A 15-Minute Storytelling Activity You Can Do Tonight

Looking for a screen-free activity that is fun for the whole family? The Story Bowl game takes five minutes to set up and keeps children talking long after it ends.

What you need

• A bowl or box
• 15–20 small paper slips
• A pencil
• A timer (optional)

How to set it up

1. 1Write a character on five slips (a tiger, a grandmother, a robot…)
2. 2Write a place on five slips (a train, the moon, a mango tree…)
3. 3Write a problem on five slips (lost shoe, sudden rain, a locked door…)
4. 4Fold them and put each set in a separate pile

How to play

1. 1Your child picks one character, one place and one problem
2. 2They take one minute to think
3. 3They tell a story with a beginning, middle and end
4. 4Everyone else asks one question about the story

Make it harder as they grow

• Add a “must use” word slip like enormous or whisper
• Ask them to change the ending
• Tell the story from another character’s view