Our creativity enables us to seek creative solutions and remain open to alternative perspectives. It also helps us entertain ourselves without electronic devices—a skill that many parents pray their kids will develop.
By enjoying these 7 activities and strategies, my 7-year-old wrote his first children's book series. Regardless of whether your child eventually writes a book, storytelling sets the stage for building meaningful moments of connection between us and our kids. That alone is priceless.
1. Undivided attention
My kids began telling us stories around age 4. They’d stop what they were doing, run over, and breathlessly share their adventures in as much detail as possible—about how their bedroom was actually a submarine that transformed into a space rocket only for pirates to attack, but then the Paw Patrol came to the rescue.
More than once I responded with, “That’s nice, sweetheart,” and continued whatever I'd been doing. But one day, I paused. I put down the dirty dishes or my phone, and I listened. I really listened, locking eyes with my child and reacting to his enthusiasm. I could see his imagination forming with vibrant colors, fantastical characters, and zany adventures.
The more I listened, the more my kids' stories grew. I’d ask questions, and they’d start problem solving and then run away to cast their sails again. I learned in these moments to give them my undivided attention and show them I not only loved but also valued their crazy, adorable stories. I taught them that their ideas, their voices, mattered. Isn't that what all authors struggle to embrace?
2. Poetry Teatime
During the height of the pandemic, Julie Bogart's Poetry Teatime became a special ritual in our house. Once a week, I set out fancy desserts or baked goods. The Oreos and chocolate milk alone excited the kids. I also made tea, covered the table with a fancy tablecloth, and got out my China tea cups. My kids began anticipating this special time.
At 2:00 pm, we sat at the dining room table, and while we delighted in various yummy little desserts, I read a variety of poetry, from Emily Dickinson (my all-time favorite), to seasonal poems, to a lot of silly stuff that my kids absolutely loved, such as the following peanut poem. My kids asked me to recite that one every week.
A peanut sat on a railroad track,
by Anonymous
His heart was all a-flutter.
The five-fifteen came rushing by—
Toot! toot! Peanut butter!
While the rhyme itself is adorable, it also shows kids the fun ways we can play with language. And that is exactly why I loved introducing my kids to poetry at such a young age—because poetry helps introduce them to how lovely and lyrical the sound of language can be. More specifically, poetry teaches children about pitch, volume, inflection, and patterns in speech.
Here are some of our favorite kids poetry books in order of preference:
- Firefly July: A Year of Very Short Poetry
- The Random House Book of Poetry for Children
- Poetry for Kids: Emily Dickinson
- Read Aloud Poems for Young People
- Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reverso Poems
3. One-off poems when inspiration strikes
I'll never forget the day my eldest dragged a stool into the kitchen, climbed up, and peered over the counter to watch his toast turn brown. I had been spiraling around the kitchen, prepping the rest of his lunch, when he said, “Look, Momma! I’m dancing to the music of the toaster.”
I couldn’t let that one slip away, so I wrote it down on a piece of construction paper. When he finished lunch, he drew a picture of a toaster beneath his quote. A 4 years old, that semi-rectangular illustration includes wiggly lines that make this souvenir all the more endearing.
Anyway, I added his name, and then we hung up his poem. From that moment on, when my kids said something inspirational, something that sounded like a line from a poem, I would write it down and ask them to illustrate it later.
A few years later, I read a few of my son’s poems during Poetry Teatime. He was blown away to hear his poems read alongside Shel Silverstein, the Jabberwocky, and of course that peanut poem. I had planted the seed of his potential long ago.
4. Record their stories
We can take this poetry dictation a step further. Instead of waiting for what I felt were poetic, inspirational moments, I started recording their stories when I saw them bouncing off the walls, trying to shake loose their ideas.
When my 6-year-old told me, “28,000 years ago, this house was a legendary school. It’s a story I haven’t told you in 87 days or 20 seconds, until one day a friendly dragon appeared,” you better believe I started writing this down. I got out my Notes app on my phone, and my fingers tried to keep up as his imagination took off.
