When I'm in Mississippi, I always include plans to tell stories at the Lottie W. Thornton Early Childhood Education Center at Jackson State University . I have the privilege of being her daughter and this is a way for me to honor her memory. In 2018 I told a story written by Ladonna Marie, Larry The Alligator Makes Friends. When I told the story, I had a "Larry" in the audience. He sat away from the storytelling circle. As I told the story "Larry" moved closer. When the story ended "Larry" had moved to nearly the front and was talking to the boy next to him. When I came back this year "Larry" was a very active participant in the activities. I told my stories and afterwards the children decided to tell me which ones they liked the best. "Larry" told me that he liked the story about the alligator. That was not part of the stories that I told that day, but I was happy that her remembered and I could see the difference it made in his life. "Larry" graduated to kindergarten and I have no doubt that he has many new friends.
The picture at the top is of children in the Kinder-Bound program at the Lottie W. Thornton Early Childhood Education Center at JSU and can be found here.
Leave a Reply