National Tell A Story Day - April 27, 2013

Who doesn’t love to hear a good story? I’m drawn to people who can paint vivid pictures with the spoken word and captivate me or make me laugh - not just professionally, but in everyday life.

While most of us don’t think of ourselves as storytellers – we all do it in some shape or form when we tell funny stories or jokes, describe something that happened, or pass down family history. Anyone can tell a story!

April 27 is National Tell A Story Day. It is a day celebrated in many schools and libraries. Storytelling is an oral tradition, as well as an art, that plays an important role in education, culture, and communication between each other.

On Saturday, April 27, 2013 Fundamentally Toys is encouraging budding young writers to use their imaginations and write a story. Here’s what we are doing:

• ·    Stop by our store at 2401 Rice Bvd. in the University Village Shopping Center, Houston

• ·    Select seven double-sided image cards from Tell Tale by Blue Oranges Games

• ·    Take the cards home and write a story of up to 300 words using at least seven images

• ·    Use your imagination to be funny, amusing, magical, mysterious, and more

• ·    Email your entry to Fundamentally Toys Story Contest by Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Everyone who enters will get a free copy of the storytelling game,Tell Tale. 

The most creative story will win a $50 store gift certificate!

Telling a story is good for getting brains to think imaginatively and logically. It instills a sense of confidence as we develop speaking and animation skills.

It is also a way to just have fun. I took an improvisation class last year, and one of the most interesting exercises we did was to throw words to each other around the room and make up stories. It was spontaneous word jousting and side-splitting fun. My guard was down. It woke up my brain. Made me a little sharper and quicker, too. Thanks, I needed that!

Choose Your Words Wisely - and Have Fun!

Choose Your Words Wisely - and Have Fun!

Playing with letters and words have long been a part of educational and entertainment history. Verbal wit and wordplay evolved to pen and pencil, then to board game form, and of course, on to an abundance of online challenges as we know them today.  Whatever form you choose can provide lots of great entertainment.

As kids we started out simply by playing hangman with paper and pencil. Some of us watched our parents play charades at adult parties and laugh hysterically. And when it came time for family bonding, we usually pulled out the Scrabble board where all ages could play at their own pace and have fun.

Many of us think of word games as purely entertainment. True. But behind the fun our brains are working hard. Young brains are busy learning and establishing pathways by making sense of letters, increasing vocabularies, figuring out how to compete, and more. Adults may pick up puzzles such as crosswords just to pass the time and research suggests that these types of activities actually keep the mind sharp.

Word games of all sorts have stood the test of time and keep evolving. We still have fun at parties playing verbal word games, kids still play hangman, Scrabble remains a favorite board game, and people like to work crossword puzzles out of a newspaper. It’s all good fun and good for the brain.

Here's a word to the wise: If you want to learn more about the history of word games, check out The Oxford Guide to Word Games by Tony Augarde. This British author offers a lively account of word games and how they have been played throughout the ages, from the lowly pun to the highbrow riddle.