For this age, some “pretend” stories work well. I copied this idea from my own mother, who used to tell us kids stories about Crooked Ear the Rabbit. Crooked Ear did all sorts of things wrong, but the stories were told in a funny way that we liked listening to. I came up with my own cast of characters for stories with my kids and I told exaggerated stories about them – such as not listening to their mommy and what trouble that caused, not picking up their room and the rats moved in, running into the street, sassing off…etc. The stories were clearly tall tales and since they were about animals, the kids didn’t feel lectured.
Another thing is to incorporate the lessons into playtime. For example, if you’re playing with stuffed animals with the kids, one of the stuffed animals could be disobedient. Then you or the child will correct the behavior of the toy, who probably won’t catch on the first time and you’ll have to remind the toy a few times how to behave nicely. Little kids like to do this! You don’t want to go overboard with the lesson, but this really can address the issue in a way that is fun…and the child gets to be the one giving direction to the disobedient toy or character in the story.
You could start by saying casually one day, “Oh my! Did you hear about Crooked Ear (or whatever name you pick) and what he did today. Oh my. He’s really something. I just can’t believe what he did today. His mommy told him to be quiet while she was on the phone, but he was noisy instead of quiet. Can you believe it? That Crooked Ear really is something. I don’t know what the mommy is going to do about noisy Crooked Ear. He started playing the trumpet when his mommy was on the phone, and I think he looked around for his drums, too! Can you believe it? What should that mommy do about Crooked Ear?” …and let the character into your lives.
The great thing about this approach is that it’s portable and flexible. You can tell Crooked Ear stories in the grocery store (Crooked Ear stands in the grocery cart and grabs boxes of cereal and the whole display topples down!), in the car, etc. And, the kids can make up their own stories.
I know this isn’t exactly what you are looking for – Crooked Ear isn’t noble or inspiring – but the story approach worked for me (and my mom!). I still talk about Crooked Ear, though my kids are older and roll their eyes…but I know they like the character and we still giggle at his antics. 🙂
