The Gift

The Power of Storytelling

Storytelling is one of the greatest gifts a parent can give a child. It nurtures imagination, strengthens connections, and brings stories to life in a way that no screen or book alone can.

In this video, expert storyteller Mike Payton—who has spent over a decade working with children and adults—shares invaluable tips on how parents, educators, and artists can tap into this creative practice. Whether you're telling bedtime stories, crafting classroom narratives, or sparking imaginative play, storytelling is a powerful tool for learning and bonding. We hope the video inspires you to explore storytelling with children in your own life!

Let’s bring stories to life together!

Telling Tales: Ideas to Inspire Your Storytelling

Our Telling Tales resource is designed to spark creativity and help you develop your storytelling skills.

The first section features a collection of videos created by storytellers, artists, and theatre-makers who specialise in engaging young audiences. They share practical ideas, tips, and creative tools to enhance your storytelling. Topics include: Using story bags to bring narratives to life, Incorporating movement and gestures to engage listeners; Bringing stories to life with puppets, feathers, and everyday objects, Designing immersive spaces for storytelling. The videos can be watched in any order, allowing you to explore and experiment at your own pace. Whether you're a parent, teacher, or artist, you'll find inspiration to make storytelling a magical experience!

STORYTELLING & STORYBAGS
Join Mike Payton on a magical journey as he shares tips on creating your own stories using props from a story bag—along with the help of his trusted mouse friend! Discover how a story bag can spark imagination and storytelling. Start now or keep reading to learn more about this resource.

STORYTELLING THROUGH MOVEMENT
Join dance artist Liz Clark as she explores creative ways to move and asks, "What 100 things can you do with a feather?"Ready to get moving? Jump in now or keep reading to discover more exciting activities we have in store!

OBJECTS IN STORYTELLING
Puppeteer and performer Sean Myatt reveals the magic of turning everyday objects into storytelling treasures. How would you bring a simple sponge to life? Start now to explore or continue to the story props section next!

SENSORY STORY SPACES
Roma and Rachel from Makers of Imaginary Worlds share creative ways to transform everyday spaces into magical storytelling nooks. Grab some cardboard, get cozy, and let the storytelling begin! Start now or scroll down to see what’s in store.

STORY PROPS

Simple & Creative Ways to Make Stories Fun

Section two of each page is packed with arts and craft activities for making your own storytelling props. Using props can bring stories to life, keeping children engaged and encouraging them to take part in the storytelling. From toys to everyday objects, anything can become a storytelling tool! Explore the resources on each page for fun, hands-on ideas to create and use your own story props.

Learn More

Explore Links & Resources from Further Afield

In section three, we've gathered some of our favourite sources to help you dive deeper into the storytelling ideas explored in our Telling Tales videos. You'll find websites and articles from artists, theatre practitioners, researchers, and early years specialists, plus practical resources—including where to find your local scrapstore for affordable materials.

“We are all storytellers… Telling stories gives us the opportunity to express emotion and to use our imaginations with a freedom no other medium can offer… Telling stories to children enables them to learn the art of listening, in an age when many are lacking this skill. Encourage them to tell stories and they will gain confidence, improve their vocabulary, and their literary skills.”

— The Society for Storytelling, A Beginner’s Guide to Telling Stories

Ackowledgements

We are grateful for the support from Small Steps Big Changes Ideas Fund and to the parents, early years practitioners and artists who helped us develop this resource in Nov 2020. As part of the live online consultancy project, families were sent story props in the post, we have provided resources for you to be able to make your own. We hope this resource will support families and practitioners to improve their storytelling skills to create exciting adventures with children.
Along with our interactive installations, we offer art, STEAM and storytelling workshops to support organisation in their work with parents and partitioners. If you are interested please contact us.