One popular Kindergarten top story could be 'The Little Red Hen'. It teaches kids about the value of hard work as the hen does all the work herself when the other animals won't help.
Kindergarten top stories can expand children's vocabulary. For example, in 'The Ugly Duckling', kids learn new words like 'ugly', 'beautiful', 'pond' etc.
One common story in school and kindergarten could be 'The Little Red Hen'. In this story, the hen finds some wheat and asks her friends for help in planting, harvesting, and baking bread. But they all refuse. In the end, the hen does all the work herself and enjoys the bread while her friends watch. It teaches kids about the value of hard work.
One way is through repetition. Read the same story multiple times to the children. For example, read a simple story about a little rabbit going to the park every day for a week. The familiarity will help them start to recognize words.
Stories in school and kindergarten can also be about friendship. 'Charlotte's Web' is a wonderful example. Charlotte, a spider, befriends Wilbur, a pig. She writes words in her web to save Wilbur from being slaughtered. This story shows kids the power of friendship and kindness.
You can choose stories with simple plots, such as 'The Tortoise and the Hare'. The characters are easy to understand, like the slow but persistent tortoise and the overconfident hare. Also, stories with vivid pictures are good, as kindergartners are attracted to visuals. For example, 'Three Little Pigs' has pictures of cute pigs building houses, which can help children better understand the story.
One benefit is cultural understanding. Chinese stories often carry cultural elements. By reading them, kindergarten children start to understand their own culture. For instance, in the story of 'Chang'e Flying to the Moon', they learn about the traditional Chinese myth. Also, it stimulates their imagination. They can picture the scenes in the story, like a magical forest in a fairy tale, which is good for their creativity.
One great story is 'The Little Fox'. It tells about a curious little fox exploring the forest. Another is 'The Magic Mushroom' where a little girl finds a mushroom with special powers. And 'The Kind Bear' is also popular, which shows how a bear helps other animals in the forest.
One funny story is that a little boy brought his pet turtle to kindergarten on the first day. He thought it was like show - and - tell every day. The teacher was quite surprised but let him keep it in a corner for the day. The turtle even made its way across the classroom at one point, causing all the kids to gather around and giggle.