Early Years Storytelling and Poetry Programmes

Helping children grow language, imagination, and a lifelong love of storytelling

At MakeBelieve Arts, we believe every child has a story worth telling, and the right to be heard. Rooted in the pioneering approach of Vivian Gussin Paley, our early years programmes help young children develop language, confidence, and creativity in ways that feel natural, playful, and deeply meaningful.

From Helicopter Stories to poetry-rich resources, we support early years practitioners to create inclusive, imaginative spaces where every child can find their voice.

MakeBelieve Arts: The charity behind Helicopter Stories

Explore Early Years Programmes

See how our programmes work

Helicopter Stories

Interactive Storytelling: Where Children’s Words Take Centre Stage

Helicopter Stories is more than just storytelling. It’s a powerful early years approach that develops speaking and listening, builds confidence, strengthens social connection, and supports early reading and writing through shared imagination. Grounded in Vivian Gussin Paley’s work, this award-winning approach creates an inclusive space where every child is heard, valued, and empowered to express their ideas. Whether a child is confident, quiet, still learning English, or not yet speaking, they are welcomed in, listened to, included, and celebrated.

Helicopter Stories sits alongside Poetry Basket, Story Steps, and Story Basket, forming a unique collection of programmes designed to support children’s language, narrative understanding, and emotional development. Each programme can stand alone or be combined to create a rich, story-based diet across your setting.

Together, these programmes offer a cohesive approach to early years practice, grounded in play, creativity, and connection. They bring rhythm to the day, support deep engagement, and open up new ways for children to explore who they are and how they relate to others.

Why early years practitioners love Helicopter Stories:

  • Builds rich language and vocabulary
  • Encourages listening, turn-taking, and collaboration
  • Supports self-confidence and empathy
  • Develops storytelling and early literacy
  • Grows empathy and emotional awareness
  • Works beautifully across mixed-ability, SEND and EAL settings
Explore our Early Years Programmes

The Three Legged Stool

Three Roles: One powerful experience

See it in 30 Seconds!

Storyteller

As Storytellers, children become authors. Their words are scribed exactly as they speak them, showing that their voice matters and their imagination has value. Seeing their stories written down helps children form powerful connections between spoken language and the written word.

Actor

When children act out stories, they develop a physical language of storytelling, using their bodies to become objects, take on characters, and mime interactions with things that aren’t physically there. As they collaborate, they borrow ideas, explore movement, and solve problems creatively.

Audience

As audience members, children practise attentive listening and begin to understand how stories are structured. They encounter new vocabulary, characters, and narrative styles that spark their own ideas. Sitting together, they learn to take turns, show empathy, and celebrate one another’s imagination.

Explore Our Early Years Programmes

Helicopter Stories On Demand

Give your team a full year of training in scribing and acting out your children’s stories. Helicopter Stories On Demand includes everything you need to begin delivering Helicopter Stories in...Read More

Story Steps

Act out immersive story adventures as a group, building confidence, teamwork, and imagination. Story Steps is a music and movement-based storytelling programme for children aged 3 to 6. Each adult-led...Read More

Listening Tales: Story Basket

Engage imagination, develop listening skills, and inspire rich conversations with audio-only stories for children aged 3–7. Listening Tales from the Story Basket includes audio stories paired with word banks, discussion...Read More

The Poetry Basket

The Poetry Basket includes 36 lesser-known children’s rhymes from anonymous authors and follows the seasons of the year. Suitable for Teachers, Early Years Practitioners, Parents and Carers of children aged...Read More

Poetry Basket 1: Seasons

Bring the seasons to life through rhythm, rhyme, and poetry, supporting language and imagination for ages 2–7. Poetry Basket 1: Seasons includes 40 carefully chosen, lesser-known children’s poems, following the...Read More

Poetry Basket 2: Themes

Explore rhythm and rhyme through themed poems that build language, memory, and joy for children aged 2–7. Poetry Basket 2 includes poems across ten engaging themes: Dinosaurs, All About Me,...Read More

Helicopter Stories Tales

Three beautifully illustrated picture books with video readings by Trisha Lee, bringing storytelling and story acting to life. This programme includes all three books from the Helicopter Stories Tales series,...Read More

Helicopter Stories at Home

Support parents to bring Helicopter Stories home with this resource for experienced practitioners working with families. Helicopter Stories at Home includes all the training, guidance, and materials you need to...Read More

The Christmas Basket

Bring the magic of Christmas to life with poems, stories, and songs that spark joy and build language. The Christmas Basket is a festive resource for EYFS and Year 1,...Read More

But Stories Don’t Grow Alone

Helicopter Stories gives children space to tell their own stories. But stories don’t grow in isolation. They grow from a rich story diet: poems heard, stories shared, rhymes recited, characters embodied.

