Creating stories where children see themselves
Stephanie Croskery, an early childhood teacher in Gisborne, is helping tamariki navigate change through storytelling - both in her everyday practice and through recently published children’s books she created to help her son make sense of big life changes.
Growing up, Stephanie didn’t plan on becoming a teacher or an author.
“The education side of school was never my interest,” she says. “I feel like all the basic things you teach at primary school, I wasn’t very good at. I definitely never saw myself working as a teacher for a job.”
After finishing school, she wasn’t sure what would come next. It was a simple decision to get some work experience that shifted things.
“I contacted my local kindergarten and asked if I could just go and do a bit of work experience, and I went and did that and really enjoyed it. I loved the relationships with tamariki that you form so quickly. From there, I realised that’s what I want to do.”
With a newfound love of teaching, Stephanie also wanted to learn how to best support tamariki.
“I studied human development, and I just found it so interesting. I really enjoyed learning about children and how they learn and work.”
Now based in Gisborne, Stephanie works in a small early learning centre, closely connected to the wider school community.
“We’re only licenced for 20 children, and it’s connected to the local school. It’s just a really nice place and very community focused,” she says.
“Having a small centre, you really can have such strong relationships with the kids and with their family as well. Siblings or past students of ours will come over from the school next door, so we can still see them, it’s really nice.”
Those relationships - with tamariki and whānau - shape how she approaches her work. Over time, they’ve given her a deeper understanding of how children experience change, something she would come to navigate herself.
“My son’s dad and I separated when our son was very young,” she says. “When he was about to stay at his dad’s house for the first time, I was just trying to find books that could help him understand what was happening and I couldn’t find anything for young tamariki.”
“I made a photo book for him with photos of his dad’s house to explain where he was going to go when he wasn’t with me, and he loved it. I think it was really helpful for him with that transition.”
At first, the solution was just for her son, Jack. But it didn’t take long to realise the need was much bigger.
“I thought, well, there’s so many children in this situation, Jack’s not the first. It’s an important thing that should be available, so I just kind of sat down one day and I was like, right, I’m just going to give it a go.”
From there, the Jack and Turtle books came about, based on her son and his favourite toy – turtle.
“I’ve written the books very simply, aimed at two- to five-year-olds so many different children could relate to them and just help them understand and not feel alone,” she says. “I think when children see themselves in stories, it creates a strong sense of connection for them. It also creates an entry point for them to be able to engage with ideas and emotions, in a way that feels a bit safer.”
“They can be like, ‘oh, Jack was feeling sad’ and they can talk about things like that while still being able to process those emotions.”
“It’s a good way of supporting emotional literacy and giving them the language. It helps them understand what those feelings are without having pressure, it’s just a gentle way of them being able to process things.”
In her own centre, she’s seen those moments land.
“I read the book to the tamariki at work, and it was funny because some of them were like, ‘well, I have two homes’… you could see them clicking. It was just really cool to see them connect with it and open the door for the children to have these conversations, or process their thoughts and feelings.”
For Stephanie, creating that space - where children feel safe enough to make sense of what’s happening in their world - is central to her role.
“I think it’s really important for teachers to create an environment that feels safe and secure so tamariki feel emotionally supported, especially when they’re experiencing change,” she says.
“It’s important to give them opportunities to make sense of their experiences, to have a safe place where they process it through play or through storytelling or conversations at their own pace.”
“It’s just so amazing to be part of a child’s early learning, knowing that the work you do helps with the building blocks for their life. It’s just so rewarding.”
Written by Jenni Guzman.