Bed time stories are now a well-established ritual at my house. Some nights it's Bible stories, some nights it's fairy tales. The favorite fairy tale of late has been the Three Little Pigs.
It could easily get boring telling the same story every night, but I've found little ways to keep it interesting. My kids not only know the Three Little Pigs, they also know the Land Shark sketch from SNL. They know parts of it word for word. So some nights the little piggies hear a different voice from the Big Bad Wolf: "Candy gram!"
My kids also know comedian Brother Dave Gardner's story about the haunted house. It's a bit more oscure than Land Shark, I know, but their daddy was well versed in comedy (thanks to his daddy), so they got to learn "Is you gonna be here when John gets here?" early on as well. And some nights, the monsters from the haunted house show up looking for John in place of the Big Bad Wolf. The monsters have also turned up in several bed time stories involving another night time favorite, Scooby Doo.
The kids love when characters from other stories pop up in the three pigs, but they also love the completely random. My son's favorite villain lately has been the Big Bad Chicken. Sometimes the Chicken gets burned in the chimney. Sometimes he falls in a frying pan and gets turned into fried chicken. He's also been eaten by the Big Bad Wolf, the Land Shark, and the monsters looking for John.
Every night there's a new twist. It's never the same - except for the times when they demand it. It's always fun.
Variety doesn't mean you have to completely change everything every time. A little twist here, a surprise there, you give kids just enough change up to keep them listening - and learning. Something to think about when planning your ministry programs.
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