Parents' blog
What do Bookstart parents have to say? Find out more and add your comments.
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The Start of an Exciting Journey
Posted Tuesday September 1st 2009
by Megan Farr
I’ve just enjoyed a blissful ten days home alone whilst my partner and 3 ½ year old daughter, Bea, were away on holiday. It was of course wonderful to have them back yesterday and in particular the happy return to the bedtime story routine as I told Bea the tales of the Three Little Pigs, Billy Goats Gruff and The Gigantic Turnip before she fell sleep after an exhausting day of travel. So lovely to have her back, until this morning when she woke up at 6am, demanded cocoa pops, her red spotty dress, music to dance to (6.20am) and then had a strop when we said she couldn’t watch telly at 6.50am. We managed to appease her with a Snow White book and CD she’d brought back from holiday, and she was soon quietly pouring over the pictures and following the story, cocooned in her Thomas the Tank Engine tent.
One of the most exciting things about being a parent is witnessing the amazing journey of learning to read and I am really curious to watch the learning process. Bea is at the age where she is fascinated by the words and symbols around her, beginning to make the…
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Recommended Picture Book for September
Posted Tuesday September 1st 2009
by Nikesh Shukla
Our recommended read of the month for Bookstart parents is The Haunted House by Kazuno Kohara.
When a young girl goes to live in a magnificent, old house at the edge of town, she doesn't seem at all worried to find that it is haunted by not one, but many, floaty white ghosts.
Using only black and white on orange, the colours of Halloween, printmaker Kazuno Kohara has created a unique book experience for youngsters which oozes atmosphere without being scary. -
Milo gets his Bookstart pack
Posted Friday August 28th 2009
by Natasha Worswick
Milo and I picked up our Bookstart book pack last week. We were given it at his eight month review which he sailed through and it turns out he is very long for his age which is surprising as we are both quite short! Anyway, needless to say I was very excited by him getting his pack at last, and I think he was too.
The Bookstart bag is a common sight around these parts. I have been seeing mum’s wheeling their babies, toddlers and young children around with their bags attached to the buggy or slung over their shoulders for a while now. It sort of looks like they belong to a little club. Whenever I saw a mum with one, they always had an older baby and seemed so much more experienced at this parenting stuff than I was. Now I have an older baby, but I still feel like there is an awful lot to learn.
Instead of worrying about bad naps, development stages, percentiles and the like, I put a blanket down on the grass in the park, took Milo out of his buggy and sat him down to enjoy his new bag of goodies. We…
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Reading along at the library
Posted Wednesday August 26th 2009
by Natasha WorswickYou might remember that I’ve been going to our local library a lot since the summer weather went downhill. Well, recently we discovered a sing-and-read-along session that takes place every Wednesday in the children’s section.
It’s great and I went along with my friend Holly and her daughter Rebecca, who is just a month younger than Milo. We joined a group of about 10 other babies and their parents or carers. I think in any other circumstance (unless tipsy and at karaoke) singing in public is a little embarrassing, but for some reason with babies on board it really isn’t. And the children’s faces really light up when all the adults suddenly started singing nursery rhymes together!
I’m loving it at the moment especially as Milo’s just started bopping up and down to music and even just rhythm, like hand clapping. I’ve been singing to him since he was born and I’ve always known that he enjoys it, from the way he can relax if he’s upset or a small smile, but the bopping is a wonderful feeling for me! The other exciting development recently is waving and there was a LOT of waving during the singing and the rhymes.…
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Booktrust is pleased to announce the winner of the Booktrust Bedtime Reading Week competition
Posted Tuesday August 25th 2009
by Paula Sutton
Louise Lamb and her children aged five, three and six months are from Ipswich, Suffolk and they wrote in to tell us that they all like to share You Choose by Nick Sharratt and Pippa Goodhart.
'The reason we love You Choose so much is that it is a fun and highly interactive book that lets the imagination run riot. My girls love to choose which house, bed or job etc they are going to do by selecting from the hundreds of pictures. We also put a spin on it where we choose for each other which has the girls laughing endlessly as they pick the job of ballerina for their dad! It is a book that all ages can enjoy together.
We got You Choose from the My Bookstart Treasure Chest. So if it wasn't for the Bookstart scheme we would not have our girls favourite book, so for that alone THANK YOU!!!'
Booktrust had over 10,000 visits to our Bedtime Reading Week website and lots of entries for the competition. Many families voted for The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle and We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Micahel Rosen. Books by Roald Dahl were…
