8 Interactive Storytime Activities for Preschool Children

Last reviewed: 18 September 2026

Interactive storytime does not require a toy that listens, answers questions or changes the plot. The interaction can come from the adult and children: predicting, moving, making sounds, using props and continuing the story through play.

1. Predict from the opening

Share the title or first line and ask, “What do you think this story might be about?” Accept several possibilities rather than looking for one correct answer.

2. Choose a repeated action

Agree on a simple movement or sound for a recurring character, place or event. Children can join in whenever they hear the cue.

3. Pause for one thoughtful question

Choose a natural pause and ask what might happen next or why a character made a choice. Too many pauses can break the flow, so one or two can be enough.

4. Add safe everyday props

A scarf can become a river, a cardboard tube a telescope and cushions a cave. Check that props are appropriate for the children's age and the setting.

5. Make the soundscape together

Use hands, voices or simple instruments to create footsteps, rain, wind or animal sounds. ToyPal One plays the narration; these live sounds come from the group.

6. Freeze-frame a moment

Small groups can make a still picture with their bodies showing a scene or feeling. Invite them to explain what is happening in their picture.

7. Retell with a soft toy

After listening, let a familiar soft toy “retell” one part in the child's own words. The adult can model a first sentence if needed.

8. Invent another ending

Ask what else could have happened. Children can draw, dictate or act out their alternative ending.

Using ToyPal accurately

A grown-up selects and starts the audio in the ToyPal app. ToyPal One has no microphone or camera: children cannot ask the device questions, and it does not hear responses or alter the story in real time. The activities above are adult-led ways to build interaction around listening.

Government early-years guidance also encourages interactive reading and storytelling, including commenting, expanding on a story and guessing what happens next.

Read how ToyPal One works or explore how ToyPal stories are designed.

Source

Department for Education: reading comprehension in the early years