You can see an example of this on page 15 of our book, Multimodal Literacy: Family, Cultural, and Social Contexts. As I read, I imagined all the ways children bring their funds of knowledge to school, how those funds are represented, and how they are further shaped as families, educators, and communities come together. I pictured these as threads weaving together, becoming stronger, richer, and fuller - "tapestries of dynamic differences" (Makovichuk et al., 2014, p. 21) represented through multimodal learning.

References

Makovichuk, L., Hewes, J., Lirette, P., & Thomas, N. (2014). Flight: Alberta's early learning and care framework. www.flightframework.ca

What worked for me, was tracing dozens of popular characters with permanent marker on overhead transparent sheets, then cutting out the figures. I did the same for dozens of objects. Then setup the projector against a wall, and allowed the children to explore the projector and the sheets during freeplay.

What it leads to, is children will make their own movies and longer stories, involving multiple characters, often times without much need for words. I have yet to find a medium that works as well as overhead projectors for incentivizing children to create stories. I have found this to work particularly well with 2-3 year olds.

The play with light, and the tactile components are I think what helps this approach transcend past words alone.

Some of the ways besides words - I use much natural materials (cheap too) for children to tell stories or art, such as  (loose parts) string,  ropes, paper scraps, clay, mud, play dough, rocks paddle pop sticks, stickers and straws, sand, leaves, twigs, paint, tree barks, flowers, grass, wood log slices, pine cones, pine needles, shells and acorns and felt story pieces. Using these materials to tell their stories enhances their creativity and helps them develop and extend their ideas and questions.

This student's creative imagination plays a vital role in expressing his story/art in abstract art as it speaks a visual language about a superhero (robot) walking through the forest saving people from bad guys. Given the space, materials, time and freedom, children construct individual knowledge (story) and understanding about the arts through their art experience. I love when students create individual meanings and interpretations of their experiences through their interactions with art media/materials, and art language.

Kamie  

I've used this technique as far back as my teenage babysitting days and often still do. The 'story' I told children, when I first met them was pretty nuanced but seemed to always work. The gist of the story is: "I am here. I am approachable - maybe even interesting - and will wait until he/she comes to me. I am a safe person." It is a silent story. I simply sit on the floor (very important) and begin folding a piece of paper into a flying bird. Almost always, a child would get closer, displaying curiosity as I am folding and then, once I demonstrate that I can make the bird fly, the child will get near and want to have the bird or have me make another one. Typically, at that point, we had begun our friendship. Seems so simple but says so much and works so well.

I giggle as I remember where I learned to do this. An adult sat quietly at a table with me making a creation with paper - only the paper was shiny packaging paper from a cigarette box rolled and twisted into a wine glass replica.

One of my favourite ways to tell stories with my students is through loose parts play. Through this, they can create a picture, or moveable scene in a way that speaks to them, using loose parts and objects of their choice. This ranges from natural pieces to plastic, felt, clay, and much more. Sometimes I have students use the loose parts to create a predicted ending to a story or retell a story we have read together, or they can make up their own. This process helps capture ideas from students who may not have the words to express their ideas themselves. This process also allows them to add details and creative attributes that can not be understood through words alone.

I frequently call my paintings “emotional landscapes” because that’s what they feel like to me. They capture what inspires me and how I feel in those kinds of natural spaces.

Resources

Bennet, S. et al. (2018). Culturally responsive literacy practices in an early childhood community. Early Childhood Education Journal, 46(2), 241–248.