A man sits in front of a sofa, reading to three children, a boy and two girls. In his hands is a book, which is open and facing the children.

COMING SOON

Storytelling for Parents

An online course for parents of children aged 0-6

Discover the secrets of storytelling so you can engage your child's attention from birth

Build language skills through interactive reading techniques that go beyond the words on the page

Develop reading habits that will stay with your child for life

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What is storytelling?

A practical approach to storytime, grounded in research, for every child.

A woman sits on the floor with a child in her lap. She is holding a book and reading.

Many parents find reading to a young child intimidating. Short attention spans, difficulty in understanding the content, and an irresistible urge to move all make reading challenging, even frustrating.

Our instinct is to make storytime louder, flashier and more exciting. But being a good storyteller isn’t about acting out dramatic voices or having special props.

It’s about getting your kids involved in reading.

Research shows that when children help choose books, ask questions, turn pages, and talk about what’s happening, they’re not just listening – they’re part of the story.

Phonics turned my daughter off books.

Heavily influenced by mainstream phonics-centred reading approaches, I tried all sorts of games, flashcards, printables and colourful DIY activities.

But no matter how hard I tried to make it fun, it just wasn’t sticking.

Instead, my little reader, who used to go nuts for books, was gradually losing interest in storytime.

Was I doing something wrong?

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Then my son was born with hearing loss.

I knew that reading would be even more important for him, because reading levels the playing field.

While other children learn much through listening, a deaf child can access that same knowledge better through books.

But how can a child learn to read, if they can’t hear all the sounds of language well?

Phonics can’t be the only way.

Language builds literacy.

Today, we love talking about the “science of reading”—what research says about how kids learn to read.

Most parents think the science of reading just means phonics: phonics lessons, phonics apps, or fun phonics activities at home.

But the real science of reading is more: helping kids understand what they read, teaching new words, making reading exciting, and letting them explore lots of different books – not just phonics.

Phonics alone doesn’t build literacy. Language builds literacy.

Stories build language.

When I took a step back from phonics, I rediscovered what my daughter and my son had needed all along.

Book after book, I realised what their little, amazing minds were craving: connection and conversation.

As we read, they began to contribute to the stories, pointing out details in pictures, mimicking actions, mirroring emotions.

I found a way to integrate phonics into reading time, so they could learn to read without having to do activities in isolation.

And most importantly, I supported them as a natural love for books and reading grew.

Are you ready to raise your reader?

I’m passionate about early literacy because there is a lot of misinformation out there.

When we focus solely on phonics, it gives the illusion that our kids are learning to read, and fast. Yet, this illusion:

Keeps kids from really learning to read (because they don’t understand what they’re reading),
Keeps good books away from passionate readers (because we want to give kids only “decodable books” that stick strictly to the rules of phonics yet don’t reflect real language), and
Keeps parents from connecting with their kids (because we’re too focused on completing phonics activities).

Will you join us?

It’s hard to resist the tide when you’re going it alone.

That’s why I founded Tiny Turns Page – to build a community that can help us keep sane.

As we encourage each other to read differently with our kids – building their reading skills and motivation according to the real science of reading – we’re changing their futures, too. Book by book.

Join our storytelling movement

The Tiny Turns Page Difference

Use storytelling to build reading skills, naturally.

The core of our storytelling approach is dialogic reading. Also known as interactive reading or conversational reading, we engage with children in talking about the story as we are reading it. This transforms our children from listeners to readers, because they have to engage in the story.

A baby is lying on his belly on a pastel-coloured mat. He pushes up on his arms to examine a board book, which shows a picture of a rabbit in a pink dress.

Start from Birth

Even a young baby can get involved in reading. From birth, we nurture reading habits through the behaviours even a newborn can display: listening, eye contact, paying attention.

Use Simple Routines

Storytelling sessions in libraries and classes are great, but they’re often one-off. We help you find routines that fit your home everyday and still give your child that storytime magic.

A woman in green sits on the floor, with a baby in her lap. Both are looking at a girl in a purple t-shirt, who is gesturing with a book in her lap.

Bond through Books

While others focus on fast gains, we believe connection makes the best growth. We focus on enjoying books and using stories to understand your child better.

Build from Basics

Strong readers have vocabulary and knowledge to understand the reading. We build a strong language foundation first, to ensure success when your child learns to read later.

What's Included

6 ✨ on-demand course modules covering everything you need to know about reading to a young child, including:

How to set up your 🏠 home to encourage independent reading and book exploration – even in small spaces
How to set a 💞 family reading culture and build reading habits that actually stick
My unique 📃 P.A.G.E.S. framework which helps you take the reading research into your home
How to adapt reading for 🧒 children of different ages and abilities

2 additional BONUS modules covering:

How to read and create 💬 family conversations around different children’s book genres
How to integrate 🔡 phonics knowledge into storytime (a sneak preview of my other course, Phonics for Parents)

A one-time, exclusive ☎️ coaching call (for the first 20 sign-ups only) where I offer a personalised assessment of your family’s reading habits and home library and give practical advice, customised to your situation and lifestyle

✅ Done-for-you scripts and checklists so you don’t ever have to feel stumped with making storytime engaging and meaningful for your child

Membership in a cosy, exclusive reading 👐 community where we’ll share book recommendations, offer practical troubleshooting advice, and learn from and encourage each other in our reading journeys

Access to any ➡️ future updates and improvements to my course, as we tweak our approach based on the most current research

Sign up to receive the latest updates!

We’re still working on Storytelling for Parents, but you can sign up for updates if you’re interested.

Storytelling for Parents is part of my 2-part course suite, Reading for Parents. Together with its sister course, Phonics for Parents, you’ll understand the research behind reading and early literacy skills, and learn to love reading with your kids.

If you’re interested in this course, or my other upcoming course, Phonics for Parents, pop your email here and I’ll update you as I develop the materials. Or, if you have any enquiries or feedback, email me.