I recently read about how children come to tell stories as their minds develop. First, the story may start out with just a few thoughts and very little detail. But as the child gets older and grows in language, the stories become more elaborate and detailed. These stories may be their own experiences or fun stories they have heard that they want to share with others.
Your child is a natural storyteller and is excited to share the things he or she is learning. You can help your child’s imagination and creativity flourish as you encourage your child to tell stories.
Here are just a few ideas:
Help your child create a book. This book can be full of pictures, with few words or lots of words, and be full of lots of creativity. Make the book out of paper and staple the pages together, or you can get a little more creative and bind the pages together with a cardboard cover.
Tell your child a story and then have your child tell the story back to you. This is a great way to also practice listening and comprehension skills. You can be creative with this one as well by creating a play or storybook of the story in your child’s own words. A great example of this is seen in Kid History on YouTube. In each video, children recite a story their parents have told them. The story takes interesting turns, especially as the different aged children contribute their two cents.
Start a story and let your child finish it. The beginning can be as simple as “Once upon a time, there was a pirate who loved to sail the seas…” You and your child will both have fun as you discover where your child’s imagination takes the story.
Help your child create a script or outline for a play and then put it on for the rest of the family or record it to watch later. You can also have fun picking out costumes and props to make the story more interesting.
It’s fun to see where your child’s imagination takes a story. Have you had any great experiences listening to your child’s stories?