Age Range: 3-5

Like the last activity, with teddy, this activity is based on the same aims.

Whilst some families might tell stories frequently at home, as parents may have grown up listening to stories told by family themselves, this is not the case for all families.

In some cases, storytelling might need some practice and facilitation – e.g. retelling a story parents listened to with the child, looking at objects while making up a story, using pictures as a prompt for storytelling.

There are a number of ideas around that stimulate story telling with children, such as story bags and story dice, but this activity is inspired by an existing idea of an activity used in family support programmes – the ‘treasure box’. Here, the activity is adapted to support story telling at home.

Using familiar objects to stimulate storytelling - perhaps those that they treasure - allows the child to be actively engaged in the telling of the story from the beginning, as they choose the items themselves.  The sensory experience might facilitate their engagement, and through using treasured items, this emotional connection might also be helpful in engaging children in telling some stories. 

Using the example "My Story with Objects", parents and children can see how the storytelling activity works. This can stimulate storytelling during the session, with parents working together, or with parents working with their children if they are present. At home, parents can create stories with their children, and share those with the group of parents during the following session.