Children love stories. And there are no better stories than the ones they make up themselves. Storytelling allows kids to express creativity, while building their vocabularies and teaching plot structure. Plus, they gain confidence when they get positive feedback for the tales.

And what better subject for creative storytelling than dragons? Our Lair of Dragons Designer Toobs® contain six colorful dragons, each one a possible centerpiece for a fantastic tale.

In this fun activity, children make up legends about their favorite dragons, embellishing as they go. No supplies or planning are required, and this can even be done on car trips!

Your little storyteller starts by picking a favorite dragon from the lair. Have him give it a name and decide where it lives before beginning his tale.

Then it’s off to fantasy land. With one child, she can add to the story as she sees fit, with you prompting if she gets stuck. Ask open-ended questions to get her thinking about her dragon and her story. You might try these:

Who does the dragon meet?

What does the dragon want to do?

When is this story happening?

With two children, dragon stories can be even more fun, as they can take turns adding a sentence to the story. This gives each storyteller a chance to think up his next twist, and it encourages them to work together to create an exciting adventure.

Dragons are perfect for this activity because their unique colors and designs attract and hold attention. Each dragon toy lends itself to different ideas and creative thinking. Making up stories is an enriching activity for children, and it all starts with “Once upon a time there was a dragon…”

We’re always looking for ways to incorporate toys and the arts. One opportunity to combine the two together is to use your child’s toys as a model for sculpting!

Whether you use professional clay or kid-friendly play dough, this activity is sure to be a blast. You can start with simpler objects to sculpt, like our Safari Ltd® Incredible Creatures® Pufferfish or Monterey Bay Aquarium® Gray Whale, and slowly work your way up to more detailed items, like one of our many dragons. You can also have your child mold out his or her very own fossils, like the Tyrannosaurus rex Tooth or Dino Footprint.

This is an easy activity that combines creativity, imagination and the arts all into one. Get those brains thinking and let the fun begin!

Are your kids constantly online, in front of the TV, or practically frozen in video game trances? We have a solution to help your children to step away from technology and back to using their imagination.  

Why not spark your child’s imagination to a mythical world with our Fantasy Figures Dragon line?    A great way to introduce your child to imaginative play time is by presenting your child with a couple of our replicas and allow them to create their own stories around them. We have featured our Swamp Dragon and our Krystal Blue Dragon.

Regardless of which replicas you or your child pick out, our products are bound to spark creativity and imagination in every child!