Children have fantastic imaginations. Why not focus that creativity into writing a story the next time they’re looking for something to do? Try out this fun story starter activity to get the creative juices flowing.

Directions:

1. Separate the Popsicle sticks evenly into 4 piles—each pile will be painted a different color. Hold the bottom of each Popsicle stick, and carefully paint the top section the designated color. Allow it to sit out until it is dry.
2. The different colored sticks represent the various parts that make up a story: yellow signifies characters, red signifies setting, green signifies plot twists, and blue signifies special items. Write down keywords that coordinate with the color category to inspire the imagination. For example:

• • • yellow stick (location): spy
    • red stick (setting): library
    • green stick (plot twist): gaining superpowers
    • blue stick (special items): fairy dust

2. Store the finished sticks in a decorative jar. When you child is ready to build a story, have them randomly choose one stick in each color, and generate a story based on those key elements. Using the example above, What happens to the spy who was in the library when he gained super powers after discovering fairy dust?
3. When you’re done with the sticks, place them back into the jar for next time!