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Story Time ... Anytime
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What is Story Time?
Why is telling stories important?
Things to do at home
Age-appropriate book suggestions
Recipes to share
Rhymes and finger plays
How to get involved
Story Time initiatives
Research brief
Story Time Whispers
Story Time Whispers is a literacy initiative for children in the 0-5 years age group. It involves children finding a story book; sharing it within families and then releasing it for someone else to enjoy. Click here to view the Story Time Whispers page.
The Story Time project has been created by the City of Wodonga to support families in their role of providing children with the best start for learning. It promotes ‘ten minutes a day' spent sharing stories and building a love of literacy through reading, talking, singing and dancing, drawing, and playing together. Simple ways to nurture a love of language and books are shared to encourage each child on the path to becoming an active learner.
- Listening to stories assists in early literacy growth.
- Storytelling builds bonds between children and their parents.
- Literacy begins at home from birth and is most critical in the first five years of life.
- Stories are a natural way to teach children about their world.
- Daily story time provides children with a good start for school.
- Read road signs while in the car.
- Talk about the day's events.
- Sing songs during bath time.
- Discuss items on your shopping list.
- Read a favourite story together.
- Dress up and dance to music.
- Paint a picture and talk about it.
- Play a game and have fun.
- Tell a story about when you were young.
- Use a recipe to make a cake.
- Make up silly rhymes.
The new Storytime Anytime 50 Great Australian Picture Books to share with children has been launched.
The booklet follows on from the Storytime Anytime concept of reading with your child for 10 minutes a day.
It lists 50 great Australian picture storybooks that you can read to your children, giving parents a guide to good stories.
The booklet includes information for parents and carers on the importance of reading to your children, and ideas for where and how you can involve your children in story time to improve early literacy and gives adults pointers on reading aloud to children.
A copy can be downloaded below.
Book Suggestions By Age
From 4 months
- Old MacDonald had a Barn Stephen Gulbis
- ABC Flora McDoneell
- Baby Einstein Babies Julie Aigner-Clark
- That's Not My Teddy Fiona Watt & Rachel Wells
- Whose Tail? Jeanette Rowe
- Baby Animals Dorling Kindersley Australia
- I Went Walking Sue Machin & Julie Vivas
- Tamie's Baa,Baa, Black Sheep and Other Rymes Tomie dePaola
- Fuzzy Be and Friends
From 12 months
- Cows in the Kitchen June Crebbin & Katharine McEwan
- Going Shopping Sarah Garland
- Hug Jez Alborough
- Maisy's Bedtime Lucy Cousins
- Playmates Jane Tanner
- Toddlerobics Animal Fun Zita Newcome
- Spot Goes on Holiday Eric Hill
- All About Me Debbie MacKinnon & Anthea Sieveking
- Yo Yo Goes to the Beach Jeanette Rowe
From 18 months
- Ten in the Bed Penny Dale
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eric Carle
- The Wide-mouthed Frog Keith Faulkner & Jonathan Lambert
- Time For Bed Mem Fox & Jane Dyer
- What Colour are your Knickers? Sam Lloyd
- The Wheels on the Bus Penny Dann
- Crocodile Beat Gail Jorgensen & Patricia Mullins
- Here Come Poppy and Max Lindsey Gardiner
- Rosie's Walk Pat Hutchins
From 3 1/2 years
- Early Learning Big Book of Australian Nature Steve Parish
- Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy Lynley Dodd
- “Let's Get a Pup!” Bob Graham
- Owl Babies Martin Waddell & Patrick Benson
- Where's My Teddy? Jez Alborough
- The Cat in the Hat Dr. Seuss
- We're Going on a Bear Hunt Michael Rosen & Helen Oxenbury
- Where the Wild Things Are Maurice Sendak
- The Little Yellow Digger Bett & Alan Gilderdale
Recipes
Uncooked playdough
- 1 cup plain flour
- 1/4 cup salt
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- A few drops of food colouring
- 1/2 cup water
Mix the flour and salt together. Add the oil. Add the food colouring to the water, then add the coloured liquid, a little at a time, to the flour mixture. Knead until the mixture is smooth and has the consistency of scone dough. Multiply the quantity by the number of children using the dough. Children can mix this themselves.
Cooked playdough
- 4 cups flour
- 1 cup salt
- 1 small packet cream of tartar
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 4 cups water
- Food colouring if required
Mix flour, salt and cream of tartar. Add oil and water, stirring. Cook slowly until mixture thickens, stirring continuously. Store in an airtight container. This playdough will keep for about 3 months. It has smoother consistency than the uncooked dough.
Gingerbread men
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 teaspoon soda
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 125g butter
- 1 egg
Sift flour, soda and ginger together. Beat the butter and sugar. Add the beaten egg, then fold in the sifted dry ingredients. Shape into gingerbread men. Decorate and cook 20 minutes at 200 degrees C.
Plain biscuits
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 egg, beaten
- Few drops vanilla essence
- 2 cups plain flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Sultanas, cherries for decoration
Beat sugar and butter. Add the beaten egg slowly, beating all the time. Add the vanilla. Add sifted flour and baking powder. Place on floured board and roll out. Cut into shapes and decorate. Put on greased biscuit tray and cook at 190 degrees C for 15 minutes. Allow to cool on the tray.
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One, Two, Three, Four, Five
One, two, three, four, five
Once I caught a fish alive.
Six, seven, eight, nine, ten
Then I let it go again.
Why did you let it go?
Because it bit my finger so.
Which finger did it bite?
This little finger on the right.
This Little Pig
This little pig went to market,
This little pig stayed home,
This little pig had roast beef,
This little pig had none,
And this little pig cried
Wee, wee, wee all the way home.
Heads and Shoulders, Knees and Toes
Heads and shoulders, knees and toes,
Knees and toes, knees and toes.
