Reading is Just the Beginning: How to gamify Storytime.

Create a game for reading

Truth? As parents and educators, we’ve all had those storytime sessions where we’re pouring our hearts into a dramatic reading of Page 12, only to realize our audience is currently preoccupied with seeing how many Cheerios they can fit into their own belly buttons.

It’s a tough gig. If you want to compete with the high-octane glamour of belly button storage, you have to level up. Try gamifying your storytime.

In my new book, Blitzen’s Bounces Back, our protagonist learns that falling flat on your face is just the prerequisite for a spectacular leap. But why let the "bouncing" stay on the page? If we want these themes of resilience and literacy to actually stick to a child’s brain (and not just their shirt sleeves), we have to turn reading into a game.

Here is the Saretsky Guide to making storytime slightly more chaotic—and a lot more memorable. The gamification of storytime:

1. The Living Room "Reindeer Games"

Blitzen didn’t become a comeback king by sitting on the couch eating moss. He had to train.

After you finish the book, clear a path in the living room. Create an obstacle course using "Snowdrifts" (laundry baskets), "Icy Patches" (slippery magazines), and "The Foggy Finish Line" (a bedsheet taped across a doorway).

The catch? Every time they hit an obstacle, they have to name one thing that makes them feel "bouncy" or resilient. It turns a physical workout into a mental one. Plus, it wears them out before bedtime. You're welcome.

2. The Great Language Scavenger Hunt at Storytime

Make some cards with vocabulary from the book and post them around the room. As you read the story point out the word and have your child run to the place on the wall where that word is. This is a great way to encourage sight words.

As an advanced session, have your child tell you what they think the word means. They can act it out or use words and/or sounds.

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3. The "What Happens Next?" Improv Session

Resilience is really just the ability to write your own next chapter when the current one goes south.

Stop three pages before the end of the book. Ask your kids: "If Blitzen didn't bounce here, what's his Plan B? Does he start a reindeer Uber service? Does he move to Florida and sell seashells?" Giving kids the agency to pivot a plotline teaches them that they are the authors of their own "bounce backs.". Gamify this storytime by having them act it out, complete with reindeer antlers.

Why Bother?

At the end of the day, we aren't just teaching kids how to decode words on a page; we’re teaching them how to handle the "thuds" of life. If we can make them laugh while they learn it, the lesson stays.

So, put down the book (eventually), clear the floor, and let the Reindeer Games begin. Just watch out for the laundry basket "snowdrifts"—they’re a real trip hazard.