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How do I learn everything I can when someone is telling a story?

Why is listening is important?

Who will notice when I am ready?

How I can listen with my whole body?

This sensory story will show me a way.

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“Lending My Heart to Hear”

My ears are hearing

and my eyes are watching.

My mouth is quiet

and my body is still.

This is how my heart can open

and be filled with thoughts

from another teller’s story.

     *

Listening is how I get information

and learn about my world.

If I forget to listen,

I may miss something important.

If I miss something important,

we will waste time repeating it.

If we waste time,

we will not learn all the things we want to know about the world.

     *

Stories are not always easy to tell,

but they get easier to tell if open hearts are listening to it.

Open hearts are strong hearts.

I can help a teller tell their story

by lending them my open heart while they speak it.

     *

Storytellers know if I am listening.

They can see my eyes looking at them.

They can hear me being quiet.

They can see my arms in my lap

and my legs resting in one place.

When a teller is ready to give me their story,

I will try to remember to turn my body toward theirs,

look at their face,

and give them the strength from my own heart

to tell me about our world.

     *

My ears are hearing

and my eyes are watching.

My mouth is quiet

and my body is still.

This is how my heart can open

and be filled with thoughts

from another teller’s story.

     ***

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Discussion Questions

1. Why do we need to listen?
2. Who will notice when I am ready?
3. How I can listen with my whole body?
4. How do I learn everything I can when someone is telling a story?

 

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Sensory Storytelling Supports

• a mock dinner table (demonstrate conversation stories about the day)
• balance ball (practice body stillness)
• noise meter (demonstrate quietness)

 

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Find the complete printable PDF of this story at TpT.

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A CHRYSANTHEMUM STORY from WhattheChrysanthemumKnows.com, the story library for sensory readers.

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