My granddaughter turned three last week, and I had the opportunity to spend a few days with her. Each of those precious moments with her reminded me of the days years ago which I spent with my own three now-grown children.

Lots of fun ideas came back; I suppose it’s like riding a bicycle.

Now, keep in mind, this little one has about every princess and little-girl related toy, doll, and book out there. I’ve filled in with educational books, building toys, and classics. (Toys that don’t ring bells, talk to you, or play annoying music every time you touch them.)

Telling stories:
Best part: The TV IS OFF.

This is something you can do without a book. Try it In a car; on a walk; while your child is getting dressed or in the bathtub; or waiting for an appointment or food in a restaurant; when cuddling or sitting together anywhere; or to distract from cranky behavior.

You can tell stories for 45 seconds or 10 minutes. No rules!

Telling stories with your child is so much fun, and it’s like sneaking in the vegetables. It’s also educational!

Think about the imagination skills being developed; Ability to answer inferential questions; reading comprehension; auditory memory; visualization; sequential skills and what happens next?

The blank lines or underlined words represent where you let the child fill in. Those blank lines can be anywhere in the story, and there are no wrong answers. Only fun stories! For example:

Once upon a time, there was a little girl named _______ who lived in ______ (Atlanta, on a farm)

One day, she went for a walk (Plane ride, boat ride) with her ____________ (Can be friends, you, her parents, grandma’s dog, the fireman, Cinderella, Robin Hood).

When they got to the park, (or the grocery store, the zoo, Justin’s house, the farm, or around the corner) they saw a  little  ______________ (For whatever reason, my grandchild liked to pick a big bad wolf, and then the story led to me taking an airplane from Colorado, and making it go away with my magic wand.)

She liked the stories when I said, we walked around the corner and everything was the color RED. Our teeth were red, our faces were red, the dog was red, the grass was red……  The colors changed as we turned corners or arrived at places, and I could see her thinking about and visualizing the changes.

Big sisters, little brothers, daddies, grandpas, and playmates can join in too!

Try it. It’s fun; doesn’t cost a penny, and you don’t have to be a professional story-teller!