The Little Mister got a cute sheet of stickers in one of his birthday cards, thanks to Great Grandma and Grandpa. (Thank you!) As I was sorting through his cards, I noticed that these birthday-themed stickers could be used to tell a story. I tucked them away for a day when it was just us—he didn't have preschool, and his sister was in school. I pulled out a sheet of paper, sat down with him, and explained that these sticker bugs were going to a party, and I wanted him to tell me about it.
I had to give him some prompts to get started:
"Where is the party? Is it inside or outside? Is it in a house, or in a park?"
- He decided the party would be in a park.
- I asked some more questions to find out what was in the park, so he could draw a setting for the story.
- He decided the park needed grass and a tree.
- I asked him what color the grass and tree should be.
- He chose crayons and drew the park.
- Then we began with the stickers.
(Stickers are great for fine motor skills.)
As he added stickers, his story began to take shape. I took notes (in blue, on the top corner of the paper) so I could repeat the story after he was finished:
- "It's a night time party because there are stars and no sun."
- "The bugs are crawling in the grass to get to the party."
- "It's Bee's birthday!" (Then he sang "Happy Birthday" to Bee, and gave Bee a cupcake sticker.)
- When asked how old Bee was turning, he replied, "Free." This means "three," the age he turned last month.
- When he reached for the snail sticker, I told him Snail didn't have any hands, and asked how Snail would carry his gift to Bee. "Like, on the top (of his shell), like Ladybug?"
- He noticed that one of the gifts was "teeny tiny." I asked him what was inside. "It's a teeny tiny car!" (This is a gift he would love to receive himself.)
- He also noticed that one of the stars was covered with dots. It reminded him of a sea star. He said: "This is a sea star. But where's the water? He needs water. I'll make it." And he drew a line of blue across the page.
This is the first time I've attempted a project of this magnitude with him. I was very impressed with his storytelling abilities! The bit about the sea star really surprised me. And his portrayal of Bee as a three-year-old that likes cars was a textbook example of Piaget's egocentrism. (Child Development was my absolute favorite class in college. Did you know I have a Psych degree?)
