writing LOVE stories with your little loves

Valentines is the perfect time of year to talk about love.  This week my lesson plan will revolve around the things we love.  Writing a Love Story is a simple activity that requires nothing more than some time with your little one.

what you need: (all of these are optional) paper ~ pen ~ pictures of the things you love

I love storytelling.  M and M have been learning the art of storytelling since they were able to talk.  Let me start you off with the basics.  We do our story telling in a circle; meaning I start, Big M adds a sentence or two, Little M takes a turn, and then back to Me.  The story can go around a really long time, or it can be very short.  We usually signal the next person by dropping a sentence with “and then. . .”, and point to the next storyteller.  M and M can go into a story at the drop of a hat and carry it to the end, but they have been practicing for a long time.  When you try this PLEASE remember that it is a skill that needs to be learned. . .and practiced.  Some stories make no sense at all, a lot of them actually.  Your little one may only want to add in a word or two.  Or the opposite, you may not get a turn.

For this lesson I added a little something to our normal story telling session, I added subjects.  I asked this question, “Tell me something that you love.”  It took me a while to get them thinking of things rather than people. . .something that actually tickles me pink.

Big M choose the lego car he spent all morning building.
Little M picked baby no name, aka the baby Santa gave me.
For me, it’s the kitchen mixer that makes cake baking so much easier.

I told the M and M that our story would include all three of the things we love.  This is the first time that I have actually written down what they are saying so I had to add a few “rules”.

1. Slow down, so I can keep up with you.
2.  You may have to repeat things once in a while.

I started the story.  “A long time ago there was a little girl who had the cutest dolly and. . .”  I passed it to Little M, who added only a bit and then walked away.  Big M took the story and ran.  I added a few words here and there but for the most part, this is his story.  I think he liked that I was writing every word.

If you want to read our story click here.

Questions (to ask your kids): “At one point you said the dragon was a bad guy, but he made the car to be a good guy?  Why did he do that?”  By questioning their storytelling decisions you’ll reinforce their power over the story.  “Did the story end the way you were expecting it to?”

Tips (to maximize learning):  1.  You’ll notice in our story that I did not correct Big M’s mistakes.  If he said her when he should have said she, I wrote her.  Your little one will make  corrections on their own, as they hear them being used correctly.  2.  Start really simple.  If this is the first time you are trying this, forget about writing it down.  3.  Driving in the car, or waiting at a restaurant are perfect places to practice storytelling. . .and it’ll fill a little time too!

This post is a part of the LOVE lesson plan.