Parents' blog
What do Bookstart parents have to say? Find out more and add your comments.
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Rosemary Clarke on GMTV today to celebrate National Bookstart Day
Posted Thursday October 8th 2009
by Rosemary Clarke
Our wonderful press team, Katherine Solomon and Alice Ingall have pulled off quite a coup. Katherine called me yesterday, 'Are you sitting down? It’s GMTV, they want you on the sofa tomorrow at 6.50am and 8.30am to talk about our nursery rhymes survey. Can you be there?'
My first reaction is- how wonderful, how terrifying.
But I say, ‘Of course! Book me a taxi for 5 30am, I’ll be there.’
Sixteen hours later, I’m word perfect. I know the survey inside out and can recite the top ten rhymes:
1. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
2. Incey Wincey Spider
3. Round and Round the Garden
4. Baa Baa Black Sheep
5. The Grand Old Duke of York
6. If You’re Happy and You Know It
7. Humpty Dumpty
8. This Little Piggy
9. Ring a Ring a Roses
10. I’m a Little Teapot
We have conducted a survey of 2500 people on their attitude to nursery rhymes.
I go through the findings and at first glance it is pretty awful news; it seems that only 36% of parents surveyed use nursery rhymes regularly with their children,and almost a quarter admit that they have never sung a nursery rhyme…
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A Fun Way to Learn the 3R's
Posted Wednesday October 7th 2009
by Simone Castello
I have always been intrigued by nursery rhymes. Many rhymes are ancient and have lost their original meaning (for instance, some experts believe that Humpty Dumpty was a cannon used during the Civil War). So I acquired the excellent Oxford Nursery Rhyme Book by Iona and Peter Opie years before I became a parent.
My enthusiasm for nursery rhymes has rubbed on my daughter who has an amazing repertoire at her tiny fingertips. She was a precocious talker and learnt to sing nursery rhymes early on. I used to bring her to Rhyme Time at my local SureStart centre when she was only a few weeks old!
Thanks to nursery rhymes, Michela has improved her vocabulary quickly and learnt to count up to 10 correctly at barely two years old. Nearly six months later, she is counting up to 20 correctly and beyond (hit and miss). How did she learn: through nursery rhymes containing numbers!
Good numeracy can be achieved through One two three four five, once a caught a fish alive (up to 10) and One, two, buckle my shoe (up to 20 if you know all the verses). Other great rhymes are Ten in the bed, Ten little…
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Rhymes through my life
Posted Monday October 5th 2009
by Nikesh
With National Bookstart Day coming up, I’ve been thinking about my favourite rhyme and the ones that have stayed with me my entire life. We were all sat in a cafe the other day trying to recite them and it’s amazing how many you half-remember. We were trying to remember the whole of Pussycat, Pussycat but couldn’t. The ones that I still cherish are the ones I can remember word for word, they ones I still know inside and out. It’s been great comparing them to the ones that are included in this year’s National Bookstart Day rhyme booklet. Quite a few of them are exactly as I’ve remembered and some I haven’t remembered as well. It’s amazing to think, I’ve known these rhymes for nearly 30 years, and they helped me to develop my speech and my love of rhymes and rhythm and sounds and images in my head created by the words. It’s amazing to think that in 30 years time, I’ll still remember them, that important part of my childhood that will stay with me forever. I hope you’re planning to take your kids to some National Bookstart Day events this year. You can search for…
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Superbebe's Favourite Things
Posted Thursday October 1st 2009
by Natasha BakerA few of Superbebe’s favourite things (at age 16 weeks)
Ok so now that Isabelle Rose is nearly four months old it’s becoming very apparent that she is starting to develop some favourite things of her own– here are her top five (in no particular order ‘cause it depends what mood she’s in– you know how it is with Superbebes):
'Hello my name is Isabelle Rose and my favourite things right now are:'
High energy nursery rhymes like The Galloping Major, Grand Old Duke of York and Down in the Jungle.
Bookstart Bear 'I know him personally ‘cause my Auntie T introduced us - that’s him and me and mummy at a special Bookstart Rhymetime session at Bath Central Library last week.'
Strictly Come Dancing 'I’m rooting for the dude from Hollyoaks and the new lady dancer but their costumes are… -
Bookstart in Warwickshire
Posted Tuesday September 29th 2009
by Nikesh Shukla
Listen to a podcast featuring interviews and rhymes from Bookstart parents and carers about their children's favourite nursery rhymes. Click play on the icon below to stream the podcast.
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Sarah Matthews and daughter Rachel, aged 3, from Warwick reading one of the Bookstart books which are free to all children. Rachel Matthews, aged 3, from Warwick, is just one of the recipients of the Bookstart packs. Her mother Sarah Matthews said: 'The Bookstart books are really well chosen and Rachel's five-year-old brother Sam even got in on the act by reading one of them to her.' She added: 'Rachel’s favourite nursery rhyme is Twinkle, twinkle little star.
Reza Ali and his son Rhys aged 15 months, from Rugby, reading one of the Bookstart books which are free to all children. Rhys Ali, aged 15 months, from…
