How to Write a Story {by Your Preschooler}

My son is almost 3. He is in the prime phase of storytelling. If you want a “how to” lesson on story telling, go find a preschooler. We love it but keeping up with his little developing brain is tough work. The other day we were working on a fill in the blank story (which we love and make up on our own often) in the “writing center” (aka “a bench with two kid-sized chairs”) when he suddenly announced, “no, no, mama. I want to tell my own story.”

By all means, go ahead my sweet darling boy.

Together we created two stories that morning. When I say “we created” I really mean “he created”. I was only good for holding a marker in my hand and writing down what he dictated to me. The titles of the original works: “J the Frog” and “The Really Big Cow”. I kept the originals and plan to laminate them. I also typed them up and might create a “Book of Short Stories” Anthology as we collect his stories. I am really excited to hear what he tells next time.

How to Help Your Child Write a Story

The experience for me, as a parent and educator, was brilliant. We sat down together to do a slightly different exercise and he took the activity in a whole different and wonderful direction. I will say that although he was excited to be telling me his stories and having me document the excitement, he was frustrated that he wasn’t able to write himself. He really, really wanted to write. In fact, I held his hand with the marker and we wrote some of it together. I think this week we are prime to work on writing…stay tuned.

Thanks for visiting!
Marnie