At home story sessions – making reading and rhymes fun for everyone

We’ve been sharing ideas for DIY baby and toddler groups, to use while your usual ones are closed for the summer. This week it's all about stories and rhymes. From singing old favourites to making a game out of reading together we have pulled together ideas that can be adapted for your child’s interests and skills. 

Before you start, decide where you will do your story time group and make sure the space is comfortable and fairly quiet.  

It’s as important for the adults to be cosy as it is for the children, so use cushions, furniture or blankets to make a cosy space you’ll all enjoy.  

We’ve shared a variety of ideas here, but you don’t have to do them all at once! For some children picking one activity will be enough, and others might want to try lots or rotate between two favourites. There's no wrong way to share stories so do what feels right.  

Starting the storytime  

If you have a favourite baby or toddler group, they might start the session in the same way each time (perhaps using a hello song or special greeting).  

You can do the same here, either using the opening activity from your baby group or picking something you love and making it your home starting point.  

Rhythm and rhymes 

You and your child might already have some favourite nursery rhymes, you can sing these together to introduce them again encouraging your child to join in.  

If the rhyme has actions, do these too. Learning how to coordinate movements with the beat of the words, and eventually saying words at the same time, is a fantastic way to support language and cognitive skills.  

Mix it up by changing the speed of a familiar rhyme, you’ll be sure to get some giggles if you speed it up to an impossibly fast pace and then sloooooow it down again. Encourage your child to clap along or join in with the words to feel the change of rhythm for themselves.  

Some of our favourite rhymes for this include ‘Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes’ and ‘If Your’re Happy and You Know It’.  

Make a story sack 

What you need 

• A favourite book 
• A selection of props that match key moments of the story, such as 
  • Toy animals or dolls to represent characters 
  • Small pieces of fabric or scarves to represent places (green for a forest, blue for water, and so on) 
  • Toys or objects from the story (such as a cup and saucer if you’re reading The Tiger Who Came to Tea) 
  • Character or animal puppets, if you have some 
• A child-safe bag or box 

What to do 

• Collect items to represent key parts of the story. Try to include any key characters, places and things you know your child is interested in from the story. They don’t have to be identical to the item in the book, imagination is key here! 
• Place all the items and the book itself in a bag or box.  
• Explain that this is your story sack! Let your child explore the items freely for a while if they wish to. 
• Read the story, taking out the toy or object that represents what you’re saying and acting out some of the story with them as you read.  
• Babies might simply want to interact with one toy while you read the book and point out the pictures.  
• Older toddlers and children can take charge of picking out and moving each toy or object as you read.  
• For older children, once they’re familiar with the idea of using toys to act out the story, offer them a chance to be the storyteller. They might choose to talk about what they remember from the book or make up their own story with the props.  

You can leave the story sack out for your child to explore next time they want to tell a story. Just make sure anything included in it is safe for your child to explore independently. 

Tell favourite family stories 

What you need 

• Some family photos 

What to do 

• Show everyone your photos. Talk about who they show, or where.  
• Tell a story about the place, person or moment from the photo. The story doesn’t have to be complicated, or long. “This is Auntie Flo, when she was on holiday at the beach a big wave came and crashed over her. She was all wet! She had to drive home with a puddle in her shoe, but she got home and dried off.” 
• Let your child choose a photo and tell you a story about it, if they’re old enough to do so.  

Learn a new rhyme or story 

If you’re starting to feel that repeating another round of ‘Wheels on the Bus’ is simply too much to cope with, have a look online for new rhymes to learn with your child. Rhymes like ‘Knees Up Mother Brown’ are fun to learn and you can find videos online of people singing them to help you learn the tune.

One place to look is at more unusual folk songs and rhymes, which might not be so well known but often have a lovely simple rhythm. This is one we love to sing at a calm moment:  

Down in the valley 
Where the green grass grows, 
Dear little [child's name] 
Grows like a rose. 
You grow, you grow, 
You grow so sweetly. 
Down in the valley 
Where the green grass grows. 

Take it outside 

Sometimes all you need to make storytime feel special is to do it somewhere unusual. This could be simply going outside or curling up in a blanket fort, making the location different brings a new feeling of excitement to reading and sharing stories.  

End on a calming note 

Like at larger baby and toddler groups, how you end will have an impact on the rest of your day so try to think about it ahead of time.  

If there is tidying up to do, involve your child or children at a level which is appropriate for their age, This might be them simply handing you a book or toy to put away, or them being in charge of tidying a specific area themselves if they’re a bit older.  

Once you’re ready to move on to something else, end the session by singing a goodbye song or doing a special wave.

These are just a few ideas for story and rhyme activities. You’ll find lots more, all perfect for the skills your child is mastering now, in your activities tab and on the skills tiles, scroll to the bottom to find the connected activity when you open each skill.

Over the summer we’ll be sharing lots more ideas for at home baby and toddler group games, along with recipe ideas, book recommendations and more. Check your app regularly, so you don’t miss out.