BRINGING

BOOKS TO LIFE
BY LORI BETH AULDRIDGE
PHOTOS BY JESSICA CULP
I used to shy away from
curriculum suggestions to “act
out” stories because I felt like
it would take too much time
and that they would need to
be as engaging and realistic
as possible. But it turns out the
less effort I put into producing
our mini-plays, the deeper
the lessons become for my
children (and myself). Books
now easily come to life when
I allow myself to just be with
my children, as the reader and
their cheerleader. Now we
make memories more often
with on-the-spot plays—with or
without a curriculum prompt.

Stories can effortlessly come

alive when we take the
pressure off ourselves and our
children to turn them into full-
blown productions and instead
give ourselves permission to
simply fall in love with not so
fancy retellings of fairytales
and books. Here are the
simple steps we use to make
stories come to life.
1. CHOOSE A FAVORITE
STORY. Or a new one.
There is ease and familiarity
with family favorites or
classics. And there’s
excitement in a new tale. It
can be a picture book or a
poem. (I find picture books
to be the easiest place to
start—with all ages.)

2. CHOOSE PROPS. Search
the illustrations and words
for clues about what you’ll
need. No need for props
to be fancy or even what
others would consider to be
an accurate representation
of colors or themes. We
often use whatever we can
find nearby in nature or in
our playroom. Sometimes
nonsense props make
for the most memorable
productions. Play silks are a
common go-to for us as well
since they can morph into
just about anything.

3. READ THE STORY ALOUD. It really
is that simple. Pause at age appropriate
or action appropriate moments. Give
your words time to sink in, and then
watch them come to life right before
your eyes. When the action is carried
out, carry on and read until you reach
another stopping point. Repeat until
you get to the end of the story.
 TIPS

1. NO NEED FOR
MEMORIZATION.
You can cue every
line (if that feels im-
portant to your child)
or let them make up
their own interpreta-
tion of the lines. You’ll
learn a lot about their
comprehension (and
humor) by giving them
free reign to interpret.
2. KEEP IT LIGHT. If siblings are
involved, some might not be in
the mood to participate or you
might have more than one child
vying for the role of director.
Not everyone will feel like being
part of an impromptu production
every time—and that’s okay.
Chances are also high that there
will be more parts than people to
fill them. Remaining flexible and
modeling this skill is valuable
short-term and long-term.
3. A ROUND OF APPLAUSE.
Be sure to acknowledge the
efforts of all involved at the
end. Point out what parts
were played well, highlight
what delighted you, and
discuss how it made you feel
to be part of such a wonderful
production with your favorite
people. Or if the production
took a turn, use the applause
to mark the end and simply
move on.

4. PLAN YOUR NEXT PLAY!
Keep the excitement going
by occasionally talking about
what story or book you’d like
to see come alive next.
 A B O U T T H E AU T HO R

Lori Beth Auldridge has been on a unique homeschool journey for over a decade, homeschool-
ing her previous employer’s children part time while traveling the globe. Now she’s happiest at
home with her husband Chris and their three daughters on the island of Maui. They all enjoy
spending time together renovating houses, creating, and raising miniature goats and fancy
chickens. Lori Beth created yayamamas blog as a way to promote sisterhood and understand-
ing among mothers. She is a babywearing instructor who teaches homeschool workshops and
writes monthly guided journals for moms to help them shed mom guilt one day at a time.

@loribethauldridge