Story time is a cherished tradition in many households, and for good reason! It’s a great bonding activity between parents and children. It’s also a great way to boost your little one’s literary skills.

Reading to your children comes with a plethora of benefits. It encourages their imagination and helps develop their cognitive and emotional skills. Storytelling also gives them a jumpstart on critical skills when they enter school, including reading, writing, language, and listening skills.

Using additional tools to enrich story time can be a great way to enhance these benefits. That’s where a stuffed animal buddy comes in! Your little ones can read stories to their stuffed animals, snuggle up with them to listen, and even act out their favorite stories with plush characters!

How to Incorporate Stuffed Animals in Storytelling

Introducing a plushie can make story time even more fun than it already is! Let’s take a look at some ways you can encourage your little ones to practice listening and reading with their stuffies.

1. Listening Buddies

For young or fidgety kiddos, a stuffed friend can be a great way to encourage good listening skills. You can use the stuffed animal as an example of good listening skills: sitting still with open eyes and ears. Your little one can cuddle up with their favorite plush, ready to listen to you read.

2. Acting Out Stories

As your little one gets older, they’ll engage in imaginative play with their stuffed animals. You can make pretend play a companion activity to reading and storytelling! Encourage them to act out their favorite tales with their plushies. 

This will help them understand key concepts in storytelling, like plot, character development, dialogue, and more. Curious about how a stuffed animal encourages imaginative play? Check out our explanation and the benefits of creative play!

3. Reading Practice

When your child is old enough to start reading on their own, a stuffed animal will be a great listener. These fluffy friends won’t judge if your child stutters, don’t fidget, and will listen as many times as your little one wants them to! 

Benefits of Plushies During Storytime

Now that we’ve looked at some potential ways you can incorporate a plushie in story time, let’s look at some of the unique benefits plush pals offer!

1. Building Vocabulary

Storytelling alone helps improve your little one’s vocabulary, but a stuffie can make it more fun! As your little one listens with or reads to their plush, they’ll hear words and phrases in the context of the story. 

Over time, they connect the shape of the word, the sound, and its meaning together. Reading aloud especially helps them form these connections.

2. Improving Listening Comprehension

Stuffed animals are attentive listeners! By following their lead, children practice important listening skills that will help them socially and in the

classroom. 

With good listening skills, they start to understand the plot and characters. These skills are essential for comprehending stories independently later in life.

3. Developing Narrative Skills

With their stuffed friends, your little ones will develop skills in telling their own stories. They’ll practice creating their own characters, building a plot, and communicating their stories. This will help them with reading and creative writing skills!

Curious about how stuffed animals help develop each narrative skill? Check out our exploration of plushies and storytelling through creative play!

4. Fostering a Love for Reading

Stuffed animals are great motivational buddies, nonjudgemental listeners, and great actors. Your little one will form happy memories of reading with their plush pals. This positive association will encourage your little one to engage with books more often and independently.

5. Boosting Confidence

Reading stories to stuffed animals boosts children's confidence in their reading abilities. Since plush companions are supportive and non-critical, children feel more at ease when practicing their reading skills. 

Their confidence will help them out in the classroom! They’ll be less nervous to read in front of their teachers and peers.

Stuffed Animals to Encourage Literacy Skills

Story time with stuffed animals is a delightful and effective way to boost literacy skills in children. Through storytelling, children build vocabulary, improve listening comprehension, and develop narrative skills. Reading to their plushies fosters a love for reading and boosts their confidence for future reading endeavors!

Ready to pick out your little one’s next reading buddy? Check out our selection of stuffed animals. Some even come with their own books for your little ones to read!