Storytelling is big at our house. Legos are big at our house. The two were destined to merge at some point. Well today is the day!
MiniFigure Storytelling
When I started this activity I had three intentions.
1 – Show Big M how to use MiniFigures within his building play (MiniFigs have gotten very little attention at our house).
2 – Get Little M building more (the pink Lego’s weren’t enough to draw her in… pretend play might be).
3 – Have some fun! We accomplished them all… and Daddy even joined in.
I dug through our massive Lego collection (as if it wasn’t big enough Grandma found a huge box at a garage sale… that was an exciting day) and pulled out all the MiniFigures I could find. Turns out we have quite a few.
We picked a few characters and props then let our story unfold. Little M got the story started, I picked up where she left off. Big M joined in when he felt inspired, listening the entire time. We went around like that until we reached The End. (I usually let Little M be in charge of the end, but once in a while I feel like the story could go on longer than I am willing to follow it.)
MiniFigure Storytelling Tips
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- While you are collecting your MiniFigures talk about the facial expressions on each one. “How do you think this guy feels?” “I wonder why she looks so worried.”
- Keep the pile of MiniFigs close by, we used a shoe box lid to hold ours, you never know when a new character might need to jump in.
- Change the MiniFigs heads to match the emotion they are feeling throughout the story.
- Build props as you go. Need a stair case or a chair? What about boat to ride away on? Our MiniFigs were actors, so we built a stage.
M, M and I are practiced storytellers and just like with anything else practice makes storytelling easier. Daddy felt more comfortable using Rory’s Story Cubes to guide his story. It ended up being a really fun variation. We all took a few turns with the Story Cubes. (This post contains affiliate links. Thanks for you support.)
More Storytelling with Props
Storytelling & Pretend Play
Storytelling with Toddlers
Writing Love Stories
Fairy Play
Wanda says
May 14, 2013 at 5:57 amWhat a great idea. It’d be good for my (nearly) all boy Sunday School class too. Like the Lego Bible, but without the satire/derision. 😉
Kelly Targett says
May 14, 2013 at 8:29 amI’ve played this game in the car to pass time.
Trisha @ Inspiration Laboratories says
May 14, 2013 at 5:46 pmLove it as always! I’m thinking we need to add some more mini figures to our collection.
Carolyn says
May 15, 2013 at 10:11 amMy son adores his minifigures. He sometimes plays with just them, bringing them into other scenes he’s built (with blocks or books or…whatever!)
Tricia at Mom is the Only Girl says
May 16, 2013 at 6:37 amHow fun! My sons are more into the building with LEGOs than the mini figures, but maybe this will get them into playing with them more? I blogged about partner storytelling today, sounds a little like how you shared the storytelling with your kiddos, but in ours my son was directing everything Hubby saw and all Hubby could do was ask questions to complete his adventure! Sounds like I could introduce the mini figures in this type of storytelling, too!
Jillian says
May 17, 2013 at 5:57 amI love your Partner Storytelling!
Regina says
July 1, 2013 at 10:46 pmI teach a Lego art class every summer with one day devoted to storytelling. I usually have the kids build a “crazy creature” in mosaic form. Then they have four prompts to get them going on spinning a back story: name, place where creature lives, what creature eats, creature’s special skills or superpowers. I jot down their ideas on a “creature bio” and send them home hoping the parents will encourage more storytelling at home. This is easy for some kids and difficult for others, but if a child hasn’t been exposed to storytelling, this is a great way to start and they pick it up quickly!
Jillian says
July 10, 2013 at 2:48 pmI LOVE that idea!!!!