A story sack is a fun activity you can make at home to get your child excited about story time. When children are interested in stories, they’ll enjoy books and reading more.
Making a story sack for your child can help to make reading meaningful and fun. It will help them develop their language and improve their memory.
First, you’ll need a large cloth bag with your child’s favourite book and supporting items. A pillowcase or cloth grocery bag will work just fine. Add any of the following things to help story time:
- A copy of the book
- A CD or DVD of the story
- Related non-fiction books or toys
- Models of characters and objects from the story
- Activities or games relating to the story
- Paper and crayons
Then, make an activity card for the story to include in the story sack.
How to make an activity card
On a piece of paper, make a list of things you can chat about and do in relation to the story.
- Talk about the story and children’s favourite bits
- Ask children questions about the characters and the plot
- Retell the story using the models
- Find out more about the people and places in the story by looking at the non-fiction books
- Draw a character or model one out of plasticine
- Draw a story map of the plot to help with re-telling the story
If you don’t have the time or space for an activity, just take a couple of things out of the sack and spend a few minutes talking about the story.