Have you ever considered that it takes only sixteen summers to raise an adult, but the time you have to be involved in story telling during your kids bedtime will be only about half of that. Yes, time goes that quickly. So every moment of your child's development is a precious opportunity and privilege to stimulate that mind, help prepare them for the world out there, and help create an adult who will contribute to society.
Some parents are happy to just read a story each night and then tuck their child in for a good night's sleep before dimming the lights, but story telling during your kids bedtime is more than just reading a story. It's your opportunity to create an imagination center where they will grow their minds rather than just a bedroom where they'll sleep.
According to bedtime story writer, Les Cowie, there are 4 critical elements about a bedtime story to remember:
1. The story
2. The questions
3. The 'Create Your Own Story' Moment
4. The 'Read It Together Moment'
The Story
The range of stories you can tell is vast. A great way to come up with bedtime stories is to use the objects in your kids bedroom. Les says, "Use the decor in your kids bedroom as objects in your story. You can use the wall decors positioning and coloring as elements in the story. You should select stories that start from basic concepts. Using a themed bedroom makes it easier to create these stories. Whether your child's bedroom has pirates, mermaids, butterflies or wild animals, there are ways to turn those object into stories about exploration, people interaction, caring for others, and love."
It's in the telling of the story that you build feeling and imagination. Always try to read with expression. Make the stories as dramatic as you can. Children enjoy exaggeration. Timing is important. Pause in the right places and speed up in the exciting places. Use body and head movement as much as you can. When children react, allow them time to say things or express their feelings in spontaneous movement.
The Questions
What you put into creating a story will come out as exciting questions and interaction with your child. Just reading a story during your kids bedtime provides input for your child. You can only understand how your child is processing information by encouraging output. This comes when you ask questions as a story progresses and provide encouragement as your child responds. As your child becomes more and more familiar with the same story, ask questions that allow your children to reveal their understanding of the story and even enhance it.
The 'Create Your Own Story' Moment
One way to build your child's imagination and confidence is to start an original story of your own and then ask your child "what happens next." Encourage your child to think up new things incorporating other decor components in their bedroom. For example, in a room with a pirate theme, you might start with the pirate wall clock and encourage your child to incorporate the pirate curtains and then the pirate pillow by making up stories including the characters your kid already knows. If you create excitement as your child contributes, you encourage and reward growing creativity.
The 'Read It Together Moment'
The 'Read It Together Moment' starts when your child can first start recognizing words. A story teller should point to words that you know the child can recognize. Encourage them to say it as part of the story. Or select a word that comes up fairly frequently and let your child say it mid sentence as you continue reading. Eventually this grows to allowing your child to slowly read through a sentence. You read two paragraphs and let your child read a simple sentence. Then continue. Ultimately this builds up to where you read a page and your child reads a paragraph or more as they are able.
Remember the saying: "It takes only sixteen summers to raise an adult." Use all the precious time you have and stimulate that growth as best you can.
Colette Marshall is co-creator of CozyKidBedtime.com which specializes in themed bedroom decor for kids with the creative twist of a bedtime story for each kids bedding product to make your kids bedtime more fun.
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