Read the full article in the Braintree & Witham Times here!
Little Story Shapers runs storytelling and drama classes in Witham, Braintree, and Chelmsford.
Sarah Morgan, 36, started the classes five years ago after her eldest daughter was born.
Reading- Sarah is especially keen to promote reading in younger children. (Image: Sarah Morgan)
She said: “There’s lots of things I enjoy about the classes but one of the biggest things is watching children develop and grow and build confidence.
“Drama has such an amazing quality about it that allows children to really shine and come out of their shell.
“Reading is such an important thing I want to promote, as even reading to your newborn babies is so beneficial.”
Sarah used to work as a teacher at Stanway Primary School and has a master’s degree in drama.
Fun- Sarah uses fun drama to bring the story to life.
She continued: “From being a primary school teacher, I could see the children who have been read to, spoken to and sung nursery rhymes as their language and communication skills are so far above the children that haven’t had that experience.
“I absolutely loved teaching, and I really wanted to use my skills of both teaching and drama together.
“When my daughter was young, I started exploring ways to do drama for under 5s, as there isn’t much out there for younger children.”
Every class concentrates on a story book, with fun activities for the children to perform connected to the tale.
The drama and the role play are a way to “bring the story to life”.
Joy- The children gain lots of confidence and language skills from Sarah’s classes. (Image: Sarah Morgan)
Sarah said: “I invested in training and props, and I did a sign language course, so we incorporate sign language and sensory play.
“I also worked on adding in the early reading skills and phonics for the older children to prepare them for starting school.”
“I love being part of children’s early reading journey.”
During the summer, Sarah runs pay-as-you-go classes for babies and toddlers that parents can come to.
In term time, the classes are regular weekly classes that can be booked as a block.
Sarah’s website also has free downloadable resources for parents to learn how to engage their children in books and how to do drama at home.