With a curriculum and co-curriculum that is as enriched as ours at King’s Ely Acremont Nursery and Pre-Prep, children’s creativity and individuality is nurtured and celebrated on a daily basis!
However, on Tuesday (October 17th), our youngest Eleans were encouraged to unleash their originality to a whole new level, and to really let their imaginations run wild.
Inspired by the BBC ‘500 Words’ competition, every single learning activity on that day was themed around storytelling! Our mission was for every child in Nursery, Reception, Year 1, and Year 2 to plan and create a piece of written work or a collaborative, more artistic piece of work, which reflected their thoughts, originality, and aspirations.
We knew that for some children, a day filled with writing could have been a little daunting, so our storytelling shindig was not just about putting pen to paper. Some children drew, some acted, some sang… The possibilities were endless and as long as what the pupils produced was an original piece of work that they were proud of, then fantastic!
BBC’s 500 Words is the UK’s largest children’s story writing competition for 5 to 11-year-olds. This means that our Years 1 and 2 pupils could now consider entering their written stories into the contest.
Mr Dean, who is Head of English at Acremont Pre-Prep, said: “We were so impressed with the imagination and enthusiasm of the children – from Spy Princesses to Banana Monsters and Mermaid Mums to Haunted Castles, the stories covered a huge range of topics, styles and themes!
“Who knows, perhaps one of our Year 1 or Year 2 pupils could be invited to Buckingham Palace as a finalist?! All stories must be typed and submitted online via the competition website. Parents and carers are advised to create an account through which you are asked to sign-up your child to take part. We will take a copy of each child’s work created during our Storytelling Day, and we will send the original home for you to enjoy, and prepare for submission, if your child would like to take part in the competition.”
The deadline for entries is Friday, November 10th. For more information about the competition, please visit: www.bbc.co.uk/teach/500-words
Photo gallery: Miss Seymour and some of our Year 2 pupils in action during Storytelling Day!