If you are looking for ways to teach a child to read, this activity is a fun one! Telling a story with a bag is a wonderful and easy storytelling with kids activity!
I had these wonderful mini canvas bags left over from an Earth Day Play Date we hosted back in March. I pulled a few from a storage container this morning while looking for something totally different.
I brought the bags upstairs thinking they might be fun to decorate again (like we did at the Play Date). Our 3 year old asked immediately, “What's that in your hand, mama?”. He promptly grabbed the bag from me and began to fill it with various items around his play area.
Storytelling Language Activity with Kids
Language Activity Materials
- A small bag (or box)
- Random objects from around your home (inside and outside)
- Markers, stickers, paint, etc if your child wants to decorate his bag or box
Our Approach
- Decorate the bag or box beforehand if you want to add an activity.
- Grab the bag or box and filled it with several objects – a lemon, a pair of Melissa and Doug Sunny Patch Binoculars, a matchbox dump truck, a giraffe figurine and a ladybug. You don't need many to start the adventure.
- Sit with your child, let him explore and discover the object.
- Have him identify and talk about the objects. Ask, encourage and guide him to identify the objects.
- Once done identifying the objects, pick up one object, in our case, the giraffe, and begin your story, “There once was a giraffe who drove a dump truck…” and your child will catch on…our son took it from the giraffe and grabbed the ladybug and shrieked, “and he was looking for ladybugs!!!”
Related Read: 40 Reading Comprehension Questions to Ask Kids
Language Development Tips
- Play “ping-pong” with your words and soon your child will begin incorporating other objects within arms reach to create a story, in our case, involving ladybugs climbing a mountain (aka “nesting blocks”) and dodging hot lava (aka “orange and black pom poms”). You can always encourage this part too.
- Allow your child to collect objects for the next round of storytelling
- Sit back, watch your child and enjoy the story
- Let your child go where he needs and wants to go with his story. There are no limits.
- Write down the story as you create it together.
- Create a Fill In the Blank story.
If you enjoyed this post, check out other storytelling posts! Leave a comment, too, I love hearing from you!
I hope we inspired you today!
Marnie