Build the story together
Start with a familiar experience such as ordering food or looking after a toy. Offer a role and let your child change it. A pretend game works without a realistic set: a cloth can be a table and a drawing can be a menu. Keep small coins and loose pieces out of the game.
Open a café
Set out large play dishes and draw two menu choices. Ask for an order, then swap roles. Add a gentle problem: the customer needs a place to sit or the soup is imaginary but very hot. Let your child suggest what happens next. Avoid a right-answer script.
Run a sock shop
Arrange clean adult socks into a few pairs. One person chooses and the other packs the order. Ask whether a toy needs something warm or something colourful. Count only if it comes naturally; the story does not need to become a number lesson. Use words, pointing or showing to choose.
Care for a tired bear
Give a soft toy a quiet place to rest. Wonder aloud about what could help it feel comfortable. Your child might bring a book, sing or decide the bear is ready to play again. Follow their version of the story rather than using the bear to lecture them about their own behaviour.
Include different ways to participate
A child can be the person who carries the menu or arranges the dishes without speaking. An adult can narrate a little, then leave a pause. For siblings, agree on a role for each and keep materials suitable for the youngest participant.
Keep a favourite game going
Change one detail next time: a different customer, a new drawing or another place for the shop. Repeated stories can be comforting. Finish with a clear invitation to help put things away, and save a small piece of the setup if your space allows.