Why Storytelling Is so Important for a Child's Development

At the beginning of February, the 15th annual national storytelling week took place around the UK to celebrate the art form of storytelling. Storytelling has been around thousands of years, it predates writing and in its early form consisted of just gestures and facial expressions. It’s an intrinsic part of our human culture and society to tell stories to one another for pleasure and enjoyment. Children in particular have a fondness for storytelling, stories like Jack and the beanstalk, Goldilocks and the three bears and more recently where the wild things are (a personal favourite of mine) conjure up tales of wonder and amazement. 

Casey reading to kids at The Forest School

Storytelling is key to a child’s development, their creativity blossoms when they watch and listen to stories and adds to other forms of creativity including art and writing. During storytelling week, Ben, Jack and Casey, from Apollo Creative decided to volunteer to read stories and use mixed media in a classroom at The Forest School in Knaresborough. We read from books such as Jim and the beanstalk, Goldilocks and the three bears and Monkey puzzle using sound effects as well as projecting images to add to the magic of storytelling. See the video below for how teachers at The Forest School believe it is vital for a child to be exposed to storytelling:

To finish this blog post I have decided to add my top three children’s stories for your viewing and listening pleasure!

1: Curious George builds a home – Written and drawn by the French husband and wife team Hans Augusto Ray and Margret Ray, Curious George is a classic children’s series. The link below takes you to the story below, please note the story and sounds will start automatically:

http://www.curiousgeorge.com/kids-stories-books/cg-builds-a-home

2: Frog and Toad - Spring – Written and illustrated by Arnold Lobel, Frog and Toad are short stories that are often humorous and poignant.

3: The very hungry caterpillar – by Eric Carle was first published in 1969 and is still read in schools today!

  

What is a Bubble Wall?

With the ever increasing popularity of our bubble walls I thought I would share some information and a short video about it. Please find below answers to some frequently asked questions i including how a bubble wall works, what the benefits are and how you can easily maintain it to keep it in perfect condition:

A Bubble What?

A bubble wall is a self contained water wall that emits variant colours using the latest LED technology. It can be designed to a size that suits you and offer a visual enhancement to any commercial property, private home or sensory environment. 

How does it work?

The bubble wall is designed and manufactured to specification at our headquarters in the picturesque town of Knaresborough. Air is pumped via a small yet powerful motor through to the wall, the air is then evenly distributed across the surface of the wall to generate bubbles. Using high quality LED strip lights, the bubble wall lights up and can be customised to set the right mood and ambience. Using the DMX version of the bubble wall you can easily synchronise other lights to match each other, perfect for use in sensory rooms or catching your customers eye on a retail or exhibition stand.

What are the benefits?

In a restaurant environment it creates a unique ambience and is a stand out water feature that will amaze and dazzle customers.

When used in a reception/waiting area it gives clients something to focus on. For example if your waiting to see the dentist it's common to feel nervous or anxious, therefore having your mind focus on the illuminating bubbles will make you calm so you forget your worries.

Using a bubble wall in a sensory room is a great added addition to provide an interactive, colourful and therapeutic experience.

How to maintain a Bubble Wall

Keeping your bubble wall clean and in perfect working order couldn't be easier! We recommend to change the water every 8-10 weeks to prevent any dirt or unwanted bacterial growth building up. Using special BCB fluid mixed in with the water it's just a case of draining it, cleaning it and filling it back up again, easy!

Take a look at the video below to see the Bubble Wall in action: