Bedtime Story Starter

Where to get Bedtime Story Starter

The Bedtime Story Starter app will be availble on Apple as well as Android devices. Check back here in a few days when below links will actually take you to the respective app stores.

Who else likes bedtime stories

Everybody does of course! I just watched this Huberman podcast and wanted to give a prominent example 😄

“And I do this with my daughter when I tuck her in at night. And she just loves storytelling. And it’s like Snoop Dogg, as the dungeon master, will come up with here’s what’s happening next. And she’s like, OK, I turn into a mermaid. And then I like swim across the bay. And I go and find the treasure chest …”

How to use Bedtime Story Starter

 

Start Your Own Fairy Tale

Get ready for a delightful adventure! Bedtime Story Starter is a fun exercise you can do as a parent that gets you started with a bedtime story putting your little one to bed. Or once old enough, your offspring might want to train his/her imagination as well. Ultimately it can be played as a team brainstorming game (e.g. taking turns every sentence) unleashing the magic together. 🧠💕🧠

Just Tap The Unicorn And Get Creative!

The first sentence of the fairy tale introduces you to a character also giving you a glimpse of their nature. If the sentence is just ridiculous (which will probably happen a lot) give it a laugh and tap the unicorn once again. Otherwise, brace yourself as we dive into the enchanting world of fairy tales. In every remarkable story, something extraordinary is bound to happen to our hero! Initially hesitant to embark on an adventure, our protagonist will soon rise to the occasion and become the savior of the day—or even the world! 🌎🦸

Let us look at an example

“Once upon a time there was a timid monkey who lived on a steam-boat and was great at remembering pi. Nodbody could have forseen what happened to the monkey…”

Now we can imagine that timid nerdy monkey wearing glasses remembering pi. Maybe he is a bit clumsy and dropped from a tree in the jungle onto a steam-boat. As he found some good food in the kitchen of the boat he decided to stay there and hid from the crew (or maybe a sensitive cabin boy even succeeded in taming the little timid creature and they became friends). But on that particular day, the steam boat stopped at a big city. Our little monkey – let’s name him Brian – though timid, Brian is also a little bit curious and ends up travelling hidden in a grocery bag to the market. While taking in the wonderful sights and smells, Brian gets scared away by a barking dog. He jumps on the roof of a market stall and climbs into an open window of a nearby building. The room happens to be the math class of the university. The lesson is over and the classroom empty but Brian has a look at the blackboard and feels strangely at home looking at those numbers and formulas…

You can see where this goes – Brian might solve a big mathematical problem that humankind just needed for some techno-ecological advancements that end up saving the jungle… besides becoming famous and reuniting with his cabin boy friend. And they lived happily ever after! 😊

More Goodies

As a bedtime practice, it could just be a very short story or you could flesh it out a lot more, it is up to you. If at any time you need some more ideas, just hit the plus sign to get a few more characters and props to work with.

Also, you can look at the emoji on top of the text – sometimes it relates to the text, but sometimes it is chosen randomly to give you another idea to get started. The main purpose of this app is to trigger your ideas. So if you get above story starter and does not like steam-boats, just have the monkey live in a circus or on a hill in Japan. If you are not into monkey, make it a turtle or a fairy. Just add, subtract, merge with your ideas and keep brainstorming. If nothing triggered your creative juices (yet), just hit the unicorn again. 😅

Share Your Story Gem

Did inspiration hit? Congratulations! Use the edit button to develop your fairy tale further. It is always a good idea to keep note of all your ideas in the brainstorming phase – not so great ones can be edited out later. For more writing tips check out the section on writing in the menu.

Once you are happy with and want to share you masterpiece with a friend or yourself (e.g. if you want to elaborate on your script on your laptop computer), just tap the pen symbol and edit to your hearts content. Then hit the share button to send the story to yourself via e-mail.

Share the stories with your friends for feedback – or get a parenting competition started: who crafts the stories that get the kids to sleep most quickly. 😉

The Settings Menu

On the settings page you can switch between bright/dark mode, adjust your audio and font preferences.
If you are using the Bedtime Story Starter right before bed, I actually recommend using the dark mode (check out the section on sleep for more details).

The sound effects are just a subtle addition when tapping the unicorn.
The background music can be turned on and off as per your preference. You can choose 5 different pieces – ranging from a catchy tune to a soothing ambient background.

The choice of font only affects the text above the main unicorn button (and the page headlines).

Use the menu on the top left to find tips on how to get your kid – and yourself – to sleep (you can also read more on sleep here on my blog). Check out the section on creativity to learn more about this critical skill. Have a look at the writing tips page for more insights on developing your idea. Also you can learn about the benefits of using Bedtime Story Starter on the Why & FAQ page that also has answers to frequently asked questions.
If you happen to have other questions, feel free to get in touch at til5.org/contact. I would love to read your thoughts, suggestions …and fairy tales! 😍

Read & write, love & laugh!