How to Tell Stories to Children

The method we teach is called intuitive storytelling. That means you make up the story on the spot. At first this may sound difficult, but everyone can do it and it’s not much different from having a conversation. Prepared stories, like prepared speeches, are generally harder because they induce stress.

Tapping into this intuitive method is easy once we recognize:

1. The goal of storytelling is connection with your child, not a bestseller.

2. It’s easier when you’re at ease (not distracted).

3. You have to value your stories, even when they are simple.

Valuing your stories turns out to have major consequences. Not only does it lead to more engaged and creative stories, it models to your children that their voice matters.

This could be likened to a child’s simple drawing. If we look at it and compare it to Da Vinci, we have missed the point. Sharing our stories means loving ourselves, believing in ourselves, and acknowledging our voice. This is a crucial message to model to children.

They will love you for it.

From grass, we weave the doll. From the doll, we weave the story. What we’re doing is rooting our story in the physical earth. We touch it. We play with it. We create imaginative worlds. This is the power of story, and it creates a very rich experience.

In this episode, we explore the theme of self-worth and beauty through the lens of a common blade of grass, who begins to compare herself to the tulip. We will also teach you how to make a simple grass doll.

A human figure - whether of sticks, plastic, or yarn - is an essential ingredient of play. As a parent, making one for your child out of everyday objects from the earth can be very rewarding. And it only takes five minutes.

The story takes your character even further. You and your child witness the grass becoming a person, and the person becoming a story. Soon we’re building homes out of stones, gardens out of leaves, and super-highways for our imaginations.

We call this the Storytelling Loop. It is a journey we take with our kids. We start with something real (like grass), then tell a creative story about it. When we finish, the grass takes on new meaning. Nothing has changed, but everything has changed. Play is often a final component, as a child will commonly repeat or act out the story with a favorite doll - in this case the one you just made!

In This Episode

- Explore the theme of self-worth and beauty

- Learn how to make a grass doll

- Watch the video to see an example

- Listen to the story of Simplicity, or tell your own

- Explore how storytelling changes your child’s relationship to the grass under her feet. Can you see other characters and stories ready to come alive in your backyard?

You can find a 10-minute how-to video on making grass dolls at: https://howtotellstoriestochildren.com/podcast-blog/beauty-simplicity-and-the-grass-doll

True stories of motherhood are a gift both to those who speak and to those who listen. Your story is unique. It is worth sharing.

In this episode, we draw attention to the need for mothers of all kinds to share your stories and speak your truth. What is motherhood to you? What has it been like to bring life into this world? For men, this is an opportunity to listen.

Listening with patience and without an agenda is one of the greatest gifts we can give to another human being. Telling stories is not merely about telling stories. It requires a listener, and within the two a relationship is formed. What does it mean to truly listen this Mothers Day? What does it mean to truly speak?

Your story resonates out like ripples on a pond, touching the hearts of girls, boys, men and women - many of whom will be mothers some day, will tend for mothers, and live to tell their own stories.

There are 2 billion mothers on the earth. We invite you to truly listen to the ones in your life. For many of you, this may be yourself.

And thank you to all the wonderful mothers out there! Happy Mothers Day!

Baking bread with children can be one of the most rewarding experiences, second only to the joy of eating it. We take it one step further by drawing a story into the experience.

Stories help us tie our imaginations into the web of reality at our fingertips, in this case the dough. By listening to a story and helping in the kitchen, we bake a rich experience out of simple ingredients, a process we call the Storytelling Loop.

The Storytelling Loop is a journey we take with our kids. We start with something real (like dough), then “plant” a story in it. When we finish, our kids are left with something very real that sparks both memories and their imagination. Play is often a further component, as children commonly repeat or act out the story with a favorite doll or stuffy. Tasting the fresh baked bread makes this experience one of the sweetest.

In This Episode:

- Learn how to bake bread as a storytelling experience

- Visit our website for ingredients and a video tutorial

- As the dough rises, listen to the recorded story of “Baker Lou & The Mouse King,” or tell your own

- Explore how storytelling can change your relationship to real things. Can you see each ingredient - water, honey, grain, and salt - as a character in your story?

We’re celebrating mother earth this year by telling stories that draw attention to her beauty. There are countless ways to do this, and in this episode we give several examples as well as some guidance on how to pick and craft the right one for your child.

On our website, we’ve also included a short video with a quick example of how we do it, something we call the Storytelling Loop.

The Storytelling Loop is a great way to awaken interest by “planting” a story in a common object or activity. For example, if we tell a story about a stone, a real stone, a child tends to be curious about that very stone after the story.

Likewise, if we tell a story about Batman or fairies, there is often a newfound interest in these characters. The interest our story has sparked often leads a child to continue exploring the subject on their own.

So this Earth Day we’re crafting stories to draw our attention to the earth under our feet. This can be as simple as a story about the feeling of grass on our toes, the sound of music in the trees, a curious animal, or maybe just an elf who likes the potted plant on your windowsill.

Bring all of your senses into your story - what does it feel like? What does it smell like? What do you see, taste, and hear? If we allow our own creativity to awaken our senses, children love to follow along! The rich sensory language can help them get in touch with so much beauty at their fingertips.

