10 Ways To Celebrate National Storytelling Week

Sharing stories with your kids is one of the best ways to inspire them and ignite those imaginations from early on. National Storytelling Week is coming up on February 1st to commemorate all the wonderful tales that have shaped our children’s lives and our own, from storybooks and traditional tales to ghost stories and nursery rhymes. We’ve rounded up the best ways to celebrate National Storytelling Week below (aside from just reading of course!).

Bring your little bookworms along to London’s best children’s library at the Barbican for a constantly changing film clubs, reading groups, daily story times and more. With a huge array of classic children’s books to the latest bestsellers, ignite the kids’ love of reading and snuggle down for some quality time together.

Discover London’s spookiest secret stories on this ghoulish ghost tour of the capital’s petrifying past. If you’re a family of ghost-story fanatics and you think you’ve got the nerve then embark on this terrifying tour of London led by an expert guide!

If you're trying to get your under 5s interested in reading, this relaxing storytelling workshop at the Southbank Centre’s National Poetry Library is the perfect way to do it. Get snug on the rug for a session of nursery rhyme singing and poetry sharing that will introduce your kids to the magic stories. After the session you'll be able to look through the library's incredible children's collection and borrow a book to keep the reading going at home! 

It's never too early to discover the world’s best storyteller, and with the Globe Theatre Tours you can learn all about one of England's original playwrights and poets. Kidadler Gabby says: "We went yesterday and my kids loved it! They had lots going on - sword fighting performance, Shakespearean clothes demonstration, great tour and lovely exhibition". Why not stick around for a show afterwards and experience the excitement of a standing ticket just as the Shakespeareans would have!

It’s time for a tale-telling treasure hunt! Round up your family and friends and head out on a picturesque, problem-solving quest across London where you’ll be sent clues to your phone as you go. Just bring your mobile, comfiest shoes and brightest thinking caps and let the stories of London unravel around you!

Celebrate everyone’s favourite children’s (and adult’s!) story with The Making of Harry Potter Warner Bros Studio Tour. You’ll be positively spellbound by this ultimate boy-who-lived day out, unlocking the mysteries behind the film franchise and discovering the enchanting world of Harry Potter like you’ve never seen it before. For more magical adventures check out our top London Potterhead locations here!‍

Head to the Barbican for some free fun with your toddlers! Rhymetime is the perfect musical activity for your tiniest humans where they'll listen to stories, learn nursery rhymes and sing songs, introducing them to the magic of storytelling whilst spending some relaxed, quality time together.

Feeling nostalgic? To commemorate a storybook original and everyone’s favourite silly old bear we’ve put together a list of his and the Hundred Acre Wood gang’s wisest, funniest, most heartwarming quotes. Winnie the Pooh has been entertaining children for 94 years, and it seems this beloved bear will be spreading joy and inspiring kids (and adults!) for many more to come. Winnie was not wrong when he told us himself - “keep me in your heart, I’ll stay there forever.”

The world’s treasured bookworm and children’s classic story is taken to whole new heights at the Cambridge Theatre with spectacular sets, mesmerising special effects and ridiculously catchy songs from the hilarious Tim Minchin. If you still haven’t seen the spellbinding show of Matilda the Musical then now’s your chance with tickets as magically low as £23 on Kidadl! As everyone’s favourite mischievous moral compass, Matilda shows us how much we can learn from the art of storytelling - check out the top 5 lessons she’s taught us here!