We never finished the story about the legendary school, but that’s okay. An unfinished story doesn’t mean our time together was wasted. How many writers’ drawers are chockfull of half-finished story ideas?
But all half-baked ideas provide us with practice, teaching us to keep trying, improving our communication skills, and showing us measurable growth over time. And let me tell you, at age 7, my kiddo’s stories have become epic.
5. Guided storytelling with prompts
When I chaperoned my 7-year-old’s school field trip to a puppet theatre, we had a 30-minute ride on a crowded bus with no air conditioner and no electronic devices. To divert his attention, I asked my son to tell me a story. Initially, he hissed, “I don’t want to. I have no ideas!” (How many writers struggle with that?!?!)
So, I tried guided storytelling. I took the pressure off him, promising I would think of a story, but I needed his help. First, I asked if our main character should be a boy, a girl, or an animal. My son sat up and whimpered, “A snake.” Next, I asked where he wanted the story to take place—a city, out in nature, in a castle, etc. He bounced in his seat and said, “A city of buses. Of broken-down buses!”
Over the next few weeks, this story evolved into an entire book he wants to publish. He still chooses video games after school, rather than working on the illustrations, but whenever he talks about that book, he does so with immense pride.
Story prompts can provide kids with a steady foundation, helping them to focus on key elements a few at a time. From there, kids can come up with ideas on their own, or they can continue to work with us as co-authors. Regardless, we can help write down these ideas and see how they grow.
6. Artwork picture books
Now that we have these bits of stories and poems, what do we do with them? Whimsical Mindful Doodling offers some ideas. During one of her Instagram videos, she encouraged me to take my kids’ artwork and turn those stacks into books.
Between two sheets of construction paper, I added a pile of his artwork, stabled them together along one edge, and decorated the cover per Amy’s recommendations.
I can also take Amy’s idea one step further and ask my little guy to tell me about his artwork. At the bottom of each page, I can add his descriptions—what’s that picture about and what’s happening—thus turning his artwork into his own picture book. By making a book from their artwork, you don't have to wait until their words inspire you.
When I showed my 4-year-old his book, he ran around the living room, shouting, “I made a book!” I thought my 7-year-old would not particularly care that I did the same for him, but when he saw his work in the form of a book, he gave me the biggest smile and kept staring at his masterpiece like it was hot off the press from Simon and Schuster.
7. Dictated comic strips
Like so many elementary-age kids, my 7-year-old has become a huge fan of the Dog Man and Bad Kitty graphic novels. Thus, when Amy from Whimsical Mindful Doodling shared a post about doodling simple pictures on cards that represent our kids’ stories, I realized this idea lends itself to encouraging our kids to tell a story that we can doodle into a four-panel comic strip.
I tried this last month with my four-year-old who loves to talk about the 100 cats that hide in his room and their adventures with lava and rocket boosters. (He’s really big on adding rocket boosters to almost anything.) However, this moment turned into something a tad different.
He had come to me with tear-stained cheeks because he missed his brother who was attending summer school that week. I suggested that we draw a picture of the two of them, and thus my sweet boy told me a story. I drew his picture according to his specifications, including his rainbow shoes and the heart-shaped balloon that carried both my boys off into the sky.
Although we didn’t create multiple pictures or a four-panel comic, he sat on my lap and stared loving at his picture. He held me tight and said he couldn’t wait to tell his big brother about their adventure in the balloon. I’m truly grateful that Amy’s idea created another moment of connection between me and my sweet boy and that I could comfort him this way.
Conclusion
If some of these ideas don’t work the first time, that's okay. But keep writing, keep trying. After all, storytelling takes practice. And as you encourage your kids’ imagination, you’ll also provide them with a solid foundation in writing and communication—life skills with endless potential.
Featured photo by Steven Libralon on Unsplash
