Chance to win a £200 voucher - check out the Storytime Sounds app from notonthehighstreet.com and share your storytelling experiences, tips and tales NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

To celebrate the latest addition to the iPhone Storytime Sounds app from the team at notonthehighstreet.com they'd love you to share your storytelling experiences, tips and tales on this thread.

They'd also love to hear your feedback on their app; it's available on iTunes - you can download it here: itunes.apple.com/gb/app/storytime-sounds/id883691199?mt=8

They say "our story time app is free to download and is designed to bring an extra element of fun to storytime for families with kids aged 3-7.

There are 6 soundboards for different storytelling themes - pirates, fairytales, lost world, space, monsters and our latest addition, Christmas"

So please share what storytelling means to you on this thread. Are you creative enough to make up your own bedtime story for your LO, do you do "funny" voices, when do you do storytelling with your child - bedtime or during the day? And do give the app a try if you can - notonthehighstreet.com would love to hear what you and your DC think of it (the new Christmas sounds in particular), how you used it and whether it made storytelling easier/more fun.

Please share your thoughts and feedback on this thread and you'll be entered into a prize draw where one lucky MNer will win a £200 voucher for notonthehighstreet.com. Please add your comment by 24 December. Standard Insight T&Cs apply

Good luck
MNHQ

PS They have also written a little story as a starting point for your storytelling adventures, which can be found here: blog.notonthehighstreet.com/2014/12/10/a-christmas-story/

Wow - I've just downloaded the App and can immediately can see lots of possibilities for making stories with my two DDs even more interesting, and also to start making up our own stories! We do read stories, mainly at bedtime, and I do change my voice for different characters but I don't usually try to make sound effects, so the App could really add something there! My 2 year old DD is particularly enjoying her sound books at the moment, and loves pressing all the buttons, so she will really take to this App I'm sure!

Storytelling was always special to me, I would lie on top of the bed so we could look at the pictures together, do the character voices.... It frequently had the effect of making ME fall asleep though !

I think it's important to vary the stories you read, i. e. genre, factual, imaginary, older vs contemporary. Read books that are challenging and make your child think as this will be more beneficial in the long run.

Bedtime storytelling runs in our family. As a toddler my mother used to improvise short stories for me - usually involving my favourite character at the time (Mickey Mouse) so now I tell bedtime stories about my little one's favourite character (Peppa Pig)

We always read the story first and then our son likes to go back through the book and try and read little bits himself while he has his bedtime snack.

I couldn't comment on the app because I haven't got an iphone (and the fact that it was iphone only would seriously prejudice me anyway, but that's a separate issue)
For me though story time is about interacting with the kids, not a phone. While I may once in a while pop on a story CD during the day, or a CBBC bedtime story (we record them), the main fun is actually reading from a book, looking at the pictures and enjoying a cuddle.
Both my two love reading and although the older one will curl up by herself now with a book, the little one still enjoys running over to the books in the corner and bringing them over to have them read to him.
Proper story time though, that's bedtime. The little one gets a story or two on my knee before bed (and the older one still comes in to listen and sits on my other knee if it is one she is interested in!). When he's in bed I'm often straight back up to read a chapter or 2 of a story to the eldest. We have been enjoying the how to train your dragon books although we have taken a break to read some more christmassy stories.
I don't put on a show, but I do like to read with enthusiasm and try to put some character into the voices. It's not award winning performances stuff but the kids enjoy it and look forward to it! Dad is an acceptable replacement but to his dismay he is often rejected in my favour!
The stories really are reflected in their imaginative play and behaviour full stop. They both prefer a good story to mindless tv watching and its great to see. The eldest is performing way above her expected level for literacy (not a boast, quite a few other kids are too, and most if not all also share a love for books) and the development of consequences for the characters also has a big impact on their behaviour. You can warn them till your blue in the face that if they do X then Y will happen and they will ignore you until they learn for themselves, but a good story seems to resonate more than any parental advice
Apps are a good idea for kids starved of attention, but is no replacement for the real thing

When my children were younger didn't have the benefit of the wonderful technology which is available today.

My children used to love us reading the same stories which they knew by heart. Nothing to complicated, nice warm characters and a very 'evil' villain, which made them laugh.

