As a father, one of my favorite parts of the day is settling in with Charlotte for her bedtime story. For a while, our routine was simple: we'd pick a book from her large collection, or I'd read a chapter from a longer book like Charlotte's Web. She’s only five, though, and her attention span for a full chapter book just isn't there yet. She's happy sticking to the shorter, self-contained stories.
But bedtime stories have evolved for us, becoming something far more creative than just reading from a book.
What Charlotte really loves—and what I think is a great way to encourage her imagination—is when we create a story together. I usually start with a simple framework: a character and a basic situation. From there, we let our minds wander, building the story as we go. It's pure stream-of-consciousness, moving from one event to the next until we finally reach some sort of conclusion. Maybe the character ends up somewhere completely new, or learns an unexpected lesson.
One of our favorite characters is Alabaster the Hedgehog. Alabaster lives in Yorkshire, England, and we've followed him on countless adventures. In one story, he traveled up the coast of England, past Newcastle, and through the Scottish Highlands, eventually finding himself on a remote island in the North Sea. From there, we've extended his adventures: he caught a boat down to Brighton, had to make the entire journey all over again, and in another story, he even traveled all the way to North America before finding his way back home.
These stories are often a bit rambling and silly, but Charlotte absolutely loves them. The experience is about more than just entertainment; it's about building a story together. I can feel her imagination at work, creating a world and characters that are entirely her own. This process is a perfect example of the kind of creative exploration I wrote about in my last post, where I discussed the importance of fostering innovative thinking in children.
My goal isn't to force a rigid structure on her or our stories. If she ever decides she's bored with this or wants to do something else, we'll find another way to engage her creative mind. For now, though, our shared stories are a wonderful way to connect and to help her see that imagination is a powerful tool.
This is just one of our little bedtime rituals, and I hope it gives you a peek into our world. It certainly helps me be a better father.
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