Learn Together

Telling imaginative stories together helps your child develop complex vocabulary and communication skills — both precursors to reading and writing!

Materials

Find interesting objects around the house. Even something you use and see every day can inspire a story! Here are some suggestions:

  • A container: shoebox, hat, jar, basket, soup pot, etc.
  • Items from nature: leaves, flowers, sticks, seed pods, stones, feathers, etc.
  • Household items: clothespins, toys, utensils, puzzle pieces, keys, books, etc.
  • Magazines/newspapers

Make Together

  1. Search for things around you (both inside and outside) that you think look or feel interesting. Something soft, squishy, bumpy, etc.
  2. Place materials in your chosen container.
  3. Close your eyes and pick something out of the container to spark a new story.
  4. Use your imagination to tell a story together. Where did this object come from? How does the object move? Where does it live? What does it like to do? If it could talk, what would it say? Who may have owned it in the past? How might this object have been used if it existed 100 years ago? 1000 years ago? What if it traveled to the future?
  5. Take turns selecting objects from your Surprise Storytelling Box to build your story as a family!