Screen-free audiobooks for kids, like the Yoto Mini and its Make Your Own (MYO) cards, can help families find more time to read together – especially in the busy fall season. A gentle October reading rhythm to invite the end of the year into your home is a gift of peace and togetherness. As the days shorten and the pace of family life quickens, stories can become the anchor that helps us slow down. Whether it’s scripture over breakfast, picture books at lunch, or rest-time audio stories, weaving reading into the rhythm of fall nurtures connection and keeps books at the center of family life.
Finding Time to Read Aloud with Kids in the Fall
- Morning Bible Stories and Family Reading Rhythms
We start our day with reading and time with Jesus! AAfter breakfast plates hit the table, we reach for our morning reading material — often a Bible story or another living book from our Biblical resources. Building this fall family reading rhythm sets the tone for the day. Reading daily together means that the fall has brought us to the end of the Old Testament, and the beginning of Jesus’ stories. We discuss and remember where we left off, read and recap. Short and sweet, paired nicely with our daily catechism or Bible memory work.
How wonderful the timing; to start the excitement of the holidays with the joy of His birth! October and November are great months to begin memorizing verses from Luke 2. Lay building blocks of the Christ narrative, making it a story that becomes fully alive in little minds come December.
- Lunch Table Read-Alouds: Screen-Free Family Connection
Our oldest was the slowest eater, except when we read to him. So, feeding and reading became a habit at our lunch table. When our second came around, I realized that this was my optimal time to have her attention during the busy day. It turned into three picture books at the table – one for the oldest, one for the youngest and mom’s choice. They are understanding that some days are rushed and for singular books. They eat, mom waits “to turn the page until everyone takes a bite”. Most days, the meal and the moment are our shared point of connection. The connection carries us into later conversation, often telling dad a recap of the stories as a way to bring him into the memory.
Now that our oldest is learning to read, I trade the three books in exchange for one B.O.B book from him.
- Rest Time Stories with the Yoto Mini and MYO Cards
We love the Yoto! We have the Yoto Mini for both of our kids, and rings and rings of “Make Your Own” cards. The “MYO” cards have been a heavy investment in time that have proven valuable to our kids interests and love of books.
How the Yoto Mini Works: Screen-Free Audiobook Player for Kids
- You drop in a physical “Yoto card” and it plays the audio tied to that card (stories, songs, podcasts, etc) The audio files are managed via the Yoto app or the Yoto website, where you link audio to cards or add audio files to playlists to build out your library.
- It has a simple interface: volume dials, a pixel display to show basic visuals, and buttons for play/pause and selecting modes. Parents can control many of these settings in the Yoto app and place limits as needed.
- There’s no camera, no microphone, and it doesn’t show ads, making it a safer, distraction-free option for kids.
- It supports headphones (3.5 mm jack) as well as Bluetooth, so you can use it like a portable speaker.
- It doubles as a little “Ok-to-Wake” clock / sleep sounds machine etc.
How Yoto MYO (Make Your Own) Cards Work for Custom Stories
Yoto offers pre-recorded stories on cards in their online store; however, I wanted to take some time to highlight the Make Your Own (MYO) card.
Here’s what makes the MYO cards special:
- Blank & reusable: Every Yoto device usually comes with one “Make Your Own” card to get started. You can also buy packs of blank MYO cards.
- Custom content: Using the Yoto app or web interface, you can assign audio content to a MYO card. That includes:
- Recording your own stories, songs, or messages (e.g. a parent, a grandparent reading a story).
- Linking to content in your Yoto library (existing Yoto titles you own, like if a purchased story or card is lost).
- Uploading your own MP3s or audio files (public domain books, library MP3’s, music you legally own).
- Linking to radio stations or podcasts (either those supported in Yoto, or manually linking external ones using an RSS feed link).
- Recording your own stories, songs, or messages (e.g. a parent, a grandparent reading a story).
- Tracks & limits: A MYO card can handle up to 100 separate tracks (individual audio files) on a card.
- Editable and reusable: You can update, change, or reprogram a MYO card over time. So the card doesn’t have to be “one and done.”
- Sharing: You can share MYO content with family members (depending on Yoto’s sharing settings and policies).
