How to Tell A Story: A Simple Activity for Kids

Storytelling is an important skill for kids to learn. Plus, it’s lots of fun! Here is a simple activity for kids that will help them learn how to tell a story. Be ready to laugh and delight in the wonder of imagination and creativity with your kids!

I’ve loved the book Tell Me A Story by Emily Bannister and Illustrated by Barbara Chotiner for many years now. It talks about creativity and imagination and what it means to create a story. Just reading it takes me back to childhood and the wonder and magic I used to find in every day!

Plus, as a writer, this book makes my heart so happy! I’ve loved writing since I was a very little girl, and this book would have been an instant favorite had it been around when I was a kid. And  now I get to share it with my kids and help them create their own stories!

Storytelling for Kids

Creating stories is an important skill for kids to learn. It helps with imagination, creativity, and thinking outside the box. It allows them to create new and exciting things, experience things they’ve always dreamed of, and hone their writing skills.

It’s also fun for parents to see what their kids come up with. You can learn a lot about your kid by seeing the story he or she creates! Their fears, their dreams, the way they view the world. Sometimes you’ll even learn about some trials or hardships they’re dealing with that they haven’t opened up to you about yet!

I love seeing the stories my kids come up with! We laugh and talk and expand upon ideas. It’s so much fun!

Simple Fun with Books

For a Simple Fun with Books activity for this book, I made-up a simple storytelling game. My eight-year-old son helped me create this game and we had lots of fun coming up with all the various ideas! You can download your free printable game here (page 1 and page 2) or by clicking on the images below.

There are two printable sheets. Print each, then cut them up into individual words. Be sure to keep each column together as a set after you cut them out. You’ll pick a paper from each pile to create a story! (Note: On the first sheet, you will keep the first two columns together as one set and choose two from that set).

On sheet one, the first two columns are character ideas. Choose two: the first one being the main character and the second being the friend/sidekick. The next column is setting ideas. On the second sheet, the first column is the goal or what the character wants, the second column is the villain or what’s standing in the main character’s way, and the last column is a random object to include in the story. And yes, some of them are really silly (courtesy of a very silly eight-year-old boy).

Tip: I printed each sheet 2-3 times, using a different color each time, so I could easily keep the piles separated by color. I also used cardstock so we can keep using the strips over and over again. You could even laminate them, if you want.

How to Play

Have everyone choose their strips, then take a few minutes to brainstorm your stories. Once you’re ready, share your tales! You can simply tell the stories verbally, draw a picture illustrating them, or write out a story.

You could even make it a group story and make-up your story together as a family. Or in groups. Mix it up and play a different way each time.

My daughter wanted to draw hers, and my son wanted to write his. I just verbally said mine. My son used this type of notebook that has space to both draw and write on each page. My daughter used a blank book similar to these.

It was so fun, my kids wanted to do it all over again right afterward! This is definitely one we’ll repeat over and over again as a family!

Do your kids like to make up stories?

For more book fun, check out these posts:

• Simple Self-Love Activity for Kids
• Colors and Emotions
• How to Get Outside with Your Kids
• Similarities and Differences

Britney is a wife and mom with a passion for helping other women see the good inside of them. She loves podcasts, polka dots, and dancing around the kitchen with her family.