CRAFT A STORYTELLING GAME – HOW A SHARK SAVED A PRINCESS

It all began with a princess who wanted to be a pirate.

Lovely Lilly, as she was called, yearned for adventure upon the open ocean.

So, she set about making a mighty pirate ship to carry her on the high seas.

The ship set sail on a beautiful sunny day.

Lovely Lilly was particularly kind and she soon made friends with the creatures of the sea.

Her friends included Sammy the Seahorse and his mother Sybil, Candess the Crab and the mermaid trio, Martha, Madeleine and Maggie.

Soon, she made friends with others too, such as Dolly the Dolphin, Oliver the Octopus and Freddie and Frankie fish.

Their only enemy was Sebastian the Shark. All the sea creatures were terrified of him. They warned Lovely Lilly to watch out for him as he could jump as high as the sky and his razor-sharp teeth were like an ocean of knives.

Now, Lovely Lilly was very brave and also wise. She decided not to listen to her friends’ warnings but to make up her own mind when she met Sebastian the Shark.

It wasn’t long before Candess the Crab and Sammy and Sybil the Seahorses came to Lovely Lilly with warnings that Sebastian the Shark was on his way.

Oliver the Octopus vowed to protect the princess, no matter what.

When Sebastian the Shark showed his scary face, Lovely Lilly greeted him just as she had her other ocean friends.

A FRIEND IN SHARK’S CLOTHING

This confused Sebastian the Shark. He was used to people swimming away and screaming when they saw him. It made his life feel very lonely.

While Sebastian the Shark gazed at this lovely princess, wondering what do to with her, the other sea creatures were frantically swimming around and screaming in fear. All except Oliver the Octopus who had collected a giant rock he planned to use to crush Sebastian the Shark’s razor-sharp teeth.

Lovely Lilly told Oliver the Octopus to put the rock away and welcome her new friend.

Now, Oliver the Octopus was not about to welcome Sebastian into his life. He had been terrified of the scary shark all of his life.

He couldn’t bring himself to ignore the princess either. So he dropped the rock and fled with the other sea creatures.

Lovely Lilly tried to speak to Sebastian the Shark but he was too shy. After all, no one had ever wanted to talk to him before. So he turned his fin and swam away. But he didn’t forget the kindness.

One day, the mermaid trio, Martha, Madeleine and Maggie came swimming towards the ship in a frenzy. They could feel by the movement of the ocean that a huge storm was coming and wanted to warn Lovely Lilly.

Everyone knows how dangerous huge sea storms are for pirate ships. Soon, the sky filled with clouds and the waves became huge. They rocked the mighty ship to and fro. The sea creatures had no choice but to huddle in the ocean depths, where they were safe from the enormous waves.

CRAFT A STORYTELLING GAME – WHEN LIGHTNING STRIKES

Then the lightning came, threatening to hit the ships huge sail masts which would surely cause the ship to sink.

Now, even the brave Lovely Lilly was scared as the ocean tossed her ship around and the lightning threatened to strike.

Suddenly, out of nowhere and just as the lightning reached for the ships’ masts, Sebastian the shark leapt from the water and grabbed that lightning right in his mouth.

He took it down to the depths of the ocean where it fizzled out.

Without the lightning, the storm lost its power and soon the water became calm and the sky blue.

Lovely Lilly and the sea creatures were rewarded with a beautiful rainbow.

The sea creatures thought Sebastian the Shark was the bravest creature of all and they loved him for saving their friend Lovely Lilly.

They welcomed Sebastian the Shark into their friendship circle with a giant party on the seabed and Lovely Lilly continued her adventures on the high seas. This time in search of treasure. Would she find it?

CRAFT A STORYTELLING GAME – HOW THE GAME BEGAN

It probably doesn’t take too much imagination to realise that Lovely Lilly is one of the treasured Goddesses, our second oldest granddaughter.

Most of this story came directly from her. When she was three-years-old!

The tale began when she was going through a stage of loving all things pirate. I suggested we make a pirate hat and then a ship. And so we began to craft a storytelling game.

Once the ship was made, it needed water to float on. Crumpled tissue paper did the trick.

But we needed a backdrop so we painted some cardboard blue to represent the sky. Now, a sky isn’t much good without a sun. So that was the next creation.

The ocean isn’t so much fun without sea creatures, so the creative adventure began.

With each new creation, the story was being formed – by the Goddess.

SHAPING THE SHARK

When Sebastian the Shark came on the scene, the Goddess didn’t want him to be just a baddie. After all, he was her creation and she loved him.

It was her idea that he would rescue the ship by jumping from the sea and grabbing the threatening lightning.

This creative play adventure went on each week for months.

The minute she arrived at my home she’d ask; “Can we do the pirate show now?”

So we’d get to ‘work’ to craft a storytelling game. We probably spent only an hour each week weaving this tale and creating the props. You can find instructions for making many of these crafts in my posts,  How to Create and Educate for World Oceans Day and How to Create a Smiling Shark, a Cuddly Octopus and More.

Eventually, she took the ship and sea creatures home for more imaginative play. When she grew out of pirates she returned the props and they now sit proudly in the Wacky Workshops studio as an example to students of the fun they can have creating.

It was this project that inspired us to Create Our Own Happy Ending.

TIPS TO HELP KIDS CRAFT A STORYTELLING GAME

• Whether it be pirates or unicorns, ballerinas or superheroes, it’s easy to craft a storytelling game using homemade creations as props.
• Tap into your child’s interest.
• Dedicate a place and time to play the game. We carefully packed ours away in a box after each session.
• Create a backdrop and staging area for the game. This helps to encourage imagination to craft a storytelling game.
• Ask for and be open to the child’s suggestions – no matter how outrageous. My favourite part of our story is when Sebastian the Shark grabs the lightening in his mouth.
• Add new props to the story each week to enhance the story.
• Check out Pinterest for specific crafting ideas.
• Allow the child to control how the story unfolds.
• Enjoy the creative adventure.

Want more ideas to promote storytelling? Check out these fun crafts.

Happy crafting and have a gleeful week, Tamuria.