Here’s a fun way to add dynamics – literally! – to story time with a toddler. This activity is particularly useful for kids who might not otherwise sit still for a story.

First, I gathered together items that make noise. Instruments are an obvious pick, but also think of rattles or toys that jingle, and things that can be tapped together like wooden blocks.

For the first version of the game, I told a story out loud instead of reading from a book.

Picking “Jack and the Beanstalk” as our tale, I used the tinkle of a triangle for magical moments like the cornstalk growing, a castanet for the hooves of the cow at market, a horn to toot for the golden goose, and wooden blocks to tap for the Giant’s big footsteps.

Veronika might not have understood the story, but she was enthralled by all the sounds. She loved grabbing a noisemaker or two to join in.

For the next round, I read from a favorite book (Little Blue Truck) and similarly found items that made sounds throughout the story. A toy horn was perfect for Blue’s “beep beep beep”!

As we got to each animal, I invited Veronika to chime in. Horse says…? “Neigh!” she responds. Here’s a clip!

Invite your child to join in on any similar animal sounds in your story, or to sing along to various words. Whether you’re shaking maracas for rain or stomping your feet for thunder, story sounds effects like this will be a fantastic way to keep your child engaged!

I haven’t recorded Veronika since she was still in the babbling phase. Now, she’s using words, phrases, and even full sentences, and I wanted to make sure to capture the moment. You’ll probably have to try several times before you capture the sounds you want in a game like this, but set aside some time today for audio recording, no matter what age your child is!

In the good old days this task would have required a cassette player and tape and lots of patience. Today, I just tapped the voice record app on my smart phone and sat down by Veronika. I gave a brief intro, including her age and the date.

Next I coaxed her with a few cues, like singing the first line of favorite songs. Luckily she played along and chimed right in. Old Macdonald Had a Farm is a favorite, for example and I caught her on tape calling it “e-i-e-i”.

She asks for lots of songs like this, including, “uppa” for Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star (as in: “up above the world so high”).

Once we’d recorded a few songs, I tried tricking her into saying current favorite phrases. Her first full sentence is “All done with…” whenever we finish something, i.e. “All done with diaper,” “All done with water,” etc. I got the recorder ready as these moments approached over the course of the day, and captured her little voice saying the words. “All done with dinner!”

This is definitely an activity you can return to again and again. Pretty soon you’ll have a whole library of adorable audio clips!