Talking about urban legends and literacy narratives in class recently has made me start to think about my childhood and the stories that my parents told me. They chose to steer clear of the scary, intimidating stories and lean towards stories that were more suited for a child’s sensitive nature.

As a kid I guess you could say my mother told me her narrative throughout the years. Having grown up in Mexico and then come to the United States with her family of ten at age 12, it seemed she always had a story to help prove or get her point across. If I didn’t want to make my bed or do the dishes she would respond with, “By the time I was six years old I was taking care of two babies, making sure all of the beds were made, the house swept, and dinner was on the stove, all before your grandmother came home.” Yeah, she made being lazy really difficult.

Other stories my parents told us were Bible stories and of course, fairy tales. You know, Jonah and the Big Fish, Ruth and Esther's stories, the stories of Jesus and His life, all the classic fairy tales and Disney stories. And looking back I am glad they did. Learning about legends and narratives it’s remarkable to see how they were teaching us through these stories and fairy tales. Lessons of morals or how we should act or how to dream, and all through story time every night or morning.  What about you? What were some of the lessons you learned from story time with your parents?