Part That’s been Missed...

Devi duduk di kursi itu. Di samping devi sebuah meja kecil dengan sebuah lilin di atasnya. Lampu ruangan dipadamkan, namun ruangan cukup terang untuk devi membacakan buku. Semua mata tertuju ke depan. Ke Devi, menunggu sebuah cerita meluncur dari mulut devi. Lalu buku berjudul “Cat Air Ajaib” itu devi buka, dan satu persatu kalimat dalam buku itu devi bacakan.150 pasang mata melihat ke depan, menyimak cerita. And I just realize how important it is to create solemn surrounding before you start your story.

It doesn’t have to be turning the light off and use the candle as mention above, but by lowering your voice the children will eventually wondering what is going on. Miyoto in her presentation also share her way to create this surrounding. That is by singing a certain song for the opening and clapping hand that gradually slowing down. And then she’ll show the book she’s going to read. By then the children are ready to listen a story. It’s just simple as that.

Beberapa tahun lalu devi pernah mendongeng di hadapan sekitar puluhan anak TK yang luar biasa ribut. Settingnya di luar ruangan, dan mereka baru saja menyelesaikan berbagai lomba. Energi mereka masih banyak oleh adrenalin yang dipompa dari lomba, and it was impossible to ask them to sit and listen to the story. And I didn’t know what to do at that time. Ada panggung di depan. Namun panggung itu sangat tinggi and I didn’t feel comfortable for being so far away from the children, so I refuse to use it. But being too close with the children didn’t help me either for they were too wild. I didn’t know about creating the environment first at that time. So I keep moving on with my story with my audience running here and there. Ah, it was a lesson I have to learn.

And now I found about this creating story time environment from the workshop I’ve participated. I usually begin storytelling with a story that have a song in it, because it’ll help children concentrate to the person in front of them. Dan cerita pembuka andalan devi adalah “Aku Si Raja Gunung”. It’s a simple story but has surprising effect at the end. That story always succeeds making the children stay where they are and curios about the next story I’m going to tell. Now I understand that I am too had tries to create the story time environment with “Aku Si Raja Gunung” story. And will surely to give a try different ways to find the best story time environment of my own.