Homemade Story Stones

Story stones are a beautiful way for kids (and grownups) to tell a story.  The stones act as little visual prompts and can be used in a variety of ways.  

WARNING!! Making these stones does involve cutting up a book.  Gasp! This is the first book that I have ever cut up but I think it was worth it.   I bought this lovely nursery rhyme book from a charity (thrift) store for $1 and it already had some tears and missing bits {which made me feel better at the thought of slicing it up even further}.

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What do you need?

• A book with lots of small pictures.
  
• Scissors
• Glue (I used Mod Podge)
• Stones (These were bought from the local hardware store.)
• Paintbrush or fingers to spread the glue.

What do you do?
I selected pictures and organised them according to colour.  Characters and animals were cut and stuck to green stones (they were the largest), objects were stuck to red stones and background pictures were stuck to the blue stones.

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How do you use these stones?

• Lay them out onto a large tray.  Let your kids pick stones and tell their story.  
• Ask your child to pick 3 stones and tell a story.  {Change the number of stones according to your child's age and abilities}.
• Have one story teller and one stone selector.  As the story teller pauses, the stone selector can add a new stone to be included in the story.
• Divide the stones into categories {Character, object, setting} and place them into separate containers.  Ask your child to close their eyes to select a stone from each container.  Tell the story. 
• Give your child a "theme" to include in their story. Examples include - the big surprise, the great escape, a happy day, a big fight, it all ends well, lost and found, etc.
• Use the stones as a writing task using any of the above suggestions.  This is a great activity in a therapy setting. Encourage the introduction, complication and resolution to the story.

I made these story stones one evening whilst I was watching TV.  I found it relaxing doing this type of craft.  You could easily include your children in making these stones as they may enjoy selecting, cutting and pasting.

When I first lay out the stones, Mr 4 needed some modelling in picking stones and telling a story.  Miss 7 instantly picked all the animals and embarked on her story about an animal shelter.  I was apprehensive about Mr 4 taking to the stones as there are not a lot of "stereotypical boy pictures" such as trains, diggers, dinosaurs, cars, etc.  I was pleasantly surprised that the story stones held his interest and he returns repeatedly to tell a story.

The stones are beautifully smooth and there is something nice about holding (and stroking) the stone as you talk about the picture.  These are stones that will keep on giving as your children use their imaginations.  

Do your kids enjoy telling stories? Will you do this homemade activity with your kids or without them?

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