https://www.scottishbooktrust.com/reading-and-stories/bookbug/bookbug-app
Good morning everyone,
Hope you are staying safe and well. I just discovered there is a Bookbug App. Click the link above for further information or search for Bookbug in your app store.
Enjoy!
Emma x
So things have changed quite a bit in the last week. We hope you are all well and adjusting to the new routines.
As we have made “Rainbow” our Makaton sign of the week I thought I’d include some rainbow themed activities that you might like to try.
Rainbow Yoga – https://youtu.be/O29e4rRMrV4
Floating Rainbow
If you manage any of these activities please email us some pics. Maybe you have hung some Rainbow Pictures in you window – we’d love to see some picture of these too!
Balloons – Blow up a few and draw funny faces on them. Let them bash it around and try to catch it. If you want to, get a paper or plastic plate and try hitting the balloon with their ‘bat’. Blow them up and lets them go – listen to the funny noises they make sometimes.
Cardboard box play – Transform a cardboard box into a robot, feely box, fort or tunnel.
Messy play – If shaving foam will get eaten use natural yoghurt! Get a tray and put drops of natural food colouring in it and let them ‘paint’ – if you want to mix up texture pop some frozen peas and sweetcorn in too – paint funny faces with them. Just remember to have a bowl of soapy water and a facecloth nearby!
Couch forts and tunnels – Get a couch cushion and put it between a coffee table and chair or over two chairs. Make a maze with scatter cushions. Make a fort at one end. Throw a blanket over the top and give them a torch.
Make it Dark – Shut the curtains, turn out the lights, then give the children a torch, glow sticks or anything that glows or lights up. Do a puzzle, read a story, dance to music. The darkness brings it alive.
Sink or Float – . Fill something with water (something see-through is best) then gather random objects from about the house that will fit in your container. Put the objects into the water. Catch those which float, dip your arms right in the rescue those which sink. Your child has to guess if they will sink or float and then sort them into two piles once you see which it is.
Make homemade musical instruments – Use recycled household items and lentils/pasta/dried pulses. Play Fun Kids (junior)Radio on the internet, a digital radio and play along to the songs.
Build a den
Lots of tablet friendly games and webpage links https://www.topmarks.co.uk/Search.aspx?Subject=9&AgeGroup=1
Oxford Owl Storyteller videos https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/oxford-owl-videos/storyteller-videos–2/
Oxford Owl E-Books library https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/find-a-book/library-page
Bookbug songs
https://soundcloud.com/user-501294534/sets/new-kids-songs-1
https://soundcloud.com/scottishbooktrust/sets/bookbug-toddler-cd
digital music session pack
1. Hello Song https://youtu.be/ZHT8B1Pfw4s Equipment needed: 1 x small drum.
Each child in the circle gets a turn to play the drum while “hello everybody” is sung. Then when the “can you play the drum” line is sung, this is the child’s turn to play the drum while everyone
listens to them. Once they’ve had their turn they pass the drum to the next person and the song is sung again until everyone in the group has had a turn.
2. Banana Song https://youtu.be/hYW6DRG1Glo
Equipment needed: Nothing!
This is an action song, follow along the actions:
‘assemble’ – put your hands above your head like a banana
‘pick’ – pick bananas from the top of a tree ‘peel’ – peel your arms down from above your head as if you are a banana
‘slice’ – slice your hands back and forth above each other
‘mash’ – mash your first on top of each other
‘eat’ – mimic eating
‘go’ – dance as crazy as you like!
3.Pass The Thing https://youtu.be/u5EPa3Mfc8A
Equipment needed: two or three small hand percussion instruments.
Pass The Thing works similarly to the party game ‘pass the parcel’ when the song sounds “pass the thing” the percussion instruments are passed around the room. When the music stops, whoever has an instrument in their hand at that time keeps a hold of it. Then the song changes to “play the thing” and the people with instruments get a shot of playing.
4.Ocean Drum Song https://youtu.be/_sqt7PwnG6c
Equipment needed: drum or tambourine wrapped in ‘ocean’ fabric.
This song can be used in different ways depending on the child. If they are able to follow along with the lyrics they should be encouraged to play on “1, 2, 3” and to make wind and wave sounds
one the drum on “can you hear the wind/waves”. The song can just be used as background while each child explores the drum, playing it in whatever way they like. The last line of the song is “can you pass the ocean drum on to your friend” and this is when the drum should be passed on to the next person.
5. The Pirate Song https://youtu.be/tdwi3Nm0jBg
Equipment needed: a drum for each child.
Children should be encouraged to keep a beat along to the song and when the numbers are sung the should beat the drum in time. When there are four pirates, the group should drum four times
on “1, 2, 3, 4” when there are three pirates they should drum three times and then there should be a beat of silence; “1, 2, 3, SHH”. As with two and one; “1, 2, shh, shh” and “1, shh, shh, shh”
6. Down The River https://youtu.be/oqrRkChNdsI
Equipment needed: a drum for each child.
