the characters and at the same time to realise that the emotions conveyed by the characters are the same as their own (joy, sadness, anger, etc.). When the outcome of the story is victorious for the hero, then the child tends to internalise it as a personal victory.

“An adult will read a book to entertain himself, a child will read a book to build himself.”

– Joann Sfar, Comic book author

Improves listening skills and promotes interaction:

The way in which a story is told has an influence on the child’s attention span, and as the story progresses it improves the child’s listening skills. These moments allow the child to actively participate in the story by singing, for example, or by moving to describe a passage in the story.

Consolidates learning:

Stories are a way of approaching learning through an informal method and as the child rereads the story, the consolidation of the learning it contains will come more naturally. Stories allow the introduction of various notions such as mathematical concepts, for example. The child can then become familiar with these concepts before tackling them in a more formal way.

When it comes to mathematics specifically, which is directly linked to the Math&Move project, the method used will be to orient the stories towards mathematical concepts by using specific vocabulary for this subject in order to accustom the children to using it, and thus promote their understanding and learning.