Creative Ways to Use Yoto MYO Cards for Family Storytime
During a rest time or in my evening free time, I often record myself reading stories from the week’s library run. I simply enter the Yoto app, click “Create” > “Record” > and begin reading. When complete, I title the recording. The recording is saved under “My Recordings” where stored until I assign them to a “Playlist”. I make playlists into cards that mirror our book lists – cozy autumn stories, Bible readings, or Charlotte Mason style living books – all stored on MYO cards for easy, screen-free listening. I also use it as an opportunity to record books, especially classics, that are not yet available as audiobooks: Virginia Lee Burton Books, “Billy and Blaze” series, etc. To elevate the home recordings, I sometimes will have Spotify acoustic music playing before I begin recording, just to fill the sound space like most audiobooks do.
This is a great way to start stretching your child’s attention span with books. By starting with picture books, your child listens for 5-6 minutes and can flip the pages as they listen. Gradually, record or add longer stories, or books that are broken into chapters. Great stories with short chapters and pictures are great for read alouds and beginning chapter books for eager readers.
Pros and Cons of Using the Yoto Mini with Kids
Pros:
- Portable screen free entertainment (perfect for travel!)
- Versatility of MYO cards for self-recording living books
- Podcasts and storytime with parental settings
- Simple tech with sound machine capabilities
- Etc.!
Cons:
- Lack of living books on Yoto store: audiobooks have to deal with copyright negotiations, so I understand limitations to any book seller. Yoto does seem to have contracts with Disney and other similar companies, so many of the available stories are Disney or Disney related. We try to limit solely entertaining books (“twaddle”, but rather grow their literary knowledge with “living books”, advice from Charlotte Mason style homeschooling. We would love for Yoto to connect with more authors and publishers to bring more living books to their shelves!
Favorite Finds: “Fancy Nancy Audio Collection” by Jane O’Connor; “The Tales of Peter Rabbit (Benjamin Bunny, Jemima Puddle Duck, Squirrel Nutkin, Little Pig Robinson”) by Beatrix Potter; “Thomas the Train: All Engines Go” by Mattel; Music: Yoto Classical – Adventure, Calm, Dance & Magic
- Offline stories / story downloading: I have shaken my fist at the Yoto more than once because of the “simple technology” that can be very difficult to problem solve. My best tip is to add stories to a playlist, or load a new card. Immediately, plug in the Yoto to the charger and place the charger very close to your home router. Turn the Yoto on and leave for about an hour to allow it to download the stories in full.
- *Yoto Daily: this one is not necessarily a con, but a caution. Yoto Daily is programmed into the Yoto as a daily updated podcast that is accessible by pressing in one of the orange buttons. It is creative, interactive, educational and entertaining. However, there have been episodes highly celebrating Halloween, pushing an environmentalism agenda, and general exposure to world topics. While it is a very fun, free program, we have proposed that Yoto Daily is only played when a parent is in the room. This helps us to have foundational conversations, no matter what the subject.
End the Fall Day with Bedtime Stories
Wind, hail, snow… end the day with a book. I mean it… In the toddler years, there have been so many evenings that have unraveled before bedtime. Late starts to the dinner table, dawdling, sibling bath battles, pokey puppies in pajamas and everyone is fed up with each other. The habit ofc ozy autumn reading resets and reconnects the family. Let them pick. Let it quiet the little systems. Let it give mom and dad time to cool down mentally. Let it physically comfort everyone crowded into a bed or chair to see the pictures. Then, we can actually say “good night” instead of “good riddance”. And, I imagine that sweet end of day connection only gets more needed, intentional and sweeter with age…
A Gentle Autumn Tradition of Stories at Home
As fall days turn crisp and evenings grow longer, creating a reading rhythm helps anchor our family in peace and togetherness. The Yoto Mini, paired with versatile MYO cards, makes it easy to bring more living books and seasonal stories into the home—without adding another screen. By recording your own fall favorites, Bible stories, or treasured classics, you can build a personalized audio library that travels with your child through every season.
If you’re looking for a way to simplify family reading, foster independence, and create cozy autumn traditions, the Yoto MYO cards are a beautiful tool to make more space for stories. Because in the end, it’s not just about finding time to read – it’s about filling your home with words worth remembering.
Read More:
Fall Book List 1 & Fall Book List 2
Leave a Reply