4 ms·

My son is six and I take him to school each day (its about 25 minutes). He started asking me to tell him stories on the way to school, so I told him stories ab

My son is six and I take him to school each day (its about 25 minutes). He started asking me to tell him stories on the way to school, so I told him stories about how I was a spy and the missions I went on. Eventually I put him in my stories too -- he was member of the Omega Force. At some point he didn't like how his character was acting in the story, so he began to tell me what his character should do. Well over the course of about a month we now do a full on role-playing game on the way to school. The level of role playing matches nearly anything I did when I played D&D. He now leads the Omega Force and I lead the Alpha Force. His squad is larger, but mine is more specialized. That 25 minutes of rather sophisticated verbal interaction is pretty incredible. I can weave in interesting scenarios and discussions, and the level of engagement is great. I have no data to support it, but I feel like its something that almost every kindergartner could benefit from.

charliepark 12y ago
I did something similar when I drove my daughters to school a few years ago. The story and characters were different (in our case, woodland creatures having adventures), but the overall idea — and, it seems, many of the benefits — were similar. One of the great outcomes of it was that when my wife or I heard the girls say interesting things about their social dynamics at school (another child getting picked on, kids with "fancy shoes", questions about kids with different-colored skin, a new kid to the school, etc.), I could weave those situations into the narrative. It gave us a safe space to explore the issues, and to help the girls process various lessons in an enjoyable way. Eventually, we moved on to audiobooks and then the girls reading to themselves. But what started out as frustration at a "long" commute ended up being one of the highlights of the day.
ngoel36 12y ago
You should have him write down his thoughts as well - it sounds like his story development and verbal communication skills are getting a bunch of work, would be awesome to have his written communication match
- kenjackson 12y ago
  That's a good idea! Thanks.
nosuchthing 12y ago
I'm reminded of this Radiolab segment where they talk about how younger kids are entrenched with imagination and fantasy, and than a few years later they begin obsessing with rules, fairness, and civil relationships more. [0] http://www.radiolab.org/story/153809-rules-set-you-free/ http://www.radiolab.org/story/153809-rules-set-you-free/
beat 12y ago
You and he will both have some incredible memories when he grows up.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
hnyc 12y ago
Interestingly enough my father and I do this for a couple of hours straight about once a week. One of the few differences is that the story is usually finished within said few hours, and a new one begins next week, unless it's considered interesting enough or needs a continuation. I believe that it's a wonderful idea to do this in general. It exercises creativity and thinking, et cetera, and it's fun to do. :) s/every kindergartner/everybody/ :P

charliepark 12y ago

I did something similar when I drove my daughters to school a few years ago. The story and characters were different (in our case, woodland creatures having adventures), but the overall idea — and, it seems, many of the benefits — were similar. One of the great outcomes of it was that when my wife or I heard the girls say interesting things about their social dynamics at school (another child getting picked on, kids with "fancy shoes", questions about kids with different-colored skin, a new kid to the school, etc.), I could weave those situations into the narrative. It gave us a safe space to explore the issues, and to help the girls process various lessons in an enjoyable way. Eventually, we moved on to audiobooks and then the girls reading to themselves. But what started out as frustration at a "long" commute ended up being one of the highlights of the day.

ngoel36 12y ago

You should have him write down his thoughts as well - it sounds like his story development and verbal communication skills are getting a bunch of work, would be awesome to have his written communication match

kenjackson 12y ago
That's a good idea! Thanks.

nosuchthing 12y ago

I'm reminded of this Radiolab segment where they talk about how younger kids are entrenched with imagination and fantasy, and than a few years later they begin obsessing with rules, fairness, and civil relationships more. [0] http://www.radiolab.org/story/153809-rules-set-you-free/ http://www.radiolab.org/story/153809-rules-set-you-free/

beat 12y ago

You and he will both have some incredible memories when he grows up.

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

hnyc 12y ago

Interestingly enough my father and I do this for a couple of hours straight about once a week. One of the few differences is that the story is usually finished within said few hours, and a new one begins next week, unless it's considered interesting enough or needs a continuation. I believe that it's a wonderful idea to do this in general. It exercises creativity and thinking, et cetera, and it's fun to do. :) s/every kindergartner/everybody/ :P