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Sharing stories is a great way to help expand your child's language…but there's more to it than just reading.

Talk about what you can see, ask questions and see if your child can retell the story to you.

It doesn’t matter if they tell it differently or make up their own version, what's important is that they're expanding their vocabulary by talking about the book and also practising forming sentences in the past tense.

Watch the short video below for some quick tips on sharing and retelling stories with your little one.

What are the language benefits of story retelling?

• Asking about what happened in a book can help your child talk about the past.
• It helps them to learn to concentrate and listen - foundational skills for language learning.
• Using open questions with 'who', 'what' and 'why' will encourage them to use more words and develop their understanding. Understanding question words is a key skill when they get to nursery or school.
• Talking about feelings can help them express themselves.
• Rephrasing what they say to you will help them to build longer sentences.
• Giving them space to retell the story will help improve their memory.

What is story retelling?

Story retelling is when you can identify the most important parts of a story from beginning to end after hearing it.

Children can only do this once they have developed sufficient language skills and can remember sentences and words.

The more experience children have of hearing stories, the more likely they will develop these skills. So reading to your child as much as possible is a fabulous start.

Asking your child questions about a story you've just read is a great way to gauge how much they have understood.

You might find that your child retells stories they've heard just for fun because they want you or their friends to hear about it. Sometimes, however, you might have to prompt them with questions.

How should I encourage story retelling?

One of the easiest ways to start encouraging your child to retell and share stories is by asking them what just happened after you've read a page.

You can also ask them questions beyond the story. For example, you can ask how they would feel if something that happened in the story happened to them.

The more your child practises, the more they will remember and retell.

You might find that, for some stories, your child can describe the whole story without even looking at the book. For others, you might need to go back over what you have read a couple of times.

There is no right or wrong way to practise retelling. Just do what your child enjoys and what works best for both of you.

Tips for sharing stories with preschoolers

Sharing stories is great for spending quality time together, being close, sharing an interest and building early language skills.

It is a great chance to develop attention and listening skills, learn new words, hear sentences and build up imagination. It helps bonding and attachment too!

You don’t always need a book to tell a story. Try making up stories about things you have done during the day, people you know or use toys, photographs and props from around the house.

The main thing is that you are having fun and that your child has the chance to hear lots of words and sentences.

Find out more about making the most of storytime.

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