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folklaur
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| Posted: Oct 11 2007 at 11:46am | IP Logged
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This may sound silly to those who are good at it, but...I'm not  ! I have no idea how to "tell" stories to my children. I can read a story, but to just "come up" with one is almost impossible for me. My dad used to make up stories for me all the time as a child, and I read a lot, so I have no idea why, as soon as my dd5 says to me, "tell me a story" my mind goes completely blank. She loves when I make up stories using her name, and her siblings, and she is pleased with my pathetic attempts, (but they really are pathetic) and I want to be better at it.
I'm not even good at doing voices while reading (dh is great at this.)
How do you do it? 
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EmilyC
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| Posted: Oct 11 2007 at 1:59pm | IP Logged
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I struggle with this sometimes too. I think what works for me, especially if I'm stuck, is to take a familiar story, and change the details. I'll tell a version of a fairy tale, but change the princesses name to dd's, and add in some other minor changes to update it or make it relevant to her. I'll even just tell a story that I've learned by heart. I don't think I ever actually read Goldilocks and the Three Bears, or the Three Little Pigs, I've just always told them from memory. There are lots of little tales you could tell this way, like The Boy Who Cried Wolf, or George Washington and the Cherry Tree for example.
Another idea, would be to play the story game. I think I've seen that Lissa does somthing like this at her blog, but the way we do it, is I'll start with say, "Once upon a time, there was a silly goose named Sarah." Then Sarah will add a line, and we'll go back and forth until we've decided we are at the end. Usually these end up being incredibly silly, but it's fun, and good practice for telling stories.
HTH!
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Emily,
Wife to Rob since 8/98
Mom to 4:
Sarah (13) Robbie & Riley (10) Regina (nearly 3)
My secular lit-based curriculum:
Build Your Library curriculum
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Anne McD
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| Posted: Oct 11 2007 at 2:29pm | IP Logged
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We need to get back to this, too! My kids love variations on the three bears. For instance, the three bears wanted to redecorate their living room, so they went to Home Depo to buy supplies. They went to the paint dept and looked at blue paint chips-- one too dark, one too light, one just right. The same goes for a ceiling fan and crown moulding. While they were there, Goldilocks saw them and tried to avoid them, b/c she was buying wood to repair little bear's chair that she broke. Just take a well loved story and change it up a bit-- the sillier the better!
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Anne
Wife to Jon
Mommy to Alex 9
James 8
Katie 6
William 3 1/2
Benedict Joseph 1
and baby on the way! 10/14
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cathhomeschool
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| Posted: Oct 29 2007 at 9:24pm | IP Logged
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Laura, I've been meaning to get to this for days!
Great ideas, Emily and Anne!
I am not a great storyteller either. I can make up silly stories or retell "well known" fairy tales, but I'm not good at retelling (narrating, right?  ) or creating more complicated stories. I've just read through Oak Meadow's Home Teacher's Process Manual and they have several sections devoted to the art of storytelling. Some points: They suggest that you (in advance if you're a novice) consider the purpose of the story and also remember to make sure that the story has a "happy ending" (especially for younger kids). They suggest that you practice speaking on your own (to focus on the qualities of your voice) and also plan the story out in advance (main characters, beginning scene, purpose and general direction for story). They also mention retelling stories from memory. I think that this is a good way to work on the "art" of storytelling (voice, pace of story, body language, etc.). I have only just begun to try to tell stories in a "story teller" way, so I'm still pretty pathetic! I can't do voices either. Tim is so good at this. I intentionally save certain read alouds for him to do at night because I can't do voices!
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Janette (4 boys - 22, 21, 15, 14)
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Leonie
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| Posted: Oct 29 2007 at 10:49pm | IP Logged
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I started with re-tellings or narrations, of familiar stories.The kids would draw while I re-told the life of a saint or a fairy tale. Then I graduated to stories of my childhood - kids love those! I think these steps help with coming up with an orignal story...
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Leonie in Sydney
Living Without School
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JuliaT
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| Posted: Oct 30 2007 at 8:16am | IP Logged
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I have entered the world of story telling and have found that I am horrible at it. We have more Waldorf elements in our learning this year so I am trying to tell our stories for language arts and math. My problem is is that I am afraid that I will leave out an important part of the story or that my word usage will not be as descriptive as the written version.
I"m not good at making up my own stories, either. I am in awe of those who can do this at a moments notice. I guess this is where perseverance comes in. :)
Julia
mom of 3(8,6,4)
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Tina P.
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| Posted: Nov 06 2007 at 12:39pm | IP Logged
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Laura:
What if you practice impromptu speeches as a fun activity with your middle son and your older daughter at the dinner table? Maybe you could pick one topic out of several in a hat. I'll bet your older kids would get a kick out of you standing at the table speaking for five minutes about turkeys, or some such similar topic. This makes everyone more comfortable speaking in public and thinking on their feet.
I crack up every time I see the Veggietale where the song Bob is singing gets shredded by the fan. The peas paste the song back together but it totally doesn't make sense. Still, Bob sings it as he sees it. If a person can think on their feet and come up with things off the top of their heads, then when notes are missing, scattered, or torn, their speeches or stories won't be ruined like Bob's song was.
Eventually, if you use impromtu speaking as a regular fun activity, maybe you'll be more comfortable telling impromptu stories to your little one. I hope what I've just written makes sense and helps. 
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Tina, wife to one and mom to 9 + 3 in heaven
Mary's Muse
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: how to "tell" stories???