There are two sections to ‘Down The River’. Words in bold show where the drums should be hit The first part goes:
“Down the river, down the river, down the river we go, we go,
‘down the river, down the river, down the river we go, we go”
And the second part:
“Vi-va la vi-va, la vi-va, la-more, Vi-va la vi-va, la vi-va, la-more,
Vi-va la vi-va, la vi-va, la-more, vi-va la com-pa-ny”
7. Postmans Knock https://youtu.be/w2FRMQx15LA
Equipment needed: Four envelopes. (You can write fun made-up addresses on them if you’re feeling creative!)
For this game each child takes a turn to be the postman. They take all four envelopes and while “early in the morning…” is sung and walk around the outside of the circle. When you hear “you can hear the postman knock” the child stops walking and knocks on the back of the chair of the person they are closest to. This person the jumps up and pretends to open a door so the postman can deliver the letters in time with the song; “one letter, two letters, three letters, four”
8. Nanumahttps://youtu.be/g4NvRwYmjC8
Equipment needed: a chime bar for each child. Chime bars or a Keyboard with coloured labels : C (red), D (brown), F (blue), G (black) and A (yellow)
Nanuma can be used as a relaxed improvisation. All chime bars can be played together or you can ask the children to take turns listening to each other playing along to the song. Children could also be encouraged to sing along or vocalise if appropriate.
9. Goodbye song (relaxing)https://youtu.be/G8yQAwDKtd0
Equipment needed: orange glockenspiel or chime bars or keyboard; D (brown), E (grey), F (blue), G (black) and
A (yellow)
Allow each child to take turns playing the glockenspiel for the full duration of the song or give children a chime bar each and all play together.
10. Goodbye song (upbeat) https://youtu.be/kYB_XzpTtmk
Equipment needed: drums and/or hand percussion (one per child)
Play along to the song as energetically and enthusiastically as you like!
https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/find-a-book/numicon-guide-for-parents/
https://www.tinytap.it/activities/gzm9/play/monster-numicon-counting-made-easy
https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/kids-activities/fun-maths-games-and-activities/ This www has some interactive games to play and also some printables if you want to try some pen and paper activities.
Many of these games are tablet friendly https://www.topmarks.co.uk/Search.aspx?Subject=16&AgeGroup=1
Skiddle in the sink – Use recycled plastic containers such as yoghurt pots, varying sizes of milk bottles, etc with a pan for an exploration of capacity at the kitchen sink. Add food colouring if you have any. Ask your child, how many pots it takes to fill the pan? talk about full, half full, empty. If you have plastic tea set, use this to find out how many cups you can fill with the teapot.
Do some cooking/baking – Make sandwiches and cut out shapes with biscuit cutters. Make iced biscuits/fairy cakes and decorate with sweeties.
Make salt dough – 1 cup of plain flour
Half cup of salt
Half a cup of water
Make whatever you want. Cook on lowest heat for 3 hours, on a baking sheet. Then paint.
No cook playdough – 2 cups of flour
2 tablespoons oil
Half cup of salt
2 tablespoons cream of tartar
One and a half cups of boiling water
Food colouring
Put a wash on – Colour sort the washing and count the items as you throw them into the machine.
Measure washing powder / what can we smell?
Set the machine and watch it whirl around.
Hang out the washing.
Match the socks together
Outdoor colour hunt – Give your child a piece of paper with all colours on. You could colour splats on the paper using crayons. Go on a hunt outside drawing and sticking things to the paper that match the colours. Lots of talk afterwards about what they found and shades etc. Then maybe move onto some colour mixing.
Playing shops – Get some food and other items out of the cupboard and set up a shop in your living room. Together, you and your child can price each item using paper tags (numbers to 20 or beyond.) You can take it in turns to buy items from the shop, adding the numbers together to get the total. You could model writing a receipt for the items. Pay with either real money or make your own paper coins.
Some examples –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cn9cu02glVE
A playlist https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUMsB2hD_Yw&list=PLjYvRGqOtPoCsAUqB4b6w0pdXxtpyM6rR
Remember that this is to allow you child to communicate so pay close attention and recognise their non-verbal actions as communcations. Holding out a hand towards you may mean “I want the sponge on this hand now” , rolling over/away may mean “I want to stop” or “I’d like it on my back/front”, always interpret as best as possible, and what works one day may be different the next. Most of all enjoy and relax.
Sensory Calming Activities provide sensory input and they help your child stay calm, self regulate and be less fidgety. These sensory calming activities will also reduce
your child’s stress and anxiety too.
Here are some recipes for sensory play to make with your child. Remember the ‘measuring,’ mixing, and pouring while making it with you, will be as much fun as playing with the end product 🙂 !
NB – while almost all these recipes are ‘edible’ they shouldn’t be consumed in large quantities. Fluffy Slime is not edible.
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