Tuesday, February 5, 2013

DIY story cubes



When we were at Barnes and Noble the other night , my boys and I saw something called “story cubes” in the educational games section of the store.   The game, which was selling for $7.95, was just a few plastic dice with simple little pictures in place of the numbers.  

I seriously contemplated making the purchase.  Those silly little cubes stirred up unending ideas from the writer in me and excited the home educator inside as well.  What interesting ideas could come from those pictures!   What endless combinations could come together to spark new stories- both from my children and myself.  I stood there in the store thinking about it and wanting those cubes.  Then I tried to convince my sons to convince me to buy the silly overpriced activity.  The boys were not nearly as intrigued as I was and wanted a different game, equally overpriced and trivial.

Eventually my practical self took over and we left the store without the story cubes (or the game the boys wanted).  But, even though I could not bring myself to spend eight dollars on a few plastic dice, I still loved the idea of taking random pictures and putting them together in creative ways.  I thought about all the new stories and journal entries that might come from such a game. 

So, I decided we'd make our own story cubes.  I took a few pieces of card stock and cut them into dice shapes, then I invited my children to draw pictures on each side and together we created a free homemade version of what I had seen in the store.  





The kids drew clouds and animals and buildings.  I helped a little and drew a turtle, a castle, an angel, etc….  Today I was treated to two fun stories written by my 7 year old and my 9 year old --both very unique and fun and inspired by the story cubes they helped to make. :)    

7 comments:

  1. I had no idea they sold these in the bookstores. I have a "Writer's Workshop" file folder and this is one of the ideas inside. I have had my 3rd graders make their own, like you, and I have xeroxed pages that were teacher material manufactured in the past. I found that my kids really enjoyed the novelty of using these. I often got them out for kiddos that were "stuck" and could not come up with a writing prompt for their Writer's Journals.

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    1. Val-- The store bought story cubes were much fancier but the home made ones are more fun! I think we will use them like you did- pull them out occasionally. If we use them too much I think they will stop being fun and motivating. Novelty seems to be so important in motivating children.

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  2. Kari,

    I've seen similar story telling cubes in shops here, and like you, I have been tempted to buy some. Unlike you, I never thought of making our own. What a great idea!

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    1. Sue- It was super easy. The home made version will not last as long, I am sure but they should hold up until the novelty has worn off. And, if these wear out, we can always make new ones with new pictures and new ideas to explore!

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  3. Hi Kari,
    You are blessed with so many talents!!! You are creative, engetic, loving, gifted.Beautiful mother, wife and friend!!! I always look forward to your blogs, they are very inspirng. I love hearing about your children. I have lots of great memories of them. I am working with Toddlers right now. I used your Party idea for play with the Toddlers. I would love to hear about anything else she likes play to give me ideas. How does she play party.!!! We invited Franklin the turtel and Dora to our party. We made tea and goodies!!!:)

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    1. Nichole- It is so nice to hear from you! Hope you are doing well! I am so glad my idea helped to inspire you. Pretend parties around here usually include plastic food, toys wrapped in blankets, and as many guest- real and imagined as we can rustle up. Real balloons are always welcome too!

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  4. Kari, you'll have to come by my blog soon. I posted a Lenten Symbol Box (cube) today that I used in my religious Ed class. It worked out great!

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