What To Do

Read a favorite story before beginning this activity and talk with the preschoolers about the parts of the story. Explain that all stories need a beginning, middle, and end. See if the preschoolers can pick out the events in the story that made up the beginning, middle, and end.

Give each preschooler a piece of storytelling paper and some drawing materials. Tell each preschooler to make up their own story in their mind. Tell the preschoolers that once they have decided what story they want to tell they need to illustrate, or draw a picture on the paper that tells the story.

When each preschooler has finished illustrating their story, have them bring their storytelling paper to a parent or teacher. Ask the preschooler to tell you want words they want to be written down on their paper. Have them tell you the story that they have illustrated and write their words beneath the picture.

Preschoolers will be so excited to have their own words down on paper and will be thrilled to show off their very own story. This activity teaches valuable pre-literacy skills. Preschoolers will understand that the words written on their page stand for their thoughts and they will have the chance to practice their storytelling skills.

Like this article? Get more like it in your inbox. Subscribe today to our free weekly newsletter.

Helpful Tips for Parents

• Curiosity is more valuable than knowledge. A curious child who doesn't know the answer will find it. A knowledgeable child who has lost curiosity will stop learning.

• Sleep is educational. Memory consolidation — the process of moving learning from short-term to long-term memory — happens during sleep. Well-rested children learn more effectively.

• Choose toys that grow with the child: open-ended materials (blocks, clay, art supplies) remain valuable for years; single-use toys with one correct answer produce brief engagement.

• Children's questions are assessment data. The questions a child asks reveal their current conceptual level and what they're ready to learn next.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much learning time should a preschooler have per day?

All of it — because preschoolers learn continuously through every interaction with their environment. The question of "learning time" implies that learning is separate from living, which it isn't at this age. A preschooler who plays freely, has rich conversations, is read to, helps in the kitchen, plays outdoors, and is exposed to music and art is having the richest possible educational experience. Formal, scheduled "learning time" is less productive than a generally enriched daily environment.

What learning differences might first become apparent in the preschool years?

The preschool years are when speech and language delays, developmental delays, autism spectrum characteristics, sensory processing differences, and early signs of ADHD typically become apparent. Early identification and early intervention are the most powerful factors in outcomes for children with learning differences — the preschool brain's plasticity makes early intervention far more effective than the same intervention at age 8. If you have concerns about your child's development, discuss them with your pediatrician rather than waiting to see if the child grows out of it.

Related reading: See also our counting activities and our writing readiness guide for more ideas on this topic.

🎓 Skills Your Child Will Develop

• ✏️ Pre-Writing Development — Drawing, tracing, and early mark-making develop the fine motor control and visual-motor integration that handwriting requires — making every drawing activity a contribution to writing readiness.
• 📖 Story Structure Understanding — Understanding that stories have a beginning, problem, solution, and ending develops narrative comprehension — the mental schema children use to make sense of increasingly complex texts throughout their school years.
• 🧠 Memory & Recall — Remembering rules, retelling a story in sequence, and practicing skills to automaticity builds working memory and long-term recall — the cognitive foundation that learning in every subject depends on.
• 🤔 Critical Thinking — Being asked "why do you think that?" and forming and defending an answer develops the analytical reasoning children need for reading comprehension, mathematics, and evidence-based argumentation.

Let preschoolers tell their own stories with this simple preschool literacy activity. This pre-reading activity helps preschoolers to understand that the words on the page communicate a story.

Preschoolers will love to illustrate their own stories and have their own narration added to the page. This preschool literacy activity can be done at home with mom and dad or in an educational preschool setting.

What You Need

Storytelling paper (Blank paper will do if you do not have this)

Crayons, markers, and pencils

A creative preschooler

A caring adult or preschool teacher

Questions to Ask Your Child

Use these open-ended prompts to extend the learning during or after the activity:

• "What was the most interesting thing you learned today?"
• "Can you explain this to a stuffed animal as if they've never heard of it?"
• "What part do you want to practice more?"
• "How is this connected to something you already know?"
• "What would you want to learn more about?"
• "If you were the teacher, what would you tell the class about this?"

There are no right or wrong answers to any of these questions. The goal is to keep the conversation going, model curious thinking, and give your child practice putting their experience into words.