By: Kris Berry
Don’t tell on me, but when I was in High School, occasionally my classmates and I would participate in a “traveling story.” Basically, one student would start the story by writing a sentence on a piece of paper. That paper would then get passed around the classroom from student to student, each person writing a sentence until the story got back to the person who started it. By the end of the class we would have a story, and our teachers wouldn’t have a clue.
Recently, my kids and I have been indulging in a similar story-telling experience here at home. It’s actually my daughter’s favorite way to tell a bedtime story. I will start the story and then we take turns telling the rest of it. I love that it allows them to have some ownership of the story, as well as helping to develop some sense of creativity. The stories are never elaborate, but are often silly and amusing and the kids love re-telling them. It’s a great way to pass time on a long car drive or while hanging out on a rainy day. Try creating a traveling story with your kids today!
Community Voices for Health 
What a fun way to tell bedtime stories!
I always enjoyed those kind of notes in school, too, and, thus actually modeled ELA classroom activity after the when I was a teacher.
My children and I now do them orally at times as well.
They make a great icebreaker activity for parties, classes, camps, etc.