Heads and shoulders, knees and toes,
We all clap hands together.
Eyes and ears and mouth and nose,
Mouth and nose, mouth and nose.
Eyes and ears and mouth and nose,
We all clap hands together.
Round and Round the Garden
Round and round the garden,
Like a teddy bear, One step, two step,
Tickly under there!
Open, Shut Them
Open, shut them, open, shut them,
Give a little clap.
Open, shut them, open, shut them,
Lay them in your lap.
Creep them, creep them, creep them, creep them,
Right up to your chin.
Open wide your little mouth,
But do not let them in.
Where is Thumbkin?
Where is thumbkin, where is thumbkin?
Here I am, here I am!
How are you today sir?
Very well I thank you.
Run away, run away!
Where is… pointer?
Where is… tall man?
Where is… ring man?
Where is… pinkie?
The Wheels of the Bus
The wheels of the bus go round and round,
Round and round, round and round.
The wheels of the bus go round and round,
All the way to school.
The horn…
The babies…
The wipers
I'm a Little Teapot
I'm a little teapot, short and stout.
Here is my handle, here is my spout.
When I get all steamed up, then I shout.
Tip me over, pour me out!
Eency Weency Spider
Eency weency spider climbed up the water spout.
Down came the rain and washed poor Eency out.
Out came the sunshine and dried up all the rain,
So, Eency weency spider climbed up the spout again.
- Share 10 minutes each day with your child in story time.
- Visit the Wodonga Library and let your child become a member.
- Collect your Let's Read package from your Maternal and Child Health nurse at key stage visits. Packs include a children's book. DVD and Tips Sheets for parents and carers.
- Participate in literacy events within the community such as Children's' Fair, Book Week and storytelling at Wodonga Library.
- Join a playgroup.
- Enjoy your own personal reading and be a role model.
Story Time initiatives
- The Launch
The Story Time project, a Learning City initiative, was launched on Tuesday, April 4, 2007 by the former mayor Cr Lisa Mahood with a little help from her friends. A Pied Piper parade of children and adults, dressed as their favourite story characters, meandered up High St. Tin Man, Mary Poppins, Princess Fiona, Madeline and Red Riding Hood were all in attendance. Local traders and shopkeepers stopped them along the way to recite nursery rhymes as the parade headed towards Woodland Grove for some serious storytelling. Four storytellers, Snow White (Cr Mahood), Super Elf (Dianne Whittaker – Wodonga Library), Girl Pirate (Janien Williams – Wodonga Library) and Boy Pirate (Peter O'Brien - volunteer), captured the imaginations of their young audience. A simple yet powerful message was shared with the community - ‘ten minutes a day spent sharing stories and building a love of literacy through reading, talking, singing and dancing, drawing and playing together is all it takes to make a difference'. - Let's Read
An integral part of the project is the implementation of the ‘Let's Read' early literacy program. This program provides a free resource kit containing a DVD about adult/child reading, a story book and helpful tips sheets to new parents. These kits are currently being distributed through Maternal and Child Health nurses at key stage visits. Baby health books must be presented and stamped to receive packages at the following ages:4 months, 12 months, 18 months, 3½ years. - Golden Tickets
Having successfully launched their Story Time project, the City of Wodonga then revealed a contest to give lucky library users the chance of winning golden prizes from Wodonga Collins Booksellers. Golden tickets were hidden in 20 favourite children's books. The lucky winners were notified when they borrowed their library books at the front counter. The golden tickets were then taken to Wodonga Collins Booksellers to claim one of 20 golden prizes. The chase for the golden tickets officially started at 10am on June 16 when the Mayor officially launched the search in the Wodonga Arts Space. It continued until all the golden tickets were found. - Story Time Library Card
One way of promoting early literacy is to join the local Wodonga Library. A Story Time library card has been designed to encourage children from birth to five years to make regular library visits. The card is used as a record of visits. On every fifth visit, a $2 voucher can be claimed and on each 10th visit, a $5 voucher is received. These can be redeemed at the local Collins Booksellers store. They can be saved up or used immediately to receive a discounted price on a book purchase. Visit the library today and enjoy story time with your child.
- Story Time Whispers
This initiative involved the release into our city of 100 popular children's storybooks to be passed along from family to family. Upon finding a book, children took it home, shared it with their family, traced the book's journey on the council's website and then released it back into the community for someone else to enjoy. The books could be released anywhere where children meet and play.
Seventy of the books were sponsored by local businesses and families. Acknowledgement of their sponsorship is given on an information sticker inside the book as well as on the website. The website allows children and their families to answer questions such as:
- Where did you find the book?
- What did you like about the story?
- Who was your favourite character?
- Where will you release the book when you have read it?
Children can read the responses from previous readers thus tracking their book's journey.
- Storytelling
The Wodonga Library has regular storytelling on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 10.30am. These sessions are fun, interactive and often include a craft time. No bookings are necessary. The Story Time project also offers storytelling in different locations around Wodonga. Times and locations are posted on the What's On page of the City of Wodonga's website.
Research Brief
The City of Wodonga is undertaking research to determine the effectiveness of its Story Time project. The aims of this research are to:
- determine changes in levels of confidence in parents/carers as their child's first literacy educator.
- explore family attitudes toward early literacy, home literacy practices and partnerships with services.
- obtain family based, anecdotal evidence of changes in child literacy behaviours.
- track the literacy development of children (3.5 years) over time.
- identify service provider use, acessibility and reorientation.
- utilise information to justify early intervention programs funded by the council.
The research is based on both quantative and qualitative methods. This includes individual and family focus group interviews, a confidence survey for parents, Brigance screening data, a literacy scrapbook and data collection from various services. This explicit research will inform the project as it evolves.