We've all been there. We're picking up our child from school or a play date, when suddenly everything goes haywire. Or we've just thrown the world's best birthday party, and right as everyone is leaving the birthday girl has a major meltdown.

Transition times can be stressful for child and parent, yet we encounter them almost every day. In this episode, we share a few story strategies that can help parents and children stay connected during these delicate moments.

Bringing a story into transitions can give children something to look forward to, rather than merely experiencing the end of what was. Unlike other treats, which are often a substitute, stories give children what they really want - your love and attention.

With just a little practice you can easily establish a routine at pick-up time, clean-up, or morning preparations, turning previously stressful transitions into a time you and your child look forward to. Such a skill can be priceless for parents.

There’s nothing like fresh green leaves after a long winter. Resting our eyes on lush grass can be healing, and we can make the plant world sparkle with unique presence for our kids by telling stories that draw their imagination into the growing sprouts.

When we tell a story about something real we tie imagination and reality together, a process we call the Storytelling Loop. Play often becomes a third component, because our stories open up a child’s curiosity to explore and create.

By “planting” a story in something real (in this case grass), our kids awaken to a very rich experience, with plenty of room to explore both reality and imagination.

In This Episode

- Learn how to sprout and grow your own wheat grass

- Listen to a sample story that will connect your little ones to the grass you're growing at home

- Explore the background of how story, real life, and creative activities make for a rich sensory experience

- You have the opportunity to play the story we’ve recorded, or use it as an example to tell your own

You will find more details, including a video planting guide at - https://howtotellstoriestochildren.com/podcast-blog/how-to-grow-fresh-green-stories

In The Story

Mira lives in the city. She loves her mom and dad, but she misses her Grandmother’s farm. Then she remembers the little seed pouch Grandmother gave her. She gathers a pot, some soil, and puts all her love and attention into the little seed babies in her care.

In doing so, Mira brings the whole family together, and the story describes the same process you and your child will follow to plant your own seed babies at home.

In a second story, Randolph Roots, the gnome of the mountain, visits Mira’s Grandmother, and we get to see the seed babies from a whole new perspective.

After The Story

Plant your seed babies. On our website we have a video with instructions for growing wheat grass, but you could grow beans, squash, or any plants you like. The goal isn’t so much to replicate our process, but to observe the relationship between story and the real (plant) world. We share examples to help inspire you to create your own.

No matter who you are or where you’re at in life, your stories matter to your children. Telling stories to kids isn’t about being groovy and liberated. It’s about connecting. It’s about being real.

Storytelling is something humans have been doing for thousands of years, because it works. It will work today if you're perfect, but it will also work if you're not. It will even work in spite of any self-doubt, bad attitudes, or feelings of exhaustion. Because it’s not about being good. It’s about connecting.

It’s easy to think that storytelling is for perfect parents, the fairy godmother types, the ones who have it all together. But that would mean there are perfect parents out there, and we know that’s not true. We’re imperfect, each of us, in lots of ways. And we also have incredible gifts.

Storytelling is a way to share those gifts, and it allows for a huge range of diverse expression. You can be funny. You can be serious. You can make mistakes. No matter how you do it, it will bring you and your children closer.

Spring Equinox and Easter are right around the corner. Whether you celebrate with religious festivals or your own homemade traditions, this is a great time of year to tell stories that mark endings and new beginnings.

In this episode, we walk you through the steps of how story, real life, and creative activities all support one another - so that you can recreate the experience at home. You will have the opportunity to listen to the story we’ve recorded, or use it as an example to tell your own. We have also included a short video on how to blow-out and decorate eggs and more storytelling background at:

https://howtotellstoriestochildren.com/podcast

In The Story:

King Winter is getting ready to depart. As Lady Spring arrives, the little flowers and blades of grass are so excited that they just can’t keep themselves from peeping out to see her!

Personalizing the seasons and plants can help young children build a relationship with them. The characters can even be represented with a favorite doll or a child's drawing.

As Lady Spring arrives, the chickens in the coop get excited too, then fluffy and proud as the flower fairies decorate each egg a different color. But King Winter isn’t gone just yet! Fortunately, Lady Spring sweeps him out by promising that he can return next year.

After The Story:

Get out your Easter eggs and start decorating. Perhaps you can be Lady Spring, and your child is one of the flower fairies. Pay attention and see if the story makes the activity come alive with new richness for your child.

We also encourage you to listen to this story and see which aspects bring excitement and joy to your child. This allows you to pick up on those elements and integrate them into your own homemade stories.

The story can also continue by being drawn into your egg hunt. Perhaps the Easter Rabbit and Lady Spring were so delighted with your beautiful eggs that they wanted to make a fun game for your special little flower fairy.

Stories can be like little chicks that hatch from an egg. It’s pure magic when we see it happen. Perhaps you can hatch your own story with your child!

Stories create a gentler, more effective way to shift a child's attention than simply announcing, "it's time to clean up."

When we draw a child's imagination and creativity into the chore that needs attention, we give them a way to bring their play and excitement into the activity. In other words, stories open a door instead of closing one. Even better, they give us a creative framework to build a feeling of connection and mutual participation.

This can save parents a lot of unnecessary stress, time, and energy.