First Steps

An easy first step to story gaming is to take the stories you already read to your kids and give them a little input on the story. But to keep things fair with multiple kids and to provide a framework that they can learn, we will use tokens. These tokens can be anything; wooden blocks, mini-beanbags, plastic balls. Basically anything that will sit in front of them that they can't eat.

It's best to play these types of games by all sitting on the floor together. Then everyone can see how many tokens they have in front of them.

Start off simply by taking a look at the story and identifying some areas where things could change or be renamed. Little Red Riding Hood or the Three Bears could easily be renamed to something else. The Gingerbread House could be made of something else that kids love.

Before you start the story, give two or three tokens to each child, but it's important that everyone has the same amount. Explain to them that at certain parts of the story you will give someone a chance to define what something is or name someone.

Start telling the story and pause when you introduce a new character or come to a new place. ask the group who wants to name this character or this place. Whoever would like to is invited to push one of their tokens into the middle of the group. After they do this, they get to define that part of the story. The tokens are key because they provide a framework for the kids and teach them that they aren't allowed to randomly shout things out or to fight about it. One token = defining one story element.

As elements are defined, you might find it helpful to keep a piece of paper and a pencil next to you to jot down what the kids define so you can remember it.

While you progress through the story, it usually happens that some kids are shy and will let other kids define everything in the story. You can see this because everyone has their tokens in front of them. So don't let any one kid get too far ahead. It's very easy to get to a point in the story, pick a child who has not spoken up lately and say, "so what is the name of this forest?" and invite them to push one of their tokens forward.

Don't worry if you finish the story and there are tokens left or if all the tokens are used up and you have some more story left. As you play these story games, you will start to learn how they progress and how often there are story elements to define. And don't feel like you have to completely break down a story into its elements beforehand.

Just wing it and have fun. The kids will enjoy the story even more because it will feel "new" and especially because they had a hand in telling it!

Why Play Story Games With Your Kids?

These days parents have a lot going on in their lives and a lot of demands on their time. So when the kids are bored it's easy to pop a DVD or videogame in and let the kids sit in front of the TV. But there is a better way to keep your children engaged and help them learn.

You play games with them during the day and you read them stories before they go to bed. Stories are entertaining, but they never change. Games can be a lot of fun, but they don't always have much depth. So why not combine the two?

Teaching your kids story games will let them get more involved in the story because they are helping to tell it. And the game aspects will help teach collaboration and sharing. Your kids will get so much more out of the experience because they are an active part in it. When playing story games, kids will:

• Develop their creativity
  
• Learn valuable problem-solving skills
• Increase their vocabulary
• Play better with others
• Be challenged
• Open up their imagination
• Be encouraged
  
• Get empowered

This website will help you learn simple ways to play story games with your children. It's easy and it's fun!