That’s where our companion programmes come in:
  • Poetry Basket 1 and 2 – Repetition and rhythm that grow vocabulary
  • Story Steps – Story-rich movement and play
  • Story Basket – Immersive audio storytelling with sensory prompts

Together, our four programmes create a language-rich environment, where every child feels seen, heard, and inspired to create.

One approach. Four programmes. Countless possibilities.

Explore our Early Years Programmes

What Teachers Say

The children are in control. Great to do the course. Very inspiring. We are now using Helicopter stories, story basket and poetry basket in class and the children love them all.
Helicopter Stories On DemandReception Teacher - Sheffield
Helicopter Stories On Demand
We had our face-to-face session with our spring cohort yesterday- and wow, what a buzz! Everyone is so excited by the approach and are already seeing great things. We are all really enjoying the online training too - it is without doubt the most interesting and high-quality training I have accessed online.
Nicola MillardWellbeing Lead - Bedford Local Authority
Nicola Millard
Helicopter Stories are fab The course is simple to follow and the tips are really useful. Our children have really engaged with helicopter stories and can't wait to do it again each week. We have seen them starting to emerge as story tellers
Helicopter Stories On DemandNursery Teacher - Buckinghamshire
Helicopter Stories On Demand
We love the Poetry Basket. The children in my class really enjoy listening to them, and then joining in with the actions. I've now created a Poetry basket retelling space and the children use relevant props to help support them in remembering the poems. Such a great idea for a service, and well organised
The Poetry BasketReception Teacher - Croydon
The Poetry Basket
Best thing we have purchased in a very long time. If you had have asked me to recite a poem this time last year, I would not have been able to think of 1. I'm 38. If you asked the Reception and Nursery children at our school to do the same, they would have over ten they could recite to you. Off by heart!! It is brilliant.
The Poetry BasketEarly Years Lead - Sunderland
The Poetry Basket
Another fabulous addition. Having used the Poetry Basket across the year, I had high expectations for the Story Basket and I haven't been disappointed. Reception class have been very engaged with these beautiful audio stories - a new experience for many children. We are really enjoying the stories and the format is brilliant for helping children build focus and attention.
The Story Basket Reception teacher – North Somerset
The Story Basket
Such a useful resource. We did the Elves and the Shoemaker because it fitted in with our theme. The children found it a novelty to listen - a few looked round in case they were missing a visual and then relaxed and tuned in. The children loved the music and sound effects - it kept them engaged, and the staff just enjoyed being told a story! We will definitely be using more of these stories and activity ideas.
The Story Basket Year 1 teacher – Tameside
The Story Basket
The Helicopter Stories Picture Books take children’s imagination and thinking to greater depths through picking up on the things which really matter to young children. The Teachers Notes are a masterclass in children’s development or what Trisha calls the ‘deeper issues.’ The use of carefully framed reflective questions to stimulate philosophical conversations and other strategies all contribute to an approach which firmly places children at the centre, listening to and respecting their voices.
The Helicopter Stories Picture Books Di Chilvers – WatchMeGrow
The Helicopter Stories Picture Books
the Helicopter Tales will be a great addition to any EYFS or Key Stage One Teacher’s toolkit. The stories and additional resources are the spark which will ignite both your curriculum and your children’s love of storytelling. This series is highly recommended!
The Helicopter Stories TalesAndy Burt – Early Excellence
The Helicopter Stories Tales
We have thrown ourselves into Helicopter Stories this term and the children are loving it. 3 of our children who don't communicate verbally have been able to tell their stories and take centre stage for the first time.
The Helicopter Stories Talesmissnlteach - Instagram
The Helicopter Stories Tales