They soon drifted off to sleep.

I used ensure we were nice & Quiet & the lights turned low to create a relaxing atmosphere & then we would make the noises together for characters.
That way we were both involved even though to begin with i was reading the words (later I let my children do the reading & noises while i listened :))

We love storytelling in our house. My husband and I take it in turns to read to our son just before he goes to sleep. Snuggling up after his bath and having half an hour quiet time before sleep and after a hectic day is great.

I had six weeks solid of reading goldilocks and the three bears. In the end I started making things up to preserve my sanity.

I use toys in storytelling such as a toy monkey which I stood on it's head so it was a mugglewump from the Twits

I love the bedtime story as that was my favourite when I was a child. My children loved that I did it all out of my head, usually mixing the fairytales up, and they could point out all the places were I was wrong. During the day I tend to make the stories more animated with funny voices and accents.

I downloaded Pink Fong Stories and songs app, my little one loves these, it's got some catchy songs and really good animated stories, they also have ABC Phonics and a Christmas song app which she loves too. Every time I put this on for her she sits still and behaves and watches it to the end. I definitely recommend the songs and stories one as you get lots of them free.

I found my children loved it when I used different voices for different characters, although that was not something that came easily to me, as I am quite reserved. But making an effort to be more animated and acting out the parts always brings life into a story. Story time at bedtimes is so important; the only problem being is that they never wanted them to end, and I have to confess to sometimes skipping bits to get to the end quicker! Although, they usually knew the story so well I always got caught out! One tip I found useful if I was really tired was to get them to tell the story instead.

Havent tried the app yet - sounds a great idea though and I will probably download it. My mum used to read us Winnie the Pooh and Jungle Book each night before bed and all the characters had different voices. It really gets your attention and can help you distinguish between characters in your imagination.

My DD is a bit young for the app. My story telling tip is to let my husband get on with it, he's great at bringing stories to life with voices and facial expressions (I suspect this is because he's still a bit a child himself :)).

All of my story telling tips were from 3 Men and a little baby (remember Tom Selleck reading a book about boxing!!!), different voices aswell as emphasising plus variety and tone, but most of all read the actual words [sic]. I once said whilst reading a book "and Dan put on a shit" instead of course "and Dan put on a shirt", my son quick as a flash said, what is a shit daddy...oh lordy, story time was a little different that night.

I haven't used this app, i read to my children at night and also during the day. We have a Beatrix potter book which has lots of stories in, I use different tones, voices and even props at times :)

Puppets work wonders

I used to love reading to my son when he was little, its so amazingly rewarding and the more you do it the better it gets as you develop the funny habits and voices to go with the story. The anticipation of these things then builds even more enthusiasm for the child wanting storys to be read! One that really stands out is when I was reading Three Billy Goats Gruff and I'd read "UP jumped the ugly troll" and I'd always say the UP so loudly it would make him jump and giggle madly, he knew it was coming but I could still make him jump and he loved it. Often we'd end up the pair of us in fits of giggles and tears in our eyes, it was sooooooooo lovely!

I read bedtime stories to my son pretty much every night until he was 10.

I find if you are enthusiastic about reading stories it really shows. Also try Lots of different voices and don't feel inhibited, kids love it.

We used to go for long walks in the woods when my son was five upwards and I would start a sentence and he would continue until he went blank and I would then take over etc.

I used to make up stories which I am sure were awful but the kids loved them!

Any aid that encourages people to tell stories and to communicate with their children is probably a good thing

I think reading is not a time for apps, but for paper books and time for adult and child personal time

Mine are a bit old for the app - sorry!

I love storytelling and find it one of the highlights of parenthood. What better way to have undisturbed bonding time with your DCs and read some quality fiction. Also good for the children to practise their reading skills, do some comprehension and enjoy gold oldfashioned storytelling!

Don't tend to make up bedtime stories but very good at getting into character (inner thespian darling!).

We are still reading to DC2 (who's 9) and can't imagine giving it up anytime soon, although it does sometimes take an hour out of the evening!

FWIW DW often gets so engrossed with a new generation of tween stories that she's often to be found 'cheating' and reading on ahead even when DC2 is asleep!