Kids LOVE to be able to participate in stories! Being involved in a story helps keep their attention and understand it more. Here are 3 ways to act out stories with your kids:
The first way to act out books is doing what the book says.
That might sound a little confusing but I promise it will make sense in a minute!
We have all read children's picture books that say something like "the frog jumped" or "the bear had a huge sneeze". Usually, you might just read that and continue but maybe next time you are reading a book and you read that, try "doing what the book says" If the book says "the frog jumped", try getting up with your child and jumping when the frog jumps in the story. Doing this will keep the kids engaged in the story and help them to also understand action words in the books.
The second way, try to use physical objects.
In the book "I am invited to a Party" by Mo Willems they say the word "party" multiple times within the book. When we did our Halloween program we had signs saying the word "party" on it. All we used to make them was a colorful cardstock with the text bubbles print on them (we laminated them so it was easy to clean but that is completely optional), then we taped a popsicle stick on the back.
During the book, the kids would dance around when the characters in the book started dancing and saying a "party" as well. Seeing the word on the sign helps them see how it is spelled, how it is used in a sentence, and how to say it. A sign with a word on it is just one example of something you can use.
You could use any physical item that might relate to the book. Let's say you are reading "Bedtime for Bear" by Brett Helquist. You could have stuffed animals as the characters in the book. Doing this expands the child's imagination and shows them a physical thing from the story.
Last but not least the third way is to dress up.
In our Halloween program also we are actually dressed up as the characters from "Elephant and piggie"! by Mo Willems. Now you may be saying "you only dressed up because it was Halloween", yes we did dress up because it was Halloween but we also acted out the story for the kids, and dressing up as the characters in the story just brought the story more alive!
This one may seem like a lot but the costume you make doesn't need to look professional. Your kids won't care! They will be happy that you are doing it with them. Dressing up could even be as little as you wearing a pirate hat when you go to read the bedtime story tonight, your kids will love it and it will definitely catch their attention! Dressing up brings the story alive and let's be honest, they are kids, and dressing up is fun for ALL ages!!
Acting out a book does not need to be crazy with splendiferous costumes, it can be as easy as a hat, a sign, or just doing the action words, whatever you choose to do, the most important thing is to have fun WITH your kids! Happy reading!
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