DIY Story Cards

Creating stories is a great way to improve vocabulary, language skills, boost creativity and a fabulous way to entertain kids. The problem is that it can be hard to come up with things to put in a story—writer’s block anyone? So today I’ll show you how to make DIY Story Cards for yourself.

But first, why make your own? First, it’s a great way to make it personal. If your kids are into super heroes, you can add more of them into the story. You can also add your own family members as characters. You could also create a set about a vacation or tings that you’ve done in the summer and add it the list as you go so you have a unique memory of what that summer.

Second, it’s a great craft for kids and is non-expensive. It uses items you already have. It also lets them be as creative as they want to be. We’re talking hours of hand on crafting and entertainment. Story cards are also great for kids who haven’t yet learned to read or are just beginning to read. They will love to be included in something that sounds so grown up.

DIY Story Cards are similar to Rory’s Story Cubes but are more personal and can be tailored to any occasion or interest.

Supplies for DIY Story Cards

For these cards you will need card stock or cardboard from a cereal box. (Plain paper would work too but it’s more fun and more card-like to use cardboard. Plus it’s a recycle craft.)

You will also need a ruler, scissors and something to draw and colour with.

How to DIY Story Cards

First, measure rectangles measuring 2.5 x 3.5”. (The size isn’t important it could be anything close, just so that they are more or less uniform and big enough to draw on.)  Next, cut them out.

 Now comes the fun part. Draw an image on each card. We like to put what it is on in words as well. The more random the images are, the more fun the stories can be. For example, we have one set that has a magic carpet, a candy cane and toilet paper in it. Your kids imagination can be as wild as it wants to be.

If you have more than one kid, they can work together to create a set or they can each make their own and either keep them separate or combine them for extra fun.

After drawing and colouring your new story cards you’re now ready to play!

Photo DIY Story Cards

When you want to add family members to the story, but don’t feel confident in your drawing abilities, you can size a photo, print it and then glue it onto one of the cards that you cut out.

Summer Memories

To make the DIY story cards into more of a summer memory craft that can be sued to tell the story of your summer, have the kids add a card or two each week with something that they did or that happened that week. If they played soccer, then add a soccer ball to the cards. If they saw a deer in a field, add that to a card. If you went to the beach have them add the beach or something that they saw at the beach to a card. You can play through out the summer or accumulate the cards until the end of the summer and then bring them out as a reminder of what happened. Either way, they won’t be at a lost when someone asks, “what did you do this summer?”.

How to Play DIY Story Cards

There are a few ways to play with your new Story Cards.

First, players take turns flipping over a card and making a sentence with that image. The next player then flips over the second card and adds to the story using that image. This continues until the last card is flipped over and the story ends.

Second, we play the same way as the first way except that the player has to retell each sentence, using the cards as reminders, before flipping over a new card and adding a new sentence. This makes for a long play time, but it can be very fun to see who can remember the most and see what they mess up.

Third, each player is dealt five cards or so. The first player chooses a card out of her hand to start the story off with. Then the second player can choose a card out of his hand to continue the story.

The Last Word

However you play, the sky is the limit for creativity. Some crazy stories can come out of these story cards but no matter where the story goes, there’s sure to be laughter, memories and so much fun. And what better way is there to spend a half hour or so than sitting down as a family and telling stories? It’s time to be cherished.

And if you love the idea but are short on time, you can get our Summer Story Cards here. The cards also come with MORE ways to play. You can play with just these cards or add them to your own for even more fun and combinations.