Invent an interactive story with your child

Create a Storytelling Card Game

Getting your child to tell a story might sound simple — but sometimes, they just don’t know where to start. It’s not that they lack imagination, but they might not yet understand how a story is put together.

Here’s a fun little trick to help them learn. Start with books you both know well. Ask your child to identify the main characters and supporting characters. Talk about which ones help the hero, and which ones get in their way. Then, move on to settings! A beach, a magical forest, a city, another planet…

Next, make a list of the actions and missions the characters go on. For each good idea, draw together a little card with the character, the villain, the setting, or the action — using cards you’ve prepared in advance.

🖼️ The goal is to build a visual library you can use later on!

Take your time, and once you have enough cards, let your child know it’s time to invent a story together!

To play, ask them to pick one character card, one setting, and one action, then make up a sentence starting with “Once upon a time…” “Once upon a time… there was a squirrel… who went to buy a car… on Mars!” Ask fun questions about the character — what do they look like? Do they have a family or friends?

Then, have them pick a “villain” card and another “action” card to create a twist starting with “Suddenly…” “Suddenly… the King of the Forest… cut down the squirrel’s tree!”

Have fun with it, and gradually reduce how many cards your child draws so they can stretch their imagination even more! You can also use other types of cards — from board games or even family photos.