When our son was about three years old, he started getting restless at nap time (even after reading several books). I figured out that if I spoke in a quiet, soothing voice for several minutes that he would finally nod off.
In doing this, I was reminded of a trick my dad used when I was little: he’d make up fairy tales and stories to tell me and I’d be out like a light.
So I started asking our son if he wanted to hear a “Once Upon a Time”. He loved the stories and fell asleep almost instantly. Mom for the win. Also, yay tradition!
Now that he’s older, he loves to help select the characters, the names and the storyline. If I’m slacking on the imagination front, he’ll even call me out. One night after “Once Upon a Time” he said, “Mom, that was boring.” You better believe I stepped it up for the next one.
My Storytelling Tips
“What are you talking about? Where would I even begin?” you ask. No fear. Let me share with you the key elements and a short example to inspire your next bedtime.
Key Phrases
There are key phrases that you need to keep in mind as you create your story.
- The mandatory starter in our house is “Once upon a time…”
- Then “One day…”
- “Happily ever after” or “The End”
Characters
- Good guy/hero (a must). This can be a prince or princess, an animal or even your child’s favorite object like an airplane or a doll.
- Friends of the good guy/hero (a must). Who doesn’t want a sidekick or a best buddy?
- Bad guy/villain (optional). We rarely go this route. However, as he is getting older and understands a bit more about storytelling, he basically expects this character to make an appearance at some point.
Moral or Lesson
Talk about morals or teach a lesson from the day. We’ve covered a variety of topics.
- Obeying parents
- Eating all your food
- Getting sleep to grow (we use this one quite often)
- Cleaning up after yourself
Location
This can sometimes be the hardest part to dream up, so I often base it on a familiar location or someplace we went over the weekend.
- Botanica inspires a forest and garden in the land of fairies and animal friends
- The airport leads us to a story based at an airshow and the airplanes live in a hangar
- Seeing a fire truck makes you dream up a story based at a fire station
Ok, mom. Now that you have your key elements, here’s how you put it together.
The Prince and the Horse
Once upon a time, there was a little prince named Charlie and he loved to play outside. He would run all around the outside of the castle as fast as his legs would carry him. Then one day, he met a horse that was busy eating grass. Prince Charlie said, “What are you doing?” Then the horse explained that he needed to eat grass so he could grow and run fast. Prince Charlie said, “If I eat all my food, do you think I could be as fast as you one day?”
“Certainly,” said the horse. So that night, Prince Charlie went home and ate all his dinner, including his vegetables. The next day, he met the horse outside and they raced each other. Prince Charlie ran as fast as he possibly could and he beat the horse. “From now on, I’ll always eat my dinner, including my vegetables,” said Prince Charlie. The End.
These stories don’t need to be long. The goal is to engage imagination and interact with your little one.
What’s your next “Once Upon a Time”?
