The phenomenon of children's storytelling: acquiring and creating culture

Context and relevance. Constructing developmental education requires an understanding of the patterns of child development and an analysis of those childhood activities that constitute the intrinsic value of childhood and enable children to solve age-related problems. This article analyzes the phenomenon of children's storytelling—the creation of stories by preschoolers within the framework of educational practices, in which adults write down stories created according to the child's idea and then act them out or listen to them together with other children. Objective. To determine how storytelling relates to the key activities of preschool age. Research questions. How are play and storytelling related? How are experimentation and storytelling related? What is the uniqueness of storytelling as a childhood activity of intrinsic value? Methods and materials. Theoretical analysis of Russian and international sources and its correlation with examples of children's storytelling. Results. The analysis revealed similarities between storytelling, play, and experimentation in terms of supporting children's ideas and initiative, as well as the opportunity to experiment in a safe space. At the same time, storytelling creates unique opportunities for the transformation of experiences and for the construction of the child's identity as a subject of action through experimentation with narrative structures: the "landscape of consciousness" and the "landscape of action". Conclusions. Children's storytelling, which includes play and experimentation with speech but is not reducible to them, unfolds within the child's zone of proximal development. The narrative form becomes a unique cultural tool for transforming experiences and constructing one's identity as a subject of action. Storytelling creates conditions for the emergence of prerequisites for artistic creativity, allowing the child to simultaneously master cultural norms and create something new.

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