G and I have been so busy this summer visiting friends and family. We've also spent gobs of of time outdoors-- visiting the farm, playing at the park, and swimming at the pool. It's nice to be back into the normal swing of things with summer winding down.
Today I want to share a fun story box that I made with G! We've been using story boxes with some of our favorite books this summer to help G build her comprehension skills. Story boxes are a FUN and HANDS ON way to retell stories. Story boxes allow children to use imaginative play as they "picture walk" through the story and retell the story in their own words with the use of props and a picture book. Here's my version of a story box based on The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle.
You could go out and buy props for your box, but we just put ours together with things we found around the house. You could make characters and props from felt or just print clipart too. (If you print photos, I recommend laminating them!)
Here's what we used:
- Lg. box or container (reused from an old sensory box)
- Multi colored plastic beads (left over from an old craft project)
- Colored pom-poms (reused from an old sensory box)
- Toy caterpillar, apple, pear, strawberry, orange, & plum (Toy was originally purchased at Babies-R-Us and reused for this box)
- Play Kitchen food (cheese, lollipop, watermelon, sausage, cake, pickle, and slice of pie)
- Felt green leaf
- Pipe cleaner springs (I added these for an extra sensory piece - I just wrapped the pipe cleaners around my fingers to make them like springs)
- One copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
I can't wait to make more of these. G has had so much fun with her story box. I love watching her imagine and retell with these props. I hope you'll enjoy these with your littles!
