For a child, there’s a special importance of sorts to story time. It’s not only a time to relax and enjoy a good story. It’s time to bond with their parents, and a time to let their imagination run free. What better way, then, to promote their creativity than with a few new and interesting story telling methods and ideas? To give you some inspiration, we’ve put together a list of our 7 creative storytelling ideas, topics, and learning opportunities for you and your child to enjoy together.
1. Bed Time Stories
There’s nothing wrong with a tried-and-true classic method! Though it may be something you’re already familiar with. The simple act of reading to your child has immense benefits to their academic, creative, and even emotional development. The more you read to them, and the more story topics you explore, the better their grasp of language, use of imagination, and bond with you will become. The best thing you can do to ensure your child can reap the benefits of bed time stories is simply to be consistent, and allow their powerful minds to do the rest!
2. Fables and Fairy Tales
Fables and fairy tales for kids not only give your child a chance to imagine a whimsical fantasy world. But typically impart a valuable life lesson as well. Instilling good morals in your children is just as important as promoting their academic and creative growth. Especially early on in childhood, doing so through the medium of storytelling is a great way to go about it.
3. Choose Your Own Adventure Stories
Children tend to be much more engaged with an activity when they feel that they have a degree of autonomy. So choose your own adventure stories are a great option, especially for sharp-witted children who can weigh the options they’re given and predict the consequences. These stories will also teach your child the value of patience. As they may have to run through the same story more than once to reach the outcome they want. So don’t be surprised if they start becoming better at careful decision making and critical thinking over time!
4. Let Your Kid Participate
Though choose your own adventure stories provide plenty of room for audience participation. Some children may want even more free rein over their stories. If that’s the case, look for new ways to help them participate in the crafting of the narrative, the construction of the characters, and the overall creative process behind the story. In time, they’ll develop a love for storytelling themselves. They may even start creating stories entirely on their own.
5. Make a Picture Story
At its core, art is just another medium of storytelling, using visuals to send a message rather than written text. If you want to encourage your child to use their creative mind. One of the best ways to do that is to work with them to put together a story behind a unique image. Even the most mundane-seeming images can have a story behind them, so encourage your kid to get creative by asking questions and coming up with answers.
For example, if you give them a picture of a father and son walking together. It may be unassuming at first, but there’s plenty that an outside viewer could make up about their story. If you wanted to start your kid off with a few leading questions. You could start with a few basic things like the names of the people in the photo, where they’re going, and what they plan to do when they get there. From there, you can help your child fill in the details and craft a story of their very own.
6. Draw Pictures of a Story
If your child can turn a picture into a story, they can also turn a story into pictures. For children with an artistic bent, all you have to do is give them some art supplies and some paper, then ask them to illustrate their favorite story. Once they’re done, remember to talk to them about it and listen to what they have to say! Having time to engage with their parents will mean the world to them, as will having someone who’s willing to listen to them talk about their interests, making for a great bonding experience.
7. Write New Stories
Of course, there aren’t many better ways to encourage your kid to think of a creative narrative than having them write their own story from scratch. All you have to do is feed them a few basic story plot ideas to get them thinking, and then let them do their thing from there, helping supplement and proof-read their ideas if they ask you to. Once they’re done, be sure to read their story with them, and maybe even add it to your usual repertoire of bedtime stories for good measure!
If you’re looking for more great tips, ideas, and products to bring out your kid’s creative spirit, we’ve got you covered! Feel free to visit our shop at ToysCentral today!