Cooking up stories together

Children and stories go together like birds and the open sky. Stories offer a place to soar uninhibited and unrestrained in their flights of imagination.

Radhika Mimani

As children, all of us have read and cherished those Panchatantras, Amar Chitra Kathas, Aesop’s Fables, Fairy tales, ‘Enid Blytons’, and so on. They opened a world so vibrant, fantastical and adventurous that we loved escaping to it.

Now, how about equipping our children to create their own colourful, exciting and imaginative worlds? Children are great at coming up with the most fascinating, funny and clever stories. However, a little prodding, patience and guidance can make them into delightful raconteurs and writers.

The art of creating, narrating and writing stories helps children to think freely and imaginatively and to communicate their thoughts and ideas in a confident, effective way. At the same time, this art is a healthy outlet for emotions.

For children four to seven years old - Story Telling

In this age, speaking skills are developing rapidly. This activity requires nothing other than your time on a quiet afternoon. All you do is grab your child’s favourite toys, dolls and some random things or props to begin with.

Step 1: Begin by reading aloud a short story to your child to give them a sneak peek into the upcoming activity. Let them be attentive to your voice and words. It is just to get them into the flow and focus. Moreover, every child loves to be read aloud to.

Step 2: Now let them choose two or three of their favourite toys or any interesting objects they find around. Next, ask them to come up with a story about their chosen toys. Give them a little time to think around their characters and build up a story, incident, or just a situation about them. Be patient and forthcoming with ideas to get them going. You will be surprised as to how just a hint of an idea gets their imagination rolling.