When my four-year-old, little C suggested we video our story time together, I wondered if I would ever make a YouTube video I wouldn’t cringe at. I’m super self-conscious about being an older mum you see.
Super keen at the thought of helping other children read though, Cyrus got all his favourite books off the shelf – and by that I mean all his books! There was Uh Oh Milo! by Kate Wogan and Helen Faulkner, classics such as The Three Billy Goats Gruff and even Peppa Pig.
As a Geordie, with a complex about her dialect after working down south for years, our videos are not going to live up to Queen’s English. However, I’m doing this because Cyrus loves it and it’s a tribute to my own mum too.
The biggest memory for me of her was that she would sit night after night at the end of my bed and read to me. Back then it was always Roald Dahl books and I absolutely adored our time together at bedtime. I remember pleading with her on more than one occasion to read just one more chapter, such was my love of stories.
While I have my memories, I don’t have anything visual of her reading to me that I can treasure. And memories fade. That’s why as an older mum, it’s super important for me to share something digital with Cyrus that he can look back on with pride.
I believe reading stories to children is a great way to help them learn to read and enjoy books. Reading out loud and encouraging children to talk about what they see and join in with parts of the story they know are good ways to build their interest in books. It also reinforces the importance of teamwork!
How to make a YouTube video
Putting my self-doubt and self-consciousness to once side, I set up my iPhone on a chair and pressed record with Cyrus by my side! That was pretty easy and while it’s an amateur recording edited in iMovie, it’s now clear that post-lockdown anything goes! So it’s now on YouTube for everyone to see.
Since I began reading to the world, I have discovered that it’s just like my experience of Zoom and Teams during lockdown. It wasn’t comfortable at first, but it’s getting easier and I’m suddenly able to focus on something that takes me outside of my comfort zone.
Adding a video to YouTube is easy and can be done in a few simple steps. You’ll need to log in first, but after that you just click the create button at the top right of the screen and the video upload page appears. You can drag your video file on to the page and wait for it uploading, which takes a little bit of time depending on how long your recording is.
To see our latest stories, visit our Instagram page @saffronandcyrusbedtimestories
Saffron and Cyrus is a Newcastle-based family lifestyle blog, covering diversity, self-care, days out, travel, reviews, recipes and more from our family life.
The blog is written by new mum over 40, Aranda, with input from hubby H and four-year-old Cyrus.
Very good post. Nicely written. Keep up the good work.
Great post. I think all bloggers need to at least experiment with creating video. More and more sites seem to include it and it’s a skill which only increases the value of our blog.
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Thanks so much Mike!
Good story and I really loved the title. I cringe at the thought of making videoes for my blog. It’s something I’ll need to leave my comfort zone behind to do eventually. My son, on the other hand already has a channel and is a natural in front of the camera. For him, it’s like talking to a friend.