Tell a Story Family Mealtime Conversation Starters

It’s been a crazy, busy day but now, with a hot meal on the table and the family gathered round, it is the perfect time to have enjoy a little silly fun together –  that will also build language skills! Today we are sharing seven storytelling prompts to use at the dinner table.

Each of the fun prompts explores one feeling or emotion.  As well as inviting storytelling, they are a great way to spur conversation about the big feelings we all have. Best of all, the prompts work well with families of all ages.

What are the benefits of telling stories?

• It’s a great bonding experience for families.
• Members of the family learn to listen to each other.
• Kids work on waiting for their turn to speak.
• Vocabulary increases.
• Children learn about sequencing.
• Speaking fluency and articulation are practiced.
• Creativity is ignited.
• Emotions and feelings are explored in a safe environment.

To get started, introduce the week-long challenge to the family;

1. Announce that the family is going to work together to create stories each night at dinner.
2. One person in the family will read the prompt (the printable prompts are linked below).
3. Everyone takes a few moments to think about the prompt.
4. The person sitting to the right of the reader will start the story.
5. The storytelling continues to the person sitting to the right of the speaker.
6. Continue around the table until the story has a great conclusion.

After you are done with your story, spend more time talking about the feeling or emotion that was highlighted in the prompt.

Click here to download your copy of the free printable storytelling prompts.  Print them out, then cut the prompts apart and place one on the dinner table each night.

The seven prompts are;

Prompt #1: Once upon a time, there was a shy little girl…

Prompt #2: The doorbell rang.  I was so surprised when I opened the door and there on our porch was a …

Prompt #3: There once was a grumpy frog who lived by a muddy pond…

Prompt #4: On Saturday, the most curious young boy found a new park near his house.  He packed his backpack and set off on an adventure.  The first thing he encountered was…

Prompt #5: The polar bear got so scared when…

Prompt #6: My parents were so proud.  They just learned that …

Prompt #7: There once was a kindhearted princess and a jolly prince who wanted to do kind deeds all over the land.  Their first idea was…

Most importantly, have fun sharing stories together as a family!

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