Explaining Changes, Teaching Skills, and Overcoming Challenges by: Creating Your Own Book

One look at children's literature and you can see so many books are written to teach children. "Hands Are Not For Hitting" "All Aboard the Potty Train" "No More Paci for Piggy" on and on. So often when parents or teachers come to me with challenges I encourage them to write their own children's story. Seems overwhelming but it isn't.

Keep it simple and focus on what you want to happen or what you want children to learn.

Simple story about sleeping in a big kid bed. Pg 1 "When you were born we were so happy." pg. 2 "NAME OF CHILD slept safely in your crib (or with mommy and daddy)." pg. 3 "You grew and you grew." pg. 4 "Every night we read one story, sang twinkle twinkle little star and you slept." (use your routine, bath, stories, bottle, etc.) pg 5 "Soon/Now you have a new bed." pg 6 "Every night we will read one story, sing twinkle twinkle little star, and you will sleep. Safely all night long." pg 7 "Every morning the sun comes up and we will play together all day." --- Simple and to the point you should use the child's name wherever you can to help make it personal. Add pages for specific struggles, ie. If you wake up in the night you are safe and you hug your blankie and go back to sleep.

Simple story to explain the death of a pet to a 2-4 year old. Pg 1 "We are so lucky to b a family." Pg 2 "Some families have pets." Pg 3 "Together we love them and take care of them." Pg 4 "But as animals get older their body gets weaker and sometimes they die." Pg 5 "This is sad and difficult for the whole family." Pg 6 "We will miss them now that they are gone but we will always have our memories." - Add lots of photos of families playing with their pets.

You can create these stories for your children, they don't need to be bound or perfectly written. You can print them off the computer and staple them together, or get printed photos and cut them out as a family. Stories can also promote learning after a fun vacation or trip. "Our Family Trip to the Zoo" Stories help older children connect with younger children. It is a truly wonderful way to deepen learning so take on the challenge and create your own family book!

*Need help, add comments and I will be happy to help!