British School Jakarta (BSJ) hosted an engaging parent workshop led by Jo Osman, BSJ Head of Primary, titled Inspiring Mini-Authors. The session explored how storytelling and creative writing can help children develop imagination, confidence, and essential life skills.

Mrs Osman shared her personal journey as an author, including writing the children’s book Tanglin Ted’s Centenary Adventure. She explained how her love for storytelling began in childhood, where she discovered a natural gift for imagination through self-led play and creative exploration.

“Sometimes the best thing we can give children is the space to be bored,” she shared. “Boredom gives them the freedom to imagine and create.”

Referencing education expert Sir Ken Robinson’s idea that creativity is as important as literacy, the session emphasised that nurturing creativity is one of the most valuable things we can do for children today.

Why Storytelling Matters

Storytelling helps children make sense of the world around them. As Mrs Osman explained, “Stories are how children rehearse life.” Through storytelling, children naturally develop key future-ready skills such as creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration.

She encouraged parents to start with imagination. When children are given space to imagine freely, ideas begin to emerge, making it easier for them to create stories.

Simple Ways to Encourage Storytelling

During the interactive workshop, parents explored practical activities they can try at home:

• Silly Story Chains: Each person adds a sentence to build a funny, unexpected story together.
   
• Helicopter Stories: Children tell a story while an adult writes it down exactly as they say it, helping them feel heard and confident, as their authentic voice is valued.
   
• Story Structure: Using simple frameworks such as Tales Toolkit’s character, setting, problem, and solution to help organise ideas.

Parents were reminded that creativity should come before technical perfection.

“Ideas matter more than spelling,” she explained. Adults can support children by writing down their ideas (adult scribing) or helping them record stories with a device so their creativity is never lost. This is key to the children understanding the purpose of recording; so that our ideas are not forgotten and can be shared repeatedly and to a wider audience.

Making Storytelling Part of Everyday Life

Storytelling can easily become part of everyday family life—during bedtime, car rides, family dinners, or weekend activities. Creative book-making using special pens, paper, colours, and craft materials can also make storytelling more exciting and meaningful.

To conclude the workshop, BSJ families were encouraged to try a simple challenge: create one silly story together every week. When children feel confident sharing their ideas, they begin to understand that their stories and voices truly matter, as well as begin to appreciate the importance of engaging the audience.