Create a story board. A story board is simply an outline of the story that you want to tell. Ask the children to help you write a short story. You can give the children certain parameters. For example, the story can have at least three characters and must take place in a castle. There should be a plot in your story, too. Help your children to make up a plot or you can give the children suggestions for the plot and ask them to choose the best one. The children should next develop a resolution or end to the story. Again, you can give the children suggestions and ask them to decide on (vote on) the best ending for their story.
Illustrate your story with pictures or video. The children can dress up as the characters portrayed in their story and you can tape the video with a digital video recorder. Children who are not the main actors can be extras (town people) in the scenes.
Use Windows Movie Maker to edit your video. The program is free with the latest versions of Microsoft Windows.
Upload your video footage using the import video clips feature, located in the Windows Movie Maker tool bar. Once the footage is imported, drag it into the timeline. Drag all of the clips into the time line.
Ask the children to help you decide the order of the clips. Place the clips in order.
Cut any clips or part of clips that you do not want to appear in the video. Clip the videos using the split feature found in the tool bar under "Clip."
Adjust the sound for the video. You can make the sound louder or decrease it, by selecting “Clip” in the tool bar and then selecting "Audio".
Ask the children to help you think of a title for the movie. Of course, you can offer suggestions and ask the children to vote on the best choice.
Add the title to the front of the video using the add credits feature in Windows Movie Maker. The children can help you choose a font and a color for the title page.
Add the ending credits to your video using the add credits feature. Type the children’s names for the ending of the video.
Save your video and show the finished product. The children will enjoy having a having movie day, watching the movie they helped make and eating popcorn.