"Stories From Your Head"

This picture is a year old, from a 6 yr old birthday party trip. On the left is Chris, my nephew, in the middle is Garrett (now 7), and the baby is Tristan (now 20 mo.)

At bedtime my son Garrett loves to ask me "Can you tell me a story from your head?" So I have been making up stories for him for many years. Sometimes I try to get out of it because I'm tired or grumpy. I tell him I have no stories in my head tonight but he always calls my bluff. Because, honestly, it isn't all that hard to make up a story to tell your children.

I have found through conversations with other mothers that making up stories for kids can feel challenging. Moms and dads feel..."I am on the spot.... I'm not very creative....I'm not a writer so how can I make up a story?"

Here is the good news. Stories you tell from your imagination to your kids can be very simple. And the cool thing is, no matter how simple, or silly, or unimpressive it may be to book critics and adults, your small child will love it. 

Here are some tips and patterns I have followed or made up to help my stories come out:

• "Once Upon A Time...." I always start out with this! Its a classic. When I start my story I really don't need to have a plan of where it will go and what will happen. I just start with these words and figure it out as I go! Things really will start coming to you.
• "....there was a little boy who...." This is a very common second phrase for me to say. Kids love it when a story just so happens to have a boy\girl in it that is the same age as he is, or even (gasp!) has the same name or the same special event coming up. (I told lots of birthday party stories when Garrett's birthday was approaching.)
• Think adventure. A very common theme for me to use (patterned after fairy tales that I have read) is a young child going on an adventure by himself but always returning home safely. I like to show that this child usually has some internal doubt (scared, doesn't feel smart, etc.) but finds courage or what ever he needs to over come and triumph.  
• Disregard the last statement, at least sometimes. Not all stories have to have a moral or other great lesson. They can simply be fun and silly. 
• Have you ever noticed that most fairy tales has at least 3 parts to them? When my pretend character sets out on his adventure, I typically have him encounter 3 problems or 3 friends or 3 interactions with others in the stories. 
• Use objects and things that are familiar to your child. The stories don't need exotic people, places, or things. He will love a story about simple everyday life, places, and items just as much (or maybe even more) then the exotic stuff he has no direct experience with. A story about taking a bath can be just as fun as a story about a jungle expedition. 
• Its OK to cheat. Sometimes I read short stories on my own and then later retell the story from my head. Some of my favorites resources currently are: The Blue Fairy Book (fyi- these are not watered down fairy tales. Some of very, very long and some are violent. There are other Fairy Books by the same author, such as The Red Fairy Book.) 50 Famous Stories Retold (if you go through all of these there is another one called 50 More Stories Retold), Aesop's Fables, and Just So Stories.  Check out The Baldwin Project for other great (free) children literature. I also have found some funny short bedtime stories other parents have written in the NOOK library for free. There is one about some monkeys who go to the grocery store, and one about a lion who wants a birthday party so he send the monkey to the store. And Garrett loves when the book mentions the monkeys throwing poo at the lions. It receives many giggles. 
• Lastly, after you tell your story invite your child to tell a story. It can be very funny! (and often very similar to the story you just told.)

Last Night's Story

Here is a sample to get you started. This is the story I came up with last night. I highly doubt it will be exactly how I told it last night. 

Once upon a time there was a little frog who was hopping, hopping, around the pond. He meet a squirrel who was burring some nuts at the bottom of the tree. The squirrel said, "little frog, what are you doing?" "Oh, I am so hungry" said the frog, "I can't find any food to eat!" The squirrel laughed at the little frog and ran back up his tree. 

As the little frog kept jumping around the pond, he meet a rabbit eating grass near by. "Little frog, what are you doing?" asked the rabbit. "Oh rabbit, I am so, so hungry and I can't find any food to eat anywhere!" The rabbit looked at the frog, laughed, and then hopped away towards the meadow. 

The little frog continued to jump, jump, jump, looking for food to eat. Soon he came upon a chipmunk who was eating some mushrooms which were growing in the shade. "Little frog, what are you doing?" asked the chipmunk? "Oh chipmunk, I'm so very hungry and I've been looking for food all day but I can't find any, and I'm so, so hungry!' The chipmunk looked at the little frog and laughed. "Why frog,' said the chipmunk, "that is because you aren't hunting like a frog ! Don't you know you should sit very still and wait for some bugs to fly by and then SWAT! catch them with your long tongue?" The frog stopped jumping for a moment and said "Ohhh!"  

So the little frog said thank you to the chipmunk and hopped away. He found a spot near the pond, sat very still, and quickly caught all the food he wanted with his long tongue. And ever since then, he has never, ever, no never, gone hungry.

Thee End!