A little while ago, Kate was able to link up with the children of Smithy Bridge Primary School and tell an awesome Tales Toolkit story from MILES AND MILES AWAY thanks to the miracle of modern technology and some crafty thinking on the part of the teachers. Kate liaised with the teachers in advance and made sure that they had same four things to represent each story element. This is a lovely way to connect the person on the other end of the line to what is happening in the room, and it can even create a little magic! You can try ‘passing’ the props from teacher to Skype-caller by placing them in a bag on one end, and then the other person can pull an identical prop out of their bag at the other end. Sent at the speed of light!

As you can see in one of the pictures, Kate and the teachers incorporated a phone into the telling of the story. It became the solution, and the children had to work out how it could save the day! Kate called the phone, which started ringing, and the solution to the story was acted out in real time over the phone.

There is a lot of potential in these remote Tales Toolkit stories. Especially with so many children currently learning from home. Try to think outside of the box, and incorporate as much interaction and physicality as you can (you may need some help from parents)!

Moving forward, Smithy Bridge were keen to link with other schools to swap stories virtually, in particular schools abroad. Tales Toolkit is used in multiple countries and we’re envisioning some amazing story-swapping and sharing between cultures. We have lots of ideas how this can work, but please talk to us with your own ideas – the possibilities are endless!

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