In the beginning of a level I used the self study quiz to repeat the kanji on the current level a few times in the first week. Ideally you learn the kanji well enough to last for a few days in the initial lesson, and just refresh the memory again in the reviews.
I like the story idea, it’s good to get creative with the content. You can extend it with switching more and more to Japanese, or write the story by hand (if you just do WK you will totally blank out on remembering a kanji without seeing it).
One thing is that maybe you should use the readings that are appropriate for standalone kanji, like 車 would be くるま, or 町 まち.