The recommended age for Rory’s Story Cubes is 8 to 12 year old but if your preschooler is like mine you can probably enjoy it at a much earlier age. Making up stories uses imagination, reasoning, creativity, humor, and the ability to order events in time. In short, a great way to develop your little one’s skills. Of course, not all preschoolers can express themselves very easily and you will need to adjust the level of the game to your kids ability.

The toy’s instructions recommend 3 level of play which are fairly advanced (and probably appropriate for 8-12 years old players). All include using 9 cubes in a sequence to create a story and variations on the story. For younger ones you may want to start with much simpler games and gradually build up the complexity of the game according to their skills and ability.

A few examples from easy to more challenging:

1. Name the cubes: pick up a cube and name the image. Experiment with variations and humor. That is, try to use different words to name the same cube as well as opposites of what is depicted on the cube (of course while laughing and making it obvious it is a joke). You will soon find your little one working hard to find funny words or starting off on a long story. In my opinion, any verbal output from your little one is positive and you should encourage it by asking questions and complimenting him for his great choice of words.

2. One cube story: choose a cube and tell a story or a fact about the image depicted in the cube. Anything goes in these stories and it is OK if your little one misinterprets the image on the cube. Tie the image to an event, place or person familiar to the kid and demonstrate how to play by making up simple, one sentence stories yourself. Allow your kid to repeat the same image and the same story multiple times. Repetition is very important for her learning and the way she feels confident about her skills and how she internalizes knowledge.

3. Two cube stories: increase the complexity of the story by incorporating 2 images in the story. Finding a logical connection between the 2 cubes will be challenging for your little one – so be patient. Initially you should expect and accept 2 disjoint stories with no clear connection between them – but you can certainly ask questions which tie his story for the second image back to the first image.

4. Short narratives: choose 3 cubes and tell a story using the cubes in sequence. Here you are practicing the order of events. Change the order and tell a different story (or more likely the same story in a different order).

5. Make your own game based on your child’s ability and reference. Using love, humor and true interest in what your child has to say – you cannot go wrong.

Use humor and be flexible. Allow your child to pick the image on the cube she likes to use in her story. Be patient and allow her time to express herself. Ask a lot of questions and expect lots and lots of repetition. Encourage and compliment her for her imagination and make it safe for her to express herself. She will build her skills and you will surely enjoy the experience too.