IN SPANISH «PERSONALICUENTOS»

Presentamos las 5 categorias de la serie “PersonaliTales” en Español

Category 1: Affective Contact Stories

Ages 2 – 5 years

In the first stage of the child’s growth, from the moment of birth to fourth year, body language, caresses, and contact with the adult are his or her deepest means of communication.

These are the ways in which the child feels loved and accepted and how the child gains self-confidence. This stage is particularly important in a child’s psychological development for it is then that his or her inner self-structure begins to take shape, and the rest of the child’s life will be influenced by it.

For this reason, these types of stories were written in a narrative style, emphasizing the affective contact between child and adult throughout the game. At the same time, these narratives, using animals, numbers, and colors, teach children themes related to their age.

I present a collection of four stories in this category:

Category 2: Presentation of Action Stories

Ages 3 – 7 years

When children develop enough confidence in themselves (self-achievement), they behave and perform better in general, and they become more creative and more constructive. These game-like stories were created so that the child can feel self-fulfillment while performing tasks leading to the fulfillment of a goal while an adult tells the story.

It is through these activities that the child feels that he or she is capable of doing things well and achieving the goals that the story requires. Moreover, the child will consistently hear parts of speech, such as adjectives and exclamations, that will nourish his or her self-esteem. The child can assimilate these more easily by playing an interactive role with the adult—the child will be “living” the role, and the memory of what is lived is definitely the strongest of all.

This narrative also uses a symbolic reward of a medal or other object to reinforce the child reaching a goal. The medal will have an engraving: «Winner» or «Important». The aim of this prize is, whenever the child has it on, for the child to praise him- or herself and even show it to adults, making them proud of the child. In this kind of story, the following techniques are used: mentioning the child’s first name several times, telling the story in the present tense, and reinforcing the identification of the child with the story

I present a collection of six stories in this category:

Category 3: Presentation of Concept Stories

Ages 4 – 8 years

Between the ages of four and twelve, children learn more easily; therefore, that is an ideal time to incorporate concepts such as perseverance, assertiveness, capacity for active performance, the importance of decision-making, and self-acceptance.

This narrative is ideal to be read at bedtime because the last messages we receive before falling asleep are those that are incorporated into our subconscious minds more deeply.

I present a collection of four stories in this category:

Category 4: Presentation of Leadership Stories

Ages 4 – 8 years

These stories stimulate those attributes in the child that belong to the personality of a charismatic leader. They teach children the importance of cooperating in groups, of planning, of taking on responsibilities, and of learning how to control themselves. Children become aware of how these attributes drive the principal character in the story to success.

These stories tend to help children develop attitudes and values that will be important to them later in life by helping them integrate themselves properly into occupational environments and to excel there due to the characteristics of their own personalities. The narratives are presented in a classic format, with a positive lesson at the end of the story.

I present a collection of four stories in this category:

Category 5: Presentation of Positive-Message Reinforcement Stories

Ages 4 – 8 years

Generally, people who start life with a system of positive beliefs will act accordingly, and the goals achieved during that life will be positive as well. Through this kind of story/game, the child assimilates his or her system of beliefs and messages of perseverance, self-esteem, and capacity for active performance. This will be accomplished by repetition.

Messages are in the form of statements that the child repeats in a loud voice, thus incorporating them into his or her subconscious mind through an interactive game with the adult. In these narrations, once again, the child plays an active role in the game. Consequently, children identify themselves with the role they are playing and become more intimately involved in the process, incorporating and internalizing the messages they receive more fully because the memory of what they have lived is stronger than what was purely narrated.

I present a collection of six stories in this category: