Education experts agree that parents should start building their kid’s character from a preschool age. At this age, kids can be easily moulded and guided to learn about the difference between right and wrong and how to lead a morally stable life. Thus, teaching positive values such as love, courage, honesty, integrity, self-discipline, responsibility, justice, love, mercy and honesty will be more constructive when children are at a preschool age rather than when they are at an adolescent age.
Cementing positive values, while seemingly difficult, can easily be done through anything that captures a child’s interest. Stories on folklore, TV shows and plays are some of the resources.
There has been a paradigm shift in the 21st century in the field of curriculum and education. While the main focus still remains on science and technology, there has been a change in the attitude and taste of people. Folktales now occupy a significant place in literature. People are realising the value folktales hold in children’s literature, because they are filled with moral values. These values which get passed on from generation to generation, create a synergy of modern and traditional values.
India has a huge range of short stories and tales because of its diverse culture, language, religion etc. Indian tales, saga, myths and other narratives comprise of the most interesting part of Indian Literature in the form of Folklores.
1. Most Folklore preserve and transmit the cultural values of a group of society and help in showcasing how society views itself, how it views the notion of justice and its citizens’ social obligations. It becomes easier for kids to pick up the underlying moral of the story as folklores simplify it for them.
For example: selfishness, laziness and greed are portrayed as negatively as possible while honesty, unity and goodness are depicted as positive virtues.
2. Usage of animals as primary characters in folktales is generally done to underline people’s behaviours and attitudes without poking fun at their awkward gestures in real life. The imagery helps in simplifying the characters to the children and easy understanding of the story being told.
For example: Stories where the small animals beat the odds and overcome hurdles against larger ones teach kids that anybody is capable of achieving great things in life, however different, inexperienced or small they may be.
Indian Folktales like Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagvat Gita, Panchatantra etc make for a perfect set of stories for kids, as the tales are full of values. These stories describe to us our history, tell us our way of life, what our morals and values are, and eventually who we are. Children listen to folklore without any prejudice and can separate fact from fantasy, and for the most part, understand the underlying message.
Fundoodaa books have a collection of stories inspired by Indian folklore. Most stories on the app are drawn in Indian folk style which helps kids construct mental, and possibly, physical pictures of the lands in which the folk characters lived. Every story inspired from the folklore on Fundoodaa Books has been written to effortlessly implant the Indian values and morals in kids, so that you have to put in less effort.
You can download our app here and let the Folklore learning begin:
Android: http://bit.ly/2fgXvWj
iOS: http://bit.ly/2fdeUk3
