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Persona Dolls Storytelling / Persona Dolls for your Early Childhood centre The Background Story Persona Dolls were created by Kay Taus, a Californian preschool teacher. She had little material in her classroom, that reflected the different cultures and ethnicities of the children in her class, so she made several dolls, designed with specific features to help the children develop respect for each other. The South African nursery teacher Babette Brown (2001) introduced Persona Dolls to England after her political exile from South Africa. Browns work with Persona Dolls has since spread around the world including Aotearoa/NZ What are Persona Dolls? A Persona doll is a soft bodied doll, designed to be lifelike, roughly the same size and age as the children in the Centre. The doll is a ‘child visitor’ to the Centre who sits on the teacher’s lap when he/she visits. (Usually at mat time) The doll is a friend with whom the children can bond. The doll comes with a story to tell the children, firstly who he/she is and then later to share an issue the doll has and to ask for the children’s’ help in resolving the problem. Persona Dolls work with all individual and group identities including all the similarities & differences of human kind. These include: the genius, the obese, the short, the glasswearers, those with a teething ring, cleft palate, different colour skins, differently abled etc Why use Persona Dolls? Persona Dolls help children: develop a sense of identity develop emotional literacy: resilience, self esteem, confidence and encourages children to respond with respect and sensitivity

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Persona Dolls

Storytelling / Persona Dolls for your Early Childhood centre

The Background Story

Persona  Dolls  were  created  by  Kay  Taus,  a  Californian  pre-­‐school  teacher.  She  had  little  material  in  her  classroom,  that  reflected  the  different  cultures  and  ethnicities  of  the  children  in  her  class,  so  she  made  several  dolls,  designed  with  specific  features  to  help  the  children  develop  respect  for  each  other.  The  South  African  nursery  teacher  Babette  Brown  (2001)  introduced  Persona  Dolls  to  England  after  her  political  exile  from  South  Africa.  Browns  work  with  Persona  Dolls  has  since  spread  around  the  world  including  Aotearoa/NZ    

What are Persona Dolls?

A  Persona  doll  is  a  soft  bodied  doll,  designed  to  be  life-­‐like,  roughly  the  same  size  and  age  as  the  children  in  the  Centre.  The  doll  is  a  ‘child  visitor’  to  the  Centre  who  sits  on  the  teacher’s  lap  when  he/she  visits.  (Usually  at  mat  time)  The  doll  is  a  friend  with  whom  the  children  can  bond.  The  doll  comes  with  a  story  to  tell  the  children,  firstly  who  he/she  is  and  then  later  to  share  an  issue  the  doll  has  and  to  ask  for  the  children’s’  help  in  resolving  the  problem.  

Persona  Dolls  work  with  all  individual  and  group  identities  including  all  the  similarities    &  differences  of  human  kind.  These  include:  the  genius,  the  obese,  the  short,  the  glass-­‐wearers,  those  with  a  teething  ring,  cleft  palate,  different  colour  skins,  differently  abled  etc    

Why use Persona Dolls?

Persona Dolls help children:

• develop  a  sense  of  identity  • develop  emotional  literacy:  resilience,  self  esteem,  confidence  and  encourages  children  to  

respond  with  respect  and  sensitivity  

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• develop  languaging  around  emotions  and  social  skills  • explore  and  express  strong  feelings  (happy,  angry,  sad)  • understand  what  others  feel.    • deal  with  experiences  of  exclusion  and  discrimination    • respect  people  with  different  identities.  • become  critical  explorers,  decision  makers,  problem  solvers  and  activists.    • reduce  bias  aimed  at  themselves  and  others  • recognise  and  challenge  inappropriate  behaviour    Persona Dolls help teachers:

•  explore  everyday  issues  that  arise  in  interactions  and  conversations  in  ECC.  (resolve  a  problem  a  child  experiences  in  the  Centre,  eg:  teasing,  exclusion  from  play)  

• explore  a  range  of  issues  like  gender,  racism,  disability  in  a  non-­‐threatening  way.  • expose  and  unlearn  biased  attitudes  &  misconceptions  • challenge  inequality  and  bring  about  change.    • make  visible  what  is  invisible  in  the  Centre  • celebrate  events  eg:  festivals,  birthdays,  weddings,  a  new  baby,  moving  house  

Persona Doll Training is required to develop the practice of using Persona Dolls in your Centre. For information on the next Persona Doll Training (go to the Calendar and look for the course: Developing whanaungatanga, supporting children's mana through positive and fair interactions using the practice of storytelling and Persona Dolls.

 

Information  on  how  to  buy  Persona  Dolls  once  you  have  completed  the  training  is  listed  below  

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Storytelling / Persona Dolls for your Early

Childhood Centre

I make a range of dolls that can be used in your Centre to explore issues of exclusion, bias difference and diversity. They include:

Pakeha dolls, Mãori dolls, Samoan dolls, Chinese dolls, dolls with disabilit ies: eg: hearing aids, cleft palates, visual impairment, in wheel chairs, differently sized dolls, dolls with disfigurement through birth marks or accidents

 

 

To buy a Persona Doll or design your own doll that is relevant for your centre contact: Julie Staunton: [email protected] 04 9381760 or 0273343687 Cost of basic doll is $225