Using Our Story you can put your pictures together in a sequence to make a story for your child – or you can do this as a shared activity with both of you making up the story. Older children will probably enjoy doing this for themselves. You can add words, sentences or whole paragraphs to accompany your pictures, you can even add sound to the story to make it more 'live'.

Usually the “Our Story stories” have photographs of objects or events. Other possibilities are using photographs of toys to make up a story, using online pictures, taking photographs of pictures in magazines or books to include in a story, or taking pictures of drawings that you or your child have made. Be careful about copyright restrictions if you are using pictures that are not yours.

With older children, you can try to take some pictures of things/ activities your child knows and ask him or her to tell you a story about them. Storytelling is an important social and literacy skill which can be easily encouraged with the storyboard on our app. Children are natural storytellers and you will see how much they love it and how it can develop their imagination!

With Our Story there are no limits to your imagination, you can create a story about any experience you or your child have had, a thing your child is interested in right now, a special day you spent with family or friends. You can create a story about your community or a family celebration you want him or her remember, or a story which teaches your child some valuable lessons, such as the value of sharing, helping each other, conquering our fears, etc

Here are some ideas:

…how I became a …

…how I found…

…how I learned…

…how I managed to…

…how I met with…

…how I discovered/first came to…

…how I helped…

…how I struggled…

…how I went to…

…what I did…

…what I like…

 …you can also create a story which teaches your child colours, animals or simply how to enjoy life! For more inspiration go to https://theconversation.com/how-to-be-a-publishing-parent-and-help-diversify-childrens-literature-28744

Whatever you think your child will engage with is fine, just create, share and enjoy!

When you use the app with your child, it is important to remember that young children need to enjoy their learning. If they are not enjoying what they are doing, then this can put them off reading activities. So it is counter productive to ‘push’ your child into doing things with the app. Instead, try again when your child is in a better mood and think of ways to play the 'game' which will be more enjoyable.

If you are interested in understanding why we think that personal, shared activities are important and how to promote these please go to OpenLearn.