One variation to this kind of storytelling is to give each person a word that he must weave into his narrative in a natural way. Pick interesting words or funny ones. Another variation is to prepare a rather long piece of string that the person telling his segment of the story winds into a ball or onto a stick. He must talk as long as it takes him to wind up the string. Yarn, thread, or even rope could be used instead of string.
Little children like to make up stories about themselves, using their own names.
Have the child go on telling what happened. Encourage him to use his own name frequently throughout the story you tell together. Children love to make up their own poems. They will not always rhyme or fit a particular meter, but they are very refreshing and revealing. The following poem was written by a little girl eight years old who loves dogs.