Farmyard Stories - Notonthehighstreets' Storytime Sounds App

Already being big fans of the Storytime Sounds app, we were delighted to be invited to the launch of its latest update by creators Not On The Highstreet. We were even more excited to learn that it's launch was being held at Godstone Farm in Surrey; which was rather fitting, given that the update was 'Farmyard Sounds'. We were already well aquainted with the 'Monster', 'Space', 'Pirate' and 'Christmas' editions and couldn't wait to play with the Farmyard version. The app is completely free, which is amazing in itself in this day and age and is a must if you've got young children. A childs imagination is a wonderful thing and with just a little pushing, storytime can become all kinds of fun. That's where the Storytime Sounds app comes into its own. The app is effectively a soundboard - a screen of images that when pushed (on the screen of your iPhone or iPad) play a relevant sound. It's like you tell your child a story, and the app plays the part of a glamorous assistant, sound effects team and musical band all in one, helping you bring the story to life. Either that, or they'll push button after button and forget the book ever existed... but either way it's a great source of fun for little fingers and/or ears. 

We arrived at Godstone Farm with smiles on our faces and eager to see some of the animals we enjoyed the week before at a smaller, more local farm. One of the barns had been fantasticlaly decorated (as you would expect from the team at Not On The Highstreet) and we were invited in for storytime. The app we had grew to love was staring us in the face, blown up on a giant touchscreen and with the new version on show. We sat on hay bales and picnic blankets and listened to the girls from Stories & More tell farm related stories, which were further brought to life with the sounds of the app. Children took turns at pressing buttons, except for Clayton who made his own rules and pressed what he wanted, when he wanted. Like I said, we already know the app and Clayton frequently decided to take over and introduce Space and Monsters to the Farmyard story. I'm not sure his antics were appreciated, but he got a laugh or two and I was just pleased to see him be confident enough to get involved. 

After the stories, and lunch we went on a fantastic tour of the farm. Being spring, we were lucky enough to see lambs, baby goats and chicks. We took a tractor ride, fed the pigs and petted hens and rabbits. After Clayton's nervous and scared behaviour a week previous around the lambs, I felt really proud that he didnt have a complete meltdown when the bunny was presented to him close up. He wasn't overly confident but he managed to give him a little stroke and spent the rest of the day saying how nice he was. 

It was a really well organised event, that all the children visiting would have benefited from. Hearing the stories, and the farmyard sounds at the start of the day really made riding the tractor and visiting the animals more enjoyable. I would recommend Godstone Farm to anyone visiting the area, but I would recommend the Storytime Sounds app to every family with an iPhone or iPad. You can't go wrong with a free app, and the options within and fun you can have are almost limitless. It's kept our toddler quiet on car journeys, plane trips and made him feel involved when we read him stories. Just don't blame me, when you're driving and the rooster is continuously crowing behind you.