Shhh! I'm going to tell a story!

This is how Isadora begins each story that she tells - making sure that she has my undivided attention. I have started writing down her stories as she tells them, letting her see how I write the letters and sounding out the words, and telling her, "slow down!" as I try to keep up with the disjointed little bits that she is quickly spilling out. I leave a blank space at the top of the page for her to draw a picture, but as of now she is not interested in drawing out the story and insists that I draw instead. I have resisted for the most part but I drew in something today...a stick figure man and a sheep. Want to hear the story? It has three parts, and if I were more of a techy I'd scan it, but here it is:


Part I
Little Bo Peep has not found his sheep. The wolf is his grandma but he's not and Little Bo Peep hits the wolf on the head! The End

Part II
Little Bo Peep bonked his sheep on the head. He saw three sheep. The End

Part III
Little Bo Peep has not found his sheep. He found his sheep! And was happy. The End


As you can see, my daughter is mixing is mixing Little Bo Peep and Little Red Riding Hood. Also, Little Bo Peep is apparently a boy since that has remained consistent throughout her stories.

I usually start by re-reading the stories she has created before (and she grins and giggles) and then we write down her new story on a fresh page. I correct some of her grammar as we go along. So for example, today Isadora said, "Little Bo Pee haven't found..." I said (and wrote down), "Oh, so Little Bo Peep has not found." When I did this she stopped and corrected me. "No, Little Bo Peep HAVEN'T found." And I said, "Oh, he hasn't found?" She paused and then we continued the story.

We'll see where the story goes...