FoundationCore Academics💬 Discussion

Storytelling Together: Making Up Stories as a Family

Duration

10-15 minutes

Age Range

2-4

Parent Role

participate

Safety Level

green

Materials Needed

  • •No materials required
  • •Optional: a favorite stuffed animal or toy as a story character
  • •Optional: 3-5 random small objects to inspire a story (a spoon, a rock, a toy car)
  • •Optional: a 'story blanket' — a special blanket you sit on when it's story time

Readiness Indicators

  • ✓Child can string together 2-3 word phrases ('doggy run fast')
  • ✓Child engages in pretend play — feeds a doll, drives a toy car, 'cooks' in a play kitchen
  • ✓Child listens to simple stories and shows engagement (pointing, reacting, asking 'then what?')

Learning Objectives

  • 1.Develop narrative thinking — understanding that events have a beginning, middle, and end
  • 2.Build expressive language through creative, unpressured storytelling
  • 3.Strengthen the parent-child bond through collaborative imagination
  • 4.Lay the groundwork for reading comprehension by understanding story structure from the inside

Storytelling Together: Making Up Stories as a Family

Overview

Long before humans could write, they told stories. Around fires, on long walks, in the dark before sleep. Storytelling is not a literacy skill — it is a human skill. And for a young child, making up a story together is one of the most powerful language and thinking exercises that exists.

When a child helps tell a story, they are doing a dozen things at once: sequencing events, building vocabulary, practicing sentence structure, exercising imagination, processing emotions, and connecting with you. All of it feels like play.

This discussion guide helps you and your child become storytelling partners.

The Big Question

What happens next?

That is the engine of every story ever told. And for a toddler, the thrill of deciding what happens next — the bear goes into the cave! the truck falls in the puddle! — is electrifying. You are handing them the power to create a world.

Context for the Facilitator

You do not need to be a good storyteller. You do not need a plot. You do not need characters with arcs or three-act structure. You need:

  1. A starting sentence
  2. Willingness to follow your child's lead
  3. The phrase "and then what happened?"

That is it. The "story" might be thirty seconds long. It might make no sense. It might feature a dinosaur who eats ice cream and then flies to the moon. All of this is correct.

A Note on Age

  • Ages 1.5-2: You tell the story. They contribute sounds, animal noises, or one-word additions. "The cow said..." (They say: "Moo!") This counts.
  • Ages 2-3: You alternate sentences. "Once there was a bunny." Them: "Bunny hop!" You: "The bunny hopped to the garden." Them: "Eat carrot!"
  • Ages 3-4: They can carry larger chunks of the story. You prompt, they narrate. You might be surprised how elaborate their stories become.

Opening

Choose one of these story starters (or make up your own):

  • "Once upon a time, there was a little [animal your child loves]. And one day, that [animal] went on an adventure..."
  • "You know what happened to us today? Well, let me tell you a DIFFERENT version..." (Retell a real event from the day, but change something. Let them correct you or add to it.)
  • The object game: Put three random objects in front of your child. "Okay, here's a spoon, a rock, and a toy car. Let's make up a story about them. Once upon a time, there was a magic spoon..."
  • The "what if" start: "What if our dog could talk? What would she say?"

Discussion Guide

Phase 1: You Lead, They Follow (2-3 minutes)

Start the story yourself. Keep it simple and physical — action, not abstraction.

"Once upon a time, there was a little bear named... what should we name the bear?"

Wait. If they offer a name, use it. If they stare at you, pick one: "Let's call him Bumble. Bumble the Bear."

"Bumble was walking through the forest and he heard a sound. What sound did he hear?"

Wait. Accept anything. A roar? A crash? A meow? A toot? Run with it.

Phase 2: They Take the Wheel (3-5 minutes)

Now hand the story to them. Your job becomes asking questions:

  • "And then what happened?"
  • "Where did she go?"
  • "Who did he meet?"
  • "Was she scared or brave?"
  • "What did it look like?"

If they get stuck, offer two options: "Did the bear go to the mountain or the river?"

If they go wildly off track (the bear is now a spaceship), follow them. There is no track. There is only where they want to go.

Phase 3: The Problem (2-3 minutes)

Every story needs a problem — even a tiny one. If it has not naturally emerged, introduce one gently:

"Uh-oh. Bumble got lost! He couldn't find his way home. What should he do?"

This is where the real magic happens. Your child is now problem-solving inside a fictional world. The solutions they invent reveal how they think.

Phase 4: The Ending (1-2 minutes)

"And then... Bumble found his cave! He was so happy. He ate some honey and went to sleep. The end."

Let them decide the ending if they can. If they cannot, land the plane gently. A happy ending is fine. A silly ending is fine. An abrupt ending ("And then everybody fell down. The end!") is also fine.

Facilitation Tips

  • Never correct the story. If the fish drives a car and the car is made of cheese, that is the story. Imagination has no errors.
  • Echo and expand. When they say "Bunny go!", you say "The bunny went hopping through the tall grass!" You are modeling richer language without correcting theirs.
  • Use their name. Children love being characters in stories. "Once upon a time, a kid named [their name] found a magic key..."
  • Sound effects are storytelling. A two-year-old who contributes "CRASH!" and "Wheeeee!" is participating in the narrative. Validate it.
  • Keep it short. A two-minute story is a complete story. Do not drag it out past their interest. Better to tell three short stories than one forced long one.
  • Revisit stories. "Remember the bear story? Should we tell it again? What if something different happened this time?" Retelling is how narrative structure solidifies.

Common Perspectives

Children's stories often feature:

  • Themselves as the hero (healthy narcissism — they are the center of their universe)
  • Food (eating, cooking, sharing food — it is their primary pleasure and concern)
  • Animals doing human things (projection — they understand the world through familiar creatures)
  • Being lost and found (processing separation anxiety through narrative)
  • Things breaking and being fixed (processing frustration and repair)

All of these are developmentally appropriate and emotionally important. Do not steer their stories away from these themes.

Related Readings

  • Tell Me a Story by Elaine Reese — the research on why storytelling matters for language development
  • Any collection of folktales or fairy tales — read these aloud and then retell them loosely together

Follow-Up

  • Story walks: Tell stories while walking. The environment becomes the setting. "Look, there's a big tree. What if a tiny door was at the bottom of that tree?"
  • Bedtime stories about the day: "Once upon a time, today, a kid named you woke up and..." Retell their day as a story. They will correct you, add details, and eventually tell it themselves.
  • Story drawing: After telling a story, draw a picture of it together. Stick figures count. Scribbles count. They are illustrating their own narrative.
  • Story props box: Keep a box of random small objects (a key, a feather, a toy dinosaur, a seashell, a piece of ribbon). Pull out three and build a story around them.
Back to Browse