Draft: Local Queensland early childhood educator review pending.
Rights: © NeuroForgeIO Pty Ltd 2026. CC BY 4.0 — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (original work; note changes if adapted).
About 15–20 minutes. Planning link: QKLG 2024 Communicating; EYLF V2.0 Outcome 5. Stories can be spoken, signed, moved, drawn or invented together. Framework sources.
Gather: Three safe, large objects chosen by the child, such as a sock, cup and toy animal. A scarf can be the story place. No book or screen is required.
Invite: “What could happen with these three things?” Start with the child's idea. They may move the objects in silence, tell a story, ask you to be one character, or choose just one object. Follow their order; a story doesn't need a neat beginning, middle and end.
Say: “Where is it going?” “What might happen next?” “Would you like me to add a part, or just listen?” Repeat their words accurately before adding your own idea. Let “finished” mean finished.
Notice, without scoring: How did the child show a character, action or change? Did they respond to your idea or invite you in? Keep any note short and concrete; do not judge grammar or require performance for others.
Change the route: Try a cooking, rescue, animal, space or everyday story if it matches the child's interests. Use a home language, dialect, signed language, AAC, drawing, gesture or object movement. An adult can narrate only what the child directs. For less sensory load, start with one object and add another only if invited. A tactile object story works without pictures.
Screen: None needed. Optional: record an audio retelling on a family device, with consent, kept local and deletable. The live object story comes first.