EMOJI STORIES; FREE PLAY RESOURCE FOR ANY WHERE, ANY TIME USE
Fun, open ended stories you can create from your mobile… It’s your new ‘eye spy’!
You know the scene; you are firing off an email from your phone, sending a payment or responding to an urgent message. There is so much written about distant parenting, and how much we miss when we look at our phones.
I know this.
You know this.
We all know this.
But it’s 2021, and our phones are our computers and… newsflash… WE ARE IN A PANDEMIC. WE ARE BUSY PEOPLE.
So, how about this for a script:
“I know, I know sweetie. Just give me one more minute and we will play Emoji Stories”.
“What’s that, Mummy?!”
“Just give me a second and I will show you”
BOOM TOWN. You should have enough intrigue to get you through to pressing ‘SEND’!
So, what actually do I mean?
Well, it’s a game you can play with your pre-schooler upwards. It’s a way of using the emoji’s on your keyboard as cues or characters to create an improvised (on the spot) story.
I promise it will work even if you are reading this thinking “does she not know I have zero imagination?!”
Here are the steps:
1. Open up your notes on your phone and click on the emoji button
2. Either you or your little one selects some emojis that look fun, funny or your little one likes the look of.
3. Then go! Type them in in a random order on the keypad. I let my son go for it (he’s nearly 5) and he loved pushing all of the buttons and watching them appear, he was giggling loads! If that makes you nervous, you can do it and let them look and say it’s their turn in a minute.
4. Then start your story! “Once upon a time, there was a [frog] who met a [grumpy man] eating [oranges]” You have a world of things in the emoji keyboard, your story can go anywhere!
5. If you struggle with an ending, try “and then it was nearly midnight, and so they all froze until next time ” or even better, get your little one to finish the story or add a finishing emoji.
6. You could set this as a creative writing challenge for older children by screenshotting a load of emoji’s and inviting them to use them as their starting point!
Some tips:
The foundations of this fun activity are rooted in my background as an Arts Outreach Manager and Theatre Director, and therefore call upon the ideas of what’s called ‘improvisation’, or making things up on the spot. I’m explaining this because there are two key ideas in ‘Emoji Stories’ that will help you along, too!
The first is an idea called ‘yes and’. So, rather than correcting your child, changing their ideas or saying that what they are doing is wrong, say “ yes and also…” or “yes and then”. That way you are reinforcing their idea, moving the story on. This creates a lovely moment of connection where you are all on the same page.
The second links to the first, and it’s the idea that nothing is ‘wrong’. All aspects of the story are accepted (within your normal parenting boundaries). You work together as one unit in the common idea that you are both responsible for the story and do not ‘block’ each other. It’s a flow of (silly, fun, creative, and often insightful!) ideas that should get you through to that ‘send’ moment and be an easy ‘go to’.
And, because it’s on your phone, you can play it anywhere! Consider it your new ‘eye spy!’
Additional Support from Play Pizzazz
With things being so difficult at the moment, my inbox is open to any questions you have, please do get in touch… even if it’s to say that you have had a go at Emoji Stories. I love talking! Please do say hello 😊
I’m also offering free 15 minute consultations to support ideas to get you through home schooling, and SEN concerns or if you just need some creative ideas.. Just message me to book, email hello@playpizzazz.com, on Facebook @playpizzazz or Instagram @pizzazzplay.