For grown-ups sharing stories with children aged 4–8. Free for families, classrooms and libraries, with no sign-up.
All you need is an idea.
Tell your story aloud, act it with toys or draw it on paper. A grown-up can write down the words if that helps. No spelling, rhyming or special drawing skills are needed, and you do not have to finish in one sitting.
1. Meet your character.
Choose someone real or imagined: a child, a pigeon, a teapot or a very serious sock. Give them something they want to do. Perhaps the sock wants to join a picnic, or the pigeon wants one quiet place to have breakfast.
Our character wants to…
2. Add a small muddle.
What gets in the way? It could be a missing spoon, a misunderstood message or two friends with different plans. Keep it as silly or as ordinary as you like. Ask each storyteller for one idea, then choose a beginning together.
But then…
3. Let them try something.
What does the character do first? It need not work. Someone might listen, ask a question, make a mistake or discover another way. Take turns adding one sentence, or let one person tell the story while the other makes the sound effects.
So they tried…
4. Find your ending.
Does the first plan work out, or does something different happen? Your ending can be funny, surprising or very quiet. Give the story a title and tell it again. Changing a detail the second time is allowed: it is your story.
And in the end…
Try another point of view.
Choose a different character and retell one moment through their eyes. The picnic guest might notice the missing spoon; the spoon might have a very different explanation. There is no need to make every idea fit. Save a favourite for another day.
Find a little inspiration.
Look at the breakfast scene in Everyone Must Agree Day or the picnic plans in When Mum and Dad Said No. Notice how an ordinary moment can start an adventure, then invent your own characters and setting.
Make it yours at any age.
- A simple route for ages 4–5: choose a toy and act out just “wanted”, “but” and “so”. A grown-up can tell the connecting words. You can finish with one drawing.
- An extra possibility for ages 6–8: fold a sheet into four panels for the four story moments. Add speech bubbles, sound effects or a second possible ending if you feel like it. Writing remains optional.
- For a classroom or library pair: one person suggests a character and the other offers a small muddle. Swap roles for the next story. Agree before changing someone else’s idea, and let anyone choose to listen or make their own version.
Choose the version that suits your readers, regardless of age. If a group would like a ready beginning first, try the little story circle.
Keep your story with your family or group, or share it with someone you know. This activity asks for no names, photographs or uploads.
A free Willowwick website resource. Print and use without resale, keeping this credit. These prompts are separate from the books.
willowwickbooks.com