Got a bored child on your hands and not sure what to do with them? Picture Me a Story is a lovely, low-tech game that gets everyone telling stories together. It sparks ideas, helps kick-start a story when nobody knows where to start, and builds vocabulary and conversation along the way.
It works with one child or a whole houseful, and it suits any age group — from toddlers who just point at pictures to older kids who love building a proper plot. It’s especially handy if you find it tricky to make up stories on the spot, because the pictures do a lot of the work for you.
How To Play The Picture Me A Story Game
What You Will Need
- Magazines — any kind will do: travel, nature, fashion, interiors, lifestyle, food, car and motorbike magazines, newspaper supplements, whatever you have around.
- Scissors suited to different abilities.
- A shoe box or similar small box to hold your cut-out images.
How to Play
The first time you play, start at step 1. After that, you can just jump straight to step 4.
1. Give everyone a magazine, including yourself.
2. Go through the magazines and cut out images you like. With toddlers, let them point out what they like and cut it out for them. If your kids can manage scissors, encourage them to cut their own. Set a timer if you’d like to keep things moving.
3. Place the cut-out images in the box. This can be its own activity, depending on ages.
4. Mix the images up.
5. Everyone picks a few images from the box. With just two players, pick three or four each; with five players, one or two each works well. Vary the number of images and the length of the game to suit your group.
6. Show all the images. For toddlers and younger children, you can dive straight into telling the story from the pictures.
7. With older children, ask who wants to start the story. They might need a little help, or you may need to go first to show how to link the images and story together.
Other Things You Can Try
- Make a book of your story by sticking the images into a scrapbook and filling in the words together.
- Let kids draw different parts of the story, or draw the ending.
- Add family photos to the box for a fun, personal twist on the storylines.
Thrifty hint: Keep an eye out for old magazines in second-hand shops, or ask your hairdresser, doctor, dentist or neighbours if they have copies to pass on once they’re finished with them.
Frequently Asked Questions
What age is Picture Me a Story suitable for?
It works for almost any age. Toddlers can simply point to pictures they like while you build the story, while older children can cut out their own images and take turns leading the storytelling.
How many players do you need?
You can play with just one child and a parent, or with a larger group. Adjust how many images each person picks based on the number of players.
What if my child struggles to start a story?
Let an adult go first to model how to link an image into the story, then hand it over. The pictures make it much easier to get going than starting from a blank page.
Do we need anything special to play?
No — just a few old magazines, scissors, and a small box to hold the cut-out images.
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100 of the Best Boredom Busting Activities for Kids — more screen-free ideas for the next time boredom strikes. Browse our full collection of rainy day activities for more games and crafts you can pull together with things you already have at home.
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Have you tried the Picture Me a Story game? Tell us how you got on in the comments below.
