Prestin and Keegin
Over the past few weeks I (Todd) have been telling “fill in the blank” bedtime stories to Keegin and Prestin (our 2 and 4 year old boys). It started out as a fun way to end our day, however, I soon found out that it is also a great way for me to know what they are thinking and how they process the things Tami and I say to them.
Drawings of Hopper and Bopper by Evalin Rose Hair
Here’s a sample of the first story I made up about two frog brothers named Hopper and Bopper, as well as a few of things the boys said when I invited them to fill in the blanks!
One-day a couple of frogs named Hopper and Bopper were playing leapfrog in the house. They played leapfrog in the living room and they played leapfrog on the couch. They jumped and bounced and laughed until Bopper accidentally knocked over the lamp and broke it! Momma frog heard the noise of the lamp breaking and she came in the room and said… _____________ (This is where I ask the boys what the mama frog would say?)
Prestin jumped right in (no pun intended) The Momma said, “no, no, no! You boys are not posta be jumping on the couch! You broke the lamp and somebody’s going to get hurt!”
I have to say that I was pretty impressed with Prestin’s “fill in the blank” response. It proved to me a couple of things. First, I felt it proved that we have established the value of things in our home. Prestin knew the lamp was something valuable that would be worth protecting and hard to replace. Secondly, it illustrated to me that we have emphasized the value of people as well. He didn’t just focus on the fact that the frog brothers had broken the lamp, he took it a step further and gave a deeper reason why the boys “weren’t posta be jumping on the couch!” because someone could get hurt.
I was glad that I did not hear him say anything like, “Which one of you brats broke my lamp! You’re both grounded!” or “You boys are so stupid! I’ve told you 1,000 times not to play in the house!” (We have always tried hard to not speak like that or correct in those ways.)
We went on to create a few other fill in the blank scenes and scenarios where the two frog brothers made some unwise choices. “No, No, No! You boys could get hurt!” became the refrain of the story until the final scene where I placed Hopper and Bopper on a trampoline! Prestin was able to realize the turn-about in the story but Keegin did not… when the fill in the blank part came Keegin went into the “No, No, No!” refrain, but Prestin stopped him saying, “Kiki!(that’s Keegin’s nickname) The trampoline is a good place! That was a good choice!
Prestin took over from there, “The Momma said, good job boys that is a good place for you to be! I am proud of you! You will not get hurt on the trampoline!”
Of course, Prestin doesn’t know that many children have to go to the ER every day for injuries related to trampolines, but he got it! Frog boys and trampolines go together quite well. I was thrilled that he could see the difference between this last scenario and all of the others.
So, here’s what I have learned about my kids through this:
1. They are listening. There are plenty of times that I do not believe they are listening to me when I am correcting them or trying to explain my position to them. But I also need to watch what I’m saying even when I’m not speaking directly to them. They pick up on my words, my attitude and my actions.
2. What goes in, comes back out. What I say to them will come back out of them. It may not come back out at me but it will come back out at someone, somewhere, at some point! I need to sow into them words and attitudes of grace, love, patience, gratitude, value, and worth if I expect to see them speak and treat others that way.
3. They like my stories better than all the books on our shelf. I’d like to think it’s because I’m such a great story teller that they prefer to hear my stories over books. The truth is, they just love being with me and they value that I make the silly stories up each night right there on the spot.
I’ve told about a dozen Hopper and Bopper stories and when I felt that I had exhausted my creativity with the frog brothers I made up Chip and Flip as well. Of course they are a couple of squirrels. Flip loves to jump and flip in the trees while his brother Chip is always looking for something to eat, preferably a bag of chips! I also began making up stories about a shy butterfly named Flutter who is always afraid to leave the shelter of the trees.
So, do you want to know what your kids are thinking? Try a fill in the blank bedtime story tonight! Click here for a quick PDF version of a Hopper and Bopper Story! Have fun and let us know how it goes. Comment below or on our Todd Tami & Family Facebook page!