The Magic of a Story

Last week, during toddler storytime, I gazed out on 60 pairs of eyes.  In my arms I held a small black plastic cauldron and a wooden spoon.  When I introduced the story, I did happen to mention that the cauldron and spoon are magic, which may account for the looks of wonder I was seeing.  From drooling babies to smiling grandparents, they gasped in awe as the apple turned into a long thin piece of red felt.  

 

“I’ll take the apple, put it in the pot, stir it, stir it, stir it a lot.  Take it out now.  What will it be?  The prettiest red you ever did see!” 

 The orange orange turned into a strip of orange felt, the yellow banana turned to a long piece of yellow.  Each piece of felt was going up onto the flannel board in turn.  At this point, one child whispered, “It’s a rainbow!”  Once I finished with the purple grapes and the rainbow was complete, I grinned as applause broke out.

Are the cauldron and spoon magic?  Maybe not.  But what is really awe inspiring is the power of words put together into a story and the wonder in the mind of a child.  The combination of the two is where the magic happens.