Developing creativity is a skill that is not focused much on in regular school. Luckily homeschool parents are already thinking outside the proverbial box. This makes it easier for them to raise children who are insightful and creative. One of the easiest ways to get creative is to take your imagination out for a stroll. Telling stories is a great way to start. Here are some story telling activities that you can use with your homeschool students.
The Add a Line Story
This is a fun activity which can be played with any number of participants. Get the homeschool students to construct a story one sentence at a time. Each member gets to add a line before the baton passes to the next person. Have one person write down the story as it emerges so that when you have reached the end, you can read it out loud for everyone to enjoy.
This activity can be as structured or unstructured as you want to make it. You can fix a genre, a time period and a plot before hand if you want everything to go in a specific direction. However it’s usually the most fun when everything is left more or less spontaneous and everyone is free to add just about anything they want. Try it out both ways to see what works best with your kids.
The Paragraph Prompt Story
In this case give your students a starting paragraph. It could include just about any details that you want to give. About hundred words to start them off on a story that they need to tell. The idea is to give them the freedom to take a few ingredients and spin it as they want.
Have them write it down with a pen and paper. There is a greater tendency for the children to stay focused when they have to actually write down the story than simply say it out loud. If you want you can even give them a time deadline in which they need to stop writing and adding to the story. It gives them a better idea of how to structure their ideas when they are working against time.
