Fantastic Free Storytelling Lessons Your Kids will Love
Our family enjoyed an incredible two months dabbling in free storytelling lessons for kids from the best storytellers – the ones from Pixar!
I still remember our hilarious conversation over dinner as we imagined what it would be like if the main characters from one book were placed into the setting of another. We agreed that Harry Potter would do well in the Hunger Games arena, assuming he could use magic, but we weren’t so sure that Katniss would be much of an interesting muggle.
Our family had such a great time exploring different aspects of storytelling thanks to Kahn Academy and the Pixar movie makers.
Story Telling With Kids and Pixar
Pixar Animation Studios collaborated with Kahn Academy to offer free lessons on a variety of topics. The series is called, “Pixar in a Box: The Art of Storytelling,” and can be found on the Kahn Academy website.
These free video lessons include the art of storytelling, the art of lighting, simulation, color science, and more.
Our family decided to take a break from our regular homeschool language arts lessons to explore the Art of Storytelling with the creators at Pixar.
The Art of Storytelling
The Art of Story telling lessons introduce your family to storytelling, character, story structure, visual language, film grammar, and pitching/feedback.
The video lessons are short (a few minutes) so they are easy to slip into your morning time or at any point in your homeschool day.
Every section includes a video lesson with instruction followed by accompanying activities. The follow-up activities can be part of your language arts lessons for the month (or two!). Our family didn’t always complete the follow-up activities in writing, instead, we had great conversations about stories.
The follow up activities spark creative discussions and unique perspectives. The entire series really encouraged us to think deeper about our favorite stories.
Storytelling with Kids in Your Homeschool
The Pixar in a Box: The Art of Storytelling can be your primary language arts lessons for a month or so. You could also use it as we did, as a fun activity during Morning Time.
During our Morning Time, we watched one of the videos and completed any follow-up activities/discussions associated with that video. This typically consumed about 10-15 minutes of our day. I imagine if you incorporate a writing component then it would take more time, but you would also be accomplishing your writing goals.
Whether you complete all or some of the videos, and whether you complete the activities in writing or simply have a great discussion, I think your family will have a blast with Pixar in a Box: The Art of Storytelling!
Bottom line: Tweak it and make it work for you and have some fun storytelling with your kids!
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She believes that creativity, laughter, and fun are the backbone for engaging and inspiring homeschools. You can find her encouragement and tips on this blog, Mary Hanna Wilson.
She is an enneagram 7 and an extrovert. She enjoys traveling, tea (iced or hot), good conversations, and books. You can connect with her on Instagram and Facebook.
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