Got Bored Kids? Ten Easy Ways to Tell a Story That Will Delight Any Child!
We all love to be with someone who is a great storyteller! They seem to know how to draw us in and keep us hanging on every word. My brother was this type of storyteller. Stories came to life as he spoke and painted pictures with words. Listening to a story and picturing the whole scene in our own mind builds and expands our imagination. It is also a great way to help children become deeper thinkers, build their vocabulary, and improve their creativity. Besides all that it really is so much fun! Here are ten storytelling ideas that you can use to have some fun with your little ones and grow their imaginations.
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Ten Storytelling Ideas for Family Fun and Learning
Adventure Stories
Adventure stories are so much fun for children. Tell your little ones stories in which they are the hero. Put them right in the middle of a fantastic situation where they can be and do anything. They can be a prince who finds and tames a baby dragon, an explorer who travels the world in search of treasure and lost places, a daring pirate who sails the oceans and rescues others from danger. The themes are endless. This helps children think about the kind of person they want to be and helps to build positive character traits as they see themselves in heroic roles.
One Minute Stories
If you have a little time to fill and need something quick to keep the kiddos busy try this one. In one minute they need to tell a familiar story or tell about a real experience from their life from start to finish. For example, tell the story of Cinderella in only one minute; or, tell about your vacation to the beach in one minute. This helps kids learn to summarize and to focus on the important details of stories or events. This will take some practice!
When you (the parent or storyteller) were a child...
You can start this story out, “Once upon a time, when I was a little girl….” Tell them about things you did, places you went, people you knew, etc. Children love to imagine their parents/grandparents/caregivers as little children. They will love hearing that you were just like them. You will be surprised at how much they love these stories. When my children were young they constantly asked me to tell them about when I was a little girl.
Tell about your life/work/hobbies
Kids love to hear about your work, hobbies, and life. They want to know what you do. Even if you think they already know, there are things they are not aware of. Use props from your life. My children always loved hearing about my keys and what each one opened. We would go through the keys on my ring one at a time. I would tell them each one’s purpose and the reason I had it on the ring. (Work keys, home keys, grandparent’s house, car, shed, etc.) I would tell my older children about all the things in the baby’s diaper bag. They loved seeing all the things, learning about how they were used, and then how we could organize them into the pockets of the bag. It helped include them in the baby’s care. At work, they loved looking at all the things in my desk and how they were used. Kids are curious about your life.
Tell about your day
This is a good one to do as a tradition at the dinner table each evening or during a family time each day. Have each family member take a few minutes to tell about their day and some of the things they did. Everyone, even the youngest, gets to be the center of attention and be heard. If you do this when they are very young they will continue it as they get older. You will learn so much about how your child spends their day and what is important to them. They will learn about you and how you spend your days. Be a role model for how to share and be accepting and encouraging of all that is shared. They will love sharing and so will you!
Tell about waiting for them to be born, the day they were born, or when they were an infant
It is such fun to tell children about how they came to be. My grandson constantly wants to hear about how we could not wait for him to be with us, how we wondered who the baby would be, how much we loved him even before we held him. He also loves to hear about the day he was born and how we prepared for his arrival. His favorite is the story of the first time we all held him and fell in love with him even more. These stories really help children to know how much they are loved and wanted.
Use magazines or pictures of people or animals to make up stories
My children loved this and now my grandchildren do too! When we are looking at magazines or books with pictures of animals or people we will look at the pictures and make up comments they are saying or conversations they look like they are having. It is hilarious! We make up stories about what the animals or people are doing and change our voices for the dialog. Kids are great at this and it is such fun! Great magazines for this are Ranger Rick, Jr., Ranger Rick, Zoobooks, and National Geographic Kids.
Make stick puppets (or other puppets) and put on a puppet show
You can make stick puppets using a popsicle stick or drinking straw, tape or glue, and a picture. You can back it with tagboard or construction paper if the picture is thin. Much like the idea above, the puppets have conversations and do different things together. You and your kids can use your imaginations. It is limitless. It is lots of fun to take pictures of yourselves and family members and make them into stick puppets and act out stories. Take it a step further and make these cute moveable stick puppets. For fun, let the kids be you and you be them!
Sequels: What happens next?
When you are reading a story with your children and get to the end you can help them to learn to predict and use their imagination to make up a story of what happens next. Have them think about all the things that happened and if there are any loose ends to tie up. Ask them what they think happened after the ending. For example, in Cinderella, what happened with the stepmother and stepsisters? What happened after Cinderella and the prince were married? There are so many ways to enhance a story and to even grow a new story after the book says “The End.”
Old Fairy tales and Folk tales
Fairy tales and folk tales have always brought back special memories to me. My mother told me these old stories at bedtime throughout my childhood. As a mom myself, it became one of my favorite ways to entertain my children, and now my grandchildren. I always told my children a story after they were in bed and lights were out. My grandchildren now expect one when they are spending the night with me. It’s a special tradition. Children do not hear these old traditional tales as much as they once did. Think back to some of your favorites and tell your kids or grandkids some of these tales. Some of my kids’ favorites are: The Three Little Pigs, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Little Red Riding Hood, The Horse and the Apple Tree, The Gingerbread Man, The Little Red Hen, and The Three Billy Goats Gruff.
Tell Some Stories!
Now, even if you do not feel like you are the best storyteller you have some storytelling ideas that will help you get started. Just use your imagination and have fun. Be sure to laugh and be silly! You kids will love it and before you know it they will want to tell you some stories! Have fun!
Have a good day!
Karen
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I love these ideas on reading and storytelling to children. My children loved to be read to. I read to them all every night and numerous times during the day. Now I read to my granddaughters and they love it. I can see the wonder and excitement in their eyes. Thank you for all you do to make this blog possible. It has been such a blessing to me!!