21 Story Stones Ideas for Kids

Learn all about story stones – how to make them, why they are such a great learning tool and 21 fun story stones ideas for storytelling and more!

Some people are born storytellers. They command the attention of their fellow guests at a dinner party or social event with stories of their experiences shared with enthusiasm, a touch of the dramatic or humor, and an innate sense of rhythm and timing. Natural storytellers are often effective communicators and networkers, with the story acting as a vehicle for engaging others or sharing ideas.

Storytelling, the process of sharing stories without the aid of a book, is an effective way to engage children with the development of strong communication skills. And story stones are a wonderful tool for encouraging storytelling – and provide a heap of other learning opportunities too!

Story Stones for Kids

What is a story stone?

Story stones are small, flat stones or rocks with pictures on them that act as storytelling prompts.

What are the benefits of story stones?

• Oral storytelling exposes children to the important elements of narrative such as setting, character and plot. This is important for learning to write stories of their own, and for reading comprehension.
• Using story stones encourages children to use new vocabulary and apply existing vocabulary within a new context.
• Creating stories of their own encourages a child to use their imagination, to think symbolically and to organize their thoughts in order to communicate them verbally. These are important first steps towards abstract thinking.
• Creating stories with story stones can help children to process new experiences or emotions, expanding their understanding of the social world and interactions.
• Storytelling with story stones can help children to learn to listen more effectively to others, developing receptive listening skills.
• Collaborative storytelling with story stones encourages turn taking.
• It is much easier for a child to remember the important elements of a story than it is for them to recall an abstract concept or series of ideas. In this way story stones can be used as a creative technique to help children learn.

How to Make Homemade Story Stones

Homemade story stones are simply the best. To make a set of DIY story stones you will need some smooth, flat rocks or stones.

NOTE: For those working with children who still mouth objects please choose stones that are at least 1 1/4″/3cm in diameter to reduce the chocking hazard.

Pictures can be added to your story stones in many different ways, including;

• Painting with acrylic paint pens
• Drawing with permanent markers
• Sticking on stickers. A protective layer of clear glue, sealant or Mod Podge can help to keep the stickers in place.
• Using pictures cut from paper or fabric and gluing them onto the stone. A protective layer of clear glue, sealant or Mod Podge will help to keep the pictures in place.

What to draw on story stones

Ideas for what to draw or paint onto your set of story stones are limited only by your imagination. You might like to include;

• vehicles,
• traffic signs,
• animals,
• buildings,
• food items,
• household items,
• sporting equipment,
• school or art supplies,
• elements of nature, e.g. sun, moon, rainbow, trees, rain, waves
• elements representing different story settings, e.g. mountain, cityscape, beach,
• human figurines in different positions,
• faces representing a range of emotions,
• emoji,
• elements from traditional stories, e.g. porridge bowls, chairs and beds,
• numbers and letters,
• abstract symbols.

21 Story Stones Ideas

Be inspired by the following collection of 21 ideas for using story stones in the classroom or at home, across a number of grade levels from preschool through to elementary classrooms.

1. Mystery storytelling: Lay a collection of story stones face down on a table top. Students work individually turning over a stone and adding a sentence to a verbal story.

2. Collaborative mystery storytelling: Create a small bag or basket of story stones containing at least one stone for each student. These can be a random collection of stones or related to a learning theme.

Seat students in a circle. The teacher or first student may start the story saying, “Long long ago…” Pass the bag around the circle, allowing each student to choose a stone at random and use their selected stone to add a sentence or short idea to a collaborative verbal story.

3. Story stones on a story map: Draw a simple scene or map on a large sheet of paper and place it on a tabletop with a basket of stones as an invitation to create stories during free time or literary center time.

4. Story maps outdoors: Draw a simple scene or map with chalk on the pavement. Add a basket of stones and additional chalk as an invitation to create stories during outdoor play time.

5. Story stone hunt: This idea works well with individuals or pairs of children. Hide a small set of story stones around the room or an outdoor play space. Encourage the child/ren to find each of the stones and use it as a prompt to create a story that continues with the discovery of each subsequent stone.

6. Story Element Sorting: Invite students to sort story stones according to whether the image represents a character, setting or object from a story. Ask them to justify why they chose the relevant grouping for each story stone.

7. Story retelling: Use a set of story stones representing a familiar story, for example, The Three Little Pigs, and encourage younger students to retell the story – using the stones as prompts and ordering the stones according to the story sequence as they go. Afterwards (or alternatively), leave the stones with a copy of the related story book as an invitation to play during free time.

8. Twisted tales: Use a set of story stones representing a familiar story along with an additional collection of stones, or replace some of the familiar items with alternative items – for example, replace the fruit and food items included in the story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar with different food items or (depending upon the age of the children) something completely different, like clothing items. Encourage children to create new versions of the story using these alternative items.

14. What’s Missing? Memory Game: Place a collection of story stones onto a tray (the more items, the more challenging the game so for younger children start with just 3-4 items and increase from there).

Tell your child to have a close look at the items on the tray. Ask them to name them. Note, the more you discuss the items, the more likely the child is to remember them so you could ask them what color or shape each item is, or what it is used for.

Cover the items with a tea towel. Ask your child to close their eyes as you remove one item from under the cloth. Ask them to open their eyes and tell you what’s missing!

15. Memory Tray Game: For older students, place a collection of story stones onto a tray and allow them to study them for a full minute. Then cover the stones and ask students to write a list of or draw as many of the items that they can remember.

16. The Way I Feel Stories: Spread out a set of story stones featuring faces expressing a range of emotions. Invite students to choose a stone, identify the emotion or feeling they see and share a short story about a time they felt like the expression represented on the stone.

17. Grouping Story Stones: Help develop vocabulary by inviting your child to sort a set of story stones into groups and then labeling each group to identify what the items in each group have in common. Challenge your child to sort the same group of stones again in a different way. Discuss their choices. There are many different ways to sort a set of stones – by color, shape, type, use, size, etc.

18. Odd One Out Game: This game is fun for preschoolers.  Collect groups of four story stones, three of which have similar, common properties the same and one which is different. For example, three with animal pictures and one with a human figurine. Ask the child to identify which object doesn’t belong in the group and why it doesn’t. Start with very obvious differences and make the differences more subtle as the child understands the concept of the game.

19. Imaginative play: Add a basket of stones related to a current book study or learning theme in your literacy center, or to the block play or pretend play area of an early years classroom.

20. Small world play: Add a set of story stones to a small world setting for free play. For more about small worlds, check out these related posts – 7 Book Inspired Small Worlds and 18 Small Worlds for Imaginative Play.

21. Holiday stories: Create a set of story stones with images representing an upcoming holiday and use them for any of the storytelling, story writing or games shared above.

Additional Tips for Using Story Stones

For those new to storytelling with story stones, introduce them to students by modeling a story yourself. Remember it is the tone of your voice, facial expressions and gestures which engage children with a story. Call on your inner actor to create interest and enthusiasm for sharing stories by varying the accent, volume and tone of your voice to suit the story and its characters.

When using the stones with younger students choose a quiet time without distractions so you aren’t competing to capture the child’s attention and imagination. Initially choose familiar stories or shorten the story to suit the child’s concentration span.

Toddlers and preschoolers particularly love stories about themselves, their friends and families, and the activities they enjoy doing so try including your children or students as characters in a story.