July 12 // Story Stones & Secret Missions (free printables!)
Here are some printables to help your family make some fun and silly memories!
Hello! In yesterday’s email, we talked about the value of stories and becoming better storytellers. Today’s first activity is aimed to help you do that very thing! And the second activity is kind of just plain ol’ fun 🤪 We also created some thoughtful printables for you to help you do these activities for free and with very little effort!
Here are the PDF’s:
Story Stones (or cards)
Sometimes the best path to creativity is limitations! If you ask someone to simply “tell me a story!” it will be a lot more stressful for them than if you give them a prompt. Products like Rory’s Story Cubes or Story-matic help storytellers with that very thing, but, well, here’s a way to get some stories for free!
If you have access to stones—or get some river rocks from Dollar Tree!—you can Mod-podge cutouts from the printable we made for you. You can also paint them yourself or use stickers, if you have a good collection! With a paintbrush, apply a layer of Mod-podge, then dip your paintbrush in water and put a thin layer of Mod Podge on top to seal it. Let dry. Even this part of the activity is fun for your kids to help you with. We used premium paper so the images wouldn’t fall apart or wrinkle from the wetness.
Put the stones in a basket, and tell stories with one rock at a time prompting you which way the story will go. (Maybe make a limit such as 4 minutes per story or ten rocks or something.)
For toddlers, of course, you can just use these to work on vocabulary in a sensory way. “What’s this? Ooh, you’re right, a fire! Is fire hot or cold? Whew, hot!”
If you don’t have access to rocks, you can cut out the card version and simply store them in a Ziploc and draw from it when you’re ready for a new prompt. (Laminating the paper before you cut will help these cards last longer!) They’re great for bringing to restaurants and telling some stories while you wait for your food.
Our 4-year-old used the pieces as if they were paper dolls that interacted with each other and helped her tell the story! It’s fun to see how kids can make these activities their own!
Some prompts to begin your story:
“Once upon a time…”
“Would you like to know how ___ was invented? Here’s the history.”
“Let me tell you a story about something crazy that happened when I was younger.”
“Everything in my life changed the day that I happened to come across a ___.”
Listening to kid stories can be a challenge on your patience, but that’s a way this activity can enrich the audience as well 😉 They’ll get better with practice!
Secret Missions
This activity is inspired by the party game Don’t Get Got, but it’s more appropriate for kids (and even sneaks in a chore on each card 😏) However, this is fun even if it’s just among adults.
The point of the game is to give each player a card at the beginning of the day and see who can complete all four tasks by the end of the day. This is a long-term game that is best played throughout the day so players have the chance to let their guard down.
The rules: you can’t tell anyone you’re playing the game, you can’t lie, and you can’t make fun of anyone. The original game can be slightly mean-spirited, but these Family Scripts missions are positive…and yes, humblingly silly! (Example: “Smear some food on your face and go an hour without anyone commenting.”)
When I opened the fridge at dinnertime, I was surprised to find this note. I unwittingly helped my daughter complete her list!
The printable PDF includes a color version and a B&W version, if you’re saving ink. Reminder that you can get copies printed at CVS if you don’t have a printer.
Here are the PDF’s again!
I hope you enjoy these activities! Let us know some of the fun memories you make with your family and friends!
Warmly,
Hope from Family Scripts
Oh we are def gonna do this. We’ve been working with E on secrets vs surprises. (We can surprise mom and dad but lets not keep secrets from them) Im gonna call them Surprise Missions. Surprises are currently her favorite. How do you include the younger ones? Read their missions to them? Im thinking of alternating days of partnering E with mom or dad.
❤️ the secret mission ideas! My family would have loved playing that when we were young 👍.