Hi Dannah, please tell us a little about yourself and your background.
Hi! I am a creativity enthusiast who has worked in childcare for six years. Before working with children, I studied creative writing and dramatic arts. Thinkertales is sort of the product of all of these interests, but its inspiration came from the kids I’d worked with. It was their love of stories and they want to behave like the characters they read about that truly inspired the concept of interactive storytime.
What was the concept behind creating Thinkertales?
To create an environment where kids could be a part of the stories they hear, rather than just a listener. Thinkertales encourages children to involve themselves in the world around them by helping others, which is something we’re really proud of. We want kids to come in for stories, leave feeling like they’ve helped someone accomplish something, and apply that to their lives. Lately, I’ve been working with behavioral specialists, teachers of early education, and children’s speech pathologists to put together a class that is inventive, imaginative, and a learning experience.
What is the ideal age group for your classes? How are classes structured?
Walkers: 2.5 years is our sweet spot, but we allow and encourage crawlers, newborns and children up to 4 years of age to attend.
Thinkertales is constantly evolving to ensure that we keep it fresh and can teach through play in the most effective way. A few things that will be constant throughout: we always have stories, a character (in stuffie form!) who leads the class alongside our teacher, activities that go with the stories, songs and movement.
What makes Thinkertales unique from other classes offered downtown?
It’s an entirely new concept! The mommy and me storytimes that I love most are the ones that have an excited leader and are active and engaging for the kids. With Thinkertales, I wanted to take that to another level.
Does Thinkertales host birthday parties? What themes do you’ll cover?
Thinkertales at the moment is hosted in Downtown Dance Factory’s facilities and in residence buildings, so we do not host birthday parties and we do not currently provide birthday party entertainment.
In class, we cover my favorite themes: courage, love, heroism, strength, and confidence, to name a few. Children are constantly inspired by the characters around them: their parents, heroes in movies and television, siblings, and leaders. The point in having the class help an imaginary character is to stretch their natural empathy past the people they know. Helping someone they just met reach a goal encourages kindness and openness, which is something I’m proud to spread in any way that I can.
What advice would you give a parent whose kid is passionate about reading and writing stories?
As a kid, simply hearing my parents call me “creative” made it resonate as a part of who I am. By showing that they recognized my creativity as a personality trait instead of a skill I possessed made me proud to read, write, and behave creatively. I think that’s why I had the confidence to pursue the creative arts as an adult, and why I want to encourage brave kids who are interested in the arts to do the same.
One advice you would give parents of younger kids?
I’ve found success in letting storytime be exploratory. Little hands wanted to chew on and explore the book pages, especially if it’s one of those lovely sensory ones. Exercising patience in allowing this to happen and reading the book to them (in any way you can) as they explore is pure magic on both ends. It’s messy and disorganized magic, but magic nonetheless.
Where do you see Thinkertales five years from now?
There’s a lot in store for Thinkertales in the next five years. We are taking the interactive storytime idea and applying it to other age groups: 4-6s who are becoming comfortable in their journey with reading, bigger kids who get their stories not only from books but from ‘technology’, and teens who could be interested in the inner workings of how the stories they see on TV and in Film get made. We can’t wait to show you what else we have in store!
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