Canary Islands Kindergartners Win National Story Contest on Time

It's tough for five-year-olds to grasp an abstract idea like time. But with the right approach and enough effort, the results can be amazing. This was certainly true for the final-year kindergarten students at CEIP La Corujera in Santa Úrsula. They won the Infant category of the 12th 'A Toy, A Dream' story contest, a competition run by RTVE and the Crecer Jugando Foundation for over twenty years to encourage teamwork, creativity, and generosity in schools.

This year's contest challenged them to write about a special Christmas gift: time. The students tackled this project as part of the Canary Islands Government's esTEla program. This program aims to help children move smoothly from early childhood education to primary and then secondary school, reducing truancy and dropouts while boosting academic success. The project involved esTEla teacher Gema Cea López and kindergarten teacher Nancy García García.

Nancy García explained that the idea for their story began after reading a book about the theme of time. This led the children to talk about how they, their parents, friends, and other family members spent their free time.

The class also learned about story structure, understanding that every story needs a beginning, an end, a main character, and a problem to solve. Through a brainstorming session, the children suggested many animals for the central role. After a vote, they chose a turtle, who would also be a queen. They followed the same process for the queen's advisors, who would help her find time: the ruler, the clock, and, at Nancy's suggestion, the calculator. Nancy decided to add the calculator because the children were about to start using them in maths and most didn't know what they were for. This was a perfect chance to introduce the tool, explain its importance, and prepare them for future use.

Finally, they named the turtle Flor and decided she would be a brilliant mathematician living in the kingdom of numbers. They discussed why she never had time for anything, concluding it was because she was very slow but also extremely hardworking, spending all her days on maths. With Flor's problem established, they then brainstormed how each character could help her.

As the children shared their ideas, Nancy wrote and shaped the story, which they titled 'Flor, the Queen Without Time.' The 17 children then illustrated it with their own drawings. This project had a double benefit, as the school was already involved in an art initiative, and this was a perfect opportunity to use the children's artwork in a real-world project.

Nancy edited all the children's drawings, removing backgrounds and using AI tools to create a nearly three-minute animated version on a digital platform. The children themselves narrated the story, explaining the turtle's time problem. The entire project was completed in a remarkable two weeks, as they had very little time between signing up and the submission deadline. "The involvement and dedication of the families were crucial," the teachers stressed. "Without their help, we wouldn't have succeeded. When it came time to record the children's voices, they had to practice their parts at home. Everyone got involved, and everyone won."

Other classes from the school also took part. First graders reached the semifinals with a voice-only presentation, and sixth graders performed a theatrical piece about needing more time. When the kindergarten group learned they were finalists, the teachers recall, "everyone started shouting 'winners!', jumping, and hugging each other." However, the teachers made sure the children understood that the real prize was the fun they had, and how much they enjoyed and learned while creating the story. "That in itself was a reward because the activity was incredibly motivating," they admitted. "We didn't expect to win, though it's wonderful that we did."

Winning was a triumph for everyone, especially in realizing the importance of smiles, living without rushing, playing board games with family, and spending time with friends. Flor, the busy mathematical turtle, learned with the help of the CEIP La Corujera students that the best way to find time is to slow down and listen to your heart. The 'A Toy, A Dream' campaign features SuperUjui, a 'magic super-pen' that travels at Christmas to spread joy and teach children that playing and sharing time are far more valuable than material presents.

This year's campaign, titled 'A Christmas Letter to SuperUjui,' asked children to write a letter without requesting material gifts, instead imagining how they would use the gift of time. This theme gave the final-year kindergarten students of CEIP La Corujera – the only school in the Canary Islands to win the competition – a chance to use their imaginations, think about what they truly desired, and discover new ways to enjoy life beyond just owning things.