A happy story bear reading a book

Welcome to Story Bears!

Enriching your child’s relationships, confidence and development in story-centred parent and child sessions across North Devon. We connect exciting story telling with related games, songs and play to create wonderful moments in your child’s week! Sessions are mixed age for children 4 years and below.

Telling the story of the hare and the tortoise

All little ones love being read to by adults! Our sessions give them a stimulating regular time not only to enjoy being read to, but also to have their story spill out into the real world through music, singing, movement and play. Adults leave sessions with inspiration and ideas for helping your child’s emerging cognitive and physical skills at home - it’s often simple ideas that will make a huge difference for them!

Our sessions are created and thought out with a primary teaching background, providing rich and inspiring activities that are underpinned by the National Curriculum’s Early Years Framework. They definitely don’t feel like school lessons, but it’s nice to know that Story Bears sessions are directly contributing to your child’s development!

A child enjoying a session with their mummy

What to expect in a session

It can sometimes be tricky starting something new, especially with a baby in tow! To help you feel great about visiting Story Bears, find out what a regular session involves. Little ones get a good balance of adult-led activities and freedom to explore, while grown ups get time to focus on their child and an all-important chance to chat with other parents too.

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A child stroking a toy tortoise at a session

The benefits for your child

Find out all the amazing ways Story Bears sessions help your child to thrive, from language development to physical skills. We put a lot of thought into the stories we read and carefully craft each session with accompanying songs, games and play stations. We love doing what we do and seeing families share in the delight of our sessions!

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Children playing with bubbles at a session

Early Years Visits

We love working with early years settings to enhance your provision, and we offer a free initial visit for you to get to know us!

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A child lying down reading a book with a soft bunny

FAQs

Do you have plenty of questions? Check out our FAQs for further information.

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  • Clare came into our setting to hold a session with a group of our Pre School children, it was amazing! The children all listened and joined in really well, Clare was so enthusiastic and made it really fun for all the children, even those who don't usually enjoy singing and stories! A wonderfully led session, full of music, fun and games! Thanks Clare, we hope to see you soon!

    Bratton Fleming Pre-school and Childcare

  • My almost 2 year old and I have absolutely loved Story Bears! The sessions and activities are well planned and Clare is so lovely and welcoming to everyone! I also took my 2 month old who was able to listen, watch and enjoy too. Highly recommend!

    SH

  • My granddaughter and I were fortunate to attend some taster sessions and we were not disappointed, lively interactive story telling, no problem if children move around during story. Songs and music follow and Clare really managed to captivate her audience. The themed art stations at the end were a great hit especially the play doh.

    JP

  • I am a Childminder and am attending the Story Bears sessions with my children, with the aim of supporting speech and language and, of course, a love of books. Clare is an amazing storyteller, always bringing the children into the story by making it interactive for them. My children enjoy the story and the singing at the beginning and are joining in with actions/instruments etc. The activities available for the second half of the session enable the children to revisit the story, using key vocabulary in their play as well as developing skills such as scooping and pouring, hand/finger strength, hand/eye coordination, social skills and lots more.

    Naturally Nurtured Childminder, North Devon

  • My 3 years old loved the classes and asked to go again. We’ve been lucky to have them taking place in our village and we’ll definitely go on attending. Thank you :)

    RS

  • I took my little boy (almost 22months) to Story Bears and he loved it. Really well set up and thought out. Clare was amazing we will definitely be recommending and going again. It was well planned and set up. My little one loved the story, the books, musical instruments and themed small world play

    RC

  • Storybears is great fun, our children enjoyed sessions adapted for their age groups from babies to pre-school. The story of the Hare and the Tortoise explored change in tempo from fast to slow, playing instruments and rhythm sticks to the beat, as well as movement activities (we love plodding like a tortoise!) . The children enjoyed singing along to the ukelele and watching the story unfold with the characters. Thank you Storybears!

    St Michael’s Nursery, Barnstaple

  • Lovely friendly group leader , calm and engaging with the children and allows them to explore after listening to a story stations relating to the book 10/10

    JW

  • The BEST teller I have ever seen. My daughter was mesmerized by Clare. Such a fun and varied session perfectly timed to keep children engaged. Highly recommended trying this group, felt so welcome and comfortable.

    DB

  • Lovely group session, my little boy is 10 months and he loved the music, little puppets and separate child led play. We had a great time 😊

    EM

  • I would highly recommend Story Bears for anyone with young children. Every week we get to enjoy a different story, brought to life with puppets and characters from the story. We also sing nursery rhymes with actions and instruments. At the end of the session there is dedicated time for free play at the activity stations. This is a great chance for the children to do some sensory play and the mums/dads/grandparents can have a chat!

    AH

  • Clare makes the sessions so engaging and my daughter loves story bears. Her favourite parts are the musical elements in particular the guitar welcome song and the puppets that are different every week. There’s clearly so much thought that goes into the weekly themes and so much choice for the children with the different play stations that cater for many different ages. There’s also a good opportunity to catch up with other mums whilst the babies play for the second half of the session! Thank you Clare :)

    RD

  • Having had my middle daughter during lockdown we were unable to attend any baby groups and activities. I then had my son 20 months later. Finding groups I could take both to was difficult and costly. I then returned to work which limited the days in which we could attend any groups. When story bears appeared on Facebook. On a day I could attend and aimed at both age groups I signed up. Boy am I glad I did. Story bears is a fun, inclusive, educational group. Full of both my children’s favourite things. Books, singing, dancing and messy play. Clare is so wonderful. The children love her and mine often will just wonder up and cuddle in to her. Showing how comfortable they are with her as a leader. We highly recommend these groups. Suitable for all ages and abilities. 5 stars from us.

    BL

  • Attended a Story Bears session at Noahs Place Farm and my daughter absolutely loved it! She loved the instruments and the little finger puppets. We used scarves as tails in the session and the next day my daughter was asking for a tail! It was a really great way to teach and develop her language in a fun way! Have already booked on to two further sessions 😄

    LP

  • We have attended several Story Bears sessions with Clare- and they are amazing, as is Clare! Clare has a wonderful way of engaging with little ones, resulting in my children listening and joining in. The session is full of fun and Clare’s enthusiasm for the stories she tells make it a wonderful experience. If your little ones enjoy music, stories, play and interaction, Story Bears is a must! Thank-you Clare, we’ll be back soon!

    Sneak-A-Peek Ultrasound, Barnstaple