Tell Stories with Wall Murals

by Stephanie Goins on December 20, 2010

Storytelling with Wall Decor

Countless stories can be told from the murals on your walls. Wall murals spark the mind's eye and lend to infinite storytelling possibilities.  You don’t need a book to tell stories….  just your imagination!  Here are some ideas to get you started:

The “story stool”— Place a stool in the middle of the room and call it the “story stool”. The person sitting on the stool gets to tell the story. This is great for any age. You will be amazed by the stories that children, even as young as 2-year olds, will come up with just by looking at the wall murals.

Use a flashlight Turn off all the lights and use a flashlight to illuminate different parts of the wall art. This helps the storyteller and the audience stay focused.  

30 second turns This one is great with a group of kid or whole family. Tell a collective story based on the kids wall art from start to finish, giving every one 30 second turns. Set a time-limit of say 2 or 3 minutes and see where the story takes you.

Put on a play Use the wall mural in the bedroom as a backdrop and put on a play. Dress up in silly costumes. Make sure to have the video camera handy, so they can watch it for themselves later.

Sing and dance — Break out the instruments (or pots and pans) and create silly songs and rhythms using the characters and designs in the mural. Example: Using the Forest Mural, to the tune of BINGO… “There was a fox up on the hill, and Dolly was her name-o. D-O-L-L-Y….”  

Teaching opportunities Teaching opportunities abound with the kid’s wall murals. Discuss colors, counting, shapes, animals, animal sounds, patterns, and so much more. Have your little point to all the different animals in the farm mural, and then talk about animal sounds, habitats, colors, diet, etc. Discuss how a train works or what makes a hot-air balloon float in the Transportation theme room. Count the number of fairies at play in the fairy mural or the number of tree flowers in the Splendid Garden wall mural.

Backwards and forwards Begin a story from wall A and end it on wall D. Then, use the same characters but tell it beginning with wall D. See how different the story becomes.

Illustrate it After a story is told, break out the crayons and paper and draw pictures based on the story.

 “No, that’s not right!” Tell a story based on the wall mural you painted but change it to include things that are obviously not correct. Let you child correct your silly mistakes. Example from the Ocean Theme:  “….her name was Ginger and she was a big yellow octopus.” “No, mommy. Ginger is purple!”

New version of a classic tale Adapt one of your child’s favorite stories to include the art on the walls. For example, turn The Three Little Pigs into The Three Little Dinosaurs or The Three Little Ladybugs.

How fun is that?! And remember, there is no right or wrong way to tell a story. These stories won’t be sent to a publisher for approval or rejection. They will be receieved with smiles and giggles. Your stories can be as short and simple or long and complex. Your stories can be silly, scary, wild, fun, adventurous, peaceful, lesson-packed… whatever! However you tell them, you are sure to be pleasantly surprised by how far your imagination and that of your children take you! Have fun and happy storytelling!

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