Helping Children Tell Their Stories & Be Creative
<6 min
7 LitWorld U Practices for Making Space for Children’s Voices
Every child has stories to tell. Our role is not to tell children what their stories should be, but to create the conditions where they feel safe, curious, and confident enough to discover, shape, and share them.
Creativity can take many forms: a story, a drawing, a song, a dance, a poem, a photograph, a game, a conversation, or an idea that has never existed before. When we invite children to create, we are also inviting them to see themselves as authors, artists, meaning-makers, and people whose ideas matter.
1. BELONGING — Create a space where every story matters.
Children are more likely to share when they know they will be welcomed and respected. Build routines that invite every child into the community and make different ways of participating possible.
Try: Begin with a simple invitation such as, “What is something you want us to know about you?” Allow children to pass, listen, draw, or share in another way.
2. CURIOSITY — Ask questions that open doors.
Good storytelling often begins with wondering. Instead of asking children to find the “right” answer, ask questions that invite exploration and imagination.
Try: “I wonder what happened next…” “What would happen if…?” “Why do you think…?” “What else could this be?”
Follow children's questions rather than immediately providing your own answers.
3. FRIENDSHIP — Create together.
Creativity doesn't have to happen alone. Partners and groups can help children generate ideas, take creative risks, and see possibilities they might not discover by themselves.
Try: Pair children to create a shared story, add to one another's drawings, build a story together one sentence at a time, or interview each other about something important to them.
4. KINDNESS — Respond to stories with care.
A child's story is a gift of trust. Listen without rushing to correct, judge, or “fix” what they share. Show children that their ideas deserve attention.
Try: Respond with genuine curiosity: “Tell me more.” “I hadn't thought about it that way.” “What part feels most important to you?”
Remember: You don't have to agree with or fully understand someone's experience in order to listen with care.
5. CONFIDENCE — Give children ownership of their creative choices.
Let children make meaningful decisions about what they create, how they create it, and how much they want to share. Resist the urge to make every product look or sound the same.
Try: Offer choices: “Would you like to write it, draw it, perform it, record it, or tell it to someone?”
Celebrate the thinking and risk-taking—not just the finished product.
6. COURAGE — Invite creative risk-taking without forcing vulnerability.
Sharing an original idea can feel vulnerable. Help children take small creative risks while respecting their boundaries. A child should never have to reveal something personal in order to participate.
Try: Invite children to experiment with fictional characters, imagined worlds, poetry, movement, or collaborative storytelling before asking them to share something personal.
Say: “You can take a creative risk here. You can also change your mind.”
7. HOPE — Help children imagine what is possible.
Storytelling can help children make meaning of the world they know—and imagine the world they want to create. Invite them to dream, wonder, problem-solve, and envision possibilities beyond the present moment.
Try: Ask: “What kind of world would you like to live in?” “What would you change?” “What could you create to help?” “What do you hope happens next?”
Give children opportunities not only to tell what is, but to imagine what could be.
A LitWorld U Creative Practice
When you work with children, remember:
Invite, don't demand.
Listen, don't take over.
Wonder, don't assume.
Offer possibilities, not prescriptions.
Celebrate process, not perfection.
Make room for many ways to create.
Let children remain the authors of their own stories.
The goal is not to produce the “best” story or the most polished creative product. The goal is to help children experience the powerful realization:
