Stories, Paint & Paw Prints: A Slow Living Celebration of National Storytelling Week.

This week, we’ve been embracing all things storytelling, reading, creating, and the magic of imagination. With National Storytelling Week in full swing, it felt like the perfect excuse to slow down, make something with our hands, and share stories; a firm favourite in our home.

Bookmarks & Watercolour Joy

What’s a good story without a beautiful bookmark? We decided to pull out some watercolours at the beginning of the week and cut some thick embossed card into strips, then let creativity take over. There’s something therapeutic about watching watercolours swirl and blend, and our wee one fully embraced the process… splattering, layering, and turning her bookmarks into tiny masterpieces. Some ended up as abstract art, while others, like my partner’s, featured a small sketch inspired by his favourite Terry Pratchett books. Where are The Discworld fans? The best part was seeing the bookmarks tucked into well-loved books by the end of the day.

Reading & Cosy Moments

With a stack of books beside us, we curled up for slow, cosy reading sessions at bedtime. Storytelling is such a simple but powerful way to connect as a family, and watching our girl get lost in the words never gets old. She’s been obsessed with books since she was a baby, and this week, we’ve been revisiting some vintage Winnie the Pooh editions; ones that belonged to my partner as a child, and his mother before him. There was also a special moment this week as for the first time, our wee one fell asleep while being read to by her dad, it was incredibly cute.

A Furry Friend Joined the Fun

This week also brought a special guest… our good friend’s cockapoo, Annie! Looking after her has been an absolute joy, and to be honest, no storytelling session is complete without a dog curled up at your feet. She’s been the perfect wee shadow… playing in the garden, joining us on sandy walks, and happily accepting tummy rubs in between. I’m convinced she enjoys story time just as much as we do too.

New Books & Storytelling Resources

As part home education, we’re subscribed to Twinkl, which has been a brilliant resource for printables, activities, and learning. This week also brought book mail (arguably one of the best kinds of mail), as Twinkl sent us A Place for Plastic book in the post. It’s a beautifully illustrated story about ocean conservation that sparked some discussions about the environment. The environment is a precious topic in our household and as we love bringing gentle learning into our days, books like this make it feel effortless.

Not to mention, throughout the week (and most weeks prior) we’ve been soaking up our Yoto stories. If you’re unfamiliar, Yoto is an audio player designed for kids, and it’s been a game changer for independent storytelling in our home. This week we signed up for the Yoto Collection Club, so we now have access to a library of digital cards which has been very exciting! Whether it’s classic fairytales, educational stories, or music, I can’t recommend Yoto enough it’s also a great way to encourage screen-free time.

Rounding Off the Week at the Library

No storytelling week would be complete without a trip to the library. It was a beautiful, crisp winter day, so after picking out our books and with our wee one delighted to be given the job of date stamping them herself, we made the most of the sunshine. While we were at the library, another mum kindly commented on how ‘intelligent’ she was, which was a lovely reminder of just how much she’s growing and learning every day.

We then headed to The Woodland Cafe in Lews Castle Grounds and sat outside with lunch. We dived straight into our new stories and then finished off the afternoon at the park. It was the perfect way to soak up the winter sun and round off a week filled with books, creativity, and slow, simple joys.

Slowing Down & Soaking It In

These are the moments that remind me why we chose this path. Why home education, creativity, and slow living feel so right for us. National Storytelling Week may be coming to an end, but the stories (and our ever-growing collection of paint-stained clothes) will keep going.

Here’s to more tales, more messy art projects, and more of life’s simple joys.

Do you have a favourite childhood book or a storytelling tradition in your home? I’d love to hear!

Til Next Time | Lesley-Anne