Storytelling

Ever since my husband introduced storytelling to my son nine months ago, we have been in the business of making up new stories multiple times a day. The conversation usually goes something like this: "Mommy, can you tell me a story about me and Lightning McQueen?" Mommy, who is busy making dinner or grocery lists or doing the laundry stalls with, "Let's wait until Daddy gets home" or "I'll tell you after the meal." It's intimidating coming up with a story that will keep his interest (or mine) and not be so terrible that it will negatively affect his own storytelling skills down the road! If you've ever dealt with the same issues, or if you want to start storytelling to excite your child's imagination, do not fear! Here are some simple steps that can help you get started.

1. Stick to the simple story line structure to guide your thinking. Start with the intro - the scene, the characters, etc., then progress takes place (use words like first, so, then, next, etc. to propel the story forward into new and wondrous dimensions (trying to encourage you here)), problem, solution, HAPPY ENDING!

2. Keep it age appropriate. This probably goes without saying, but don't think that just because "we read it when we were kids" or "it's in Mother Goose books/Disney productions so it can't be that bad" is a legitimate reason to copy similar story lines. Hansel and Gretel seemed like such a classic until I remembered that they throw the witch in an oven at the end. That's not something I'm going to relate to my two-year-old!

3. Sneak education in when you can. You can tell stories about colors, shapes, numbers, family members or friends who live far away, animals, etc.. I just told my son a quick story tonight about a little boy (always the hero!) who was trying to get to the park and needed a ride. His options were three shapes and we tested each one (special treat: tonight we used props!) until we could find the best one to transport him there. A little lesson in shapes and all he thinks is that he's getting a good story (always a winner when the hero triumphs over adversity!).

4. Another favorite of ours is teaching him Bible passages through these stories. Our little boy, usually a supporter of the biblical hero in these, has found his way into the valley where David fought Goliath, the den where Daniel slept with the lions, the belly of the fish that housed Jonah for three days and the stable where Jesus was born. He learns these stories because when he's involved in the action, he's all ears all the way through!

5. Practice, practice, practice! With many, many opportunities to tell him stories throughout the day I'm finding that it's becoming easier and actually really fun for me, too. Just stick with it and know that you are bound to improve! They are also a very easy audience relatively speaking, and very forgiving if your story line takes a nose-dive shortly after the characters are introduced! If this happens, just laugh about it and ask them to help you determine the plot as you go (you can do this in a verbal fill-in-the-blank style or give three options and let them choose each time).

If you're having fun with it, they are bound to have fun with it too!