Professionals' blog
Written by Bookstart Development Managers, scheme coordinators and the Bookstart web team, this blog features Bookstart news stories from around the country, new and exciting downloads and handy tips and advice. To contribute, please contact andrew.harsant@booktrust.org.uk .
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Rosemary's blog: Help us look forward to our 20th birthday celebrations in 2012!
Posted Wednesday August 11th 2010
by Rosemary Clarke
Rosemary would like to hear your favourite Bookstart anecdotes – and the more outlandish the better! A rather quick blog this month as many of you may be away enjoying the summer weather.
A request – I’d really like to hear your favourite Bookstart anecdotes. I’m compiling a memoire of all the ‘grass roots’ tales that so eloquently tell the story of Bookstart from 1992 'til now.
It will hopefully be produced online in 2012 as part of our 20th anniversary celebrations.
All contributions of trials, tribulations and triumph are very welcome – from home and from overseas too.The more outlandish the story – the better!
I remember one Bookstart Coordinator who stored all the packs in her garage as there was no room at the library. She paid her children 25p each to insert the library joining leaflets in the packs whilst they watched children’s TV.
So, over to you – what are the imaginative and inspiring ways in which you've worked with Bookstart? Let me know either by emailing me or leaving a comment below.
Looking forward to hearing from you!
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Rosemary's blog – July update
Posted Monday July 12th 2010
by Rosemary Clarke
This month, Rosemary offers her congratulations and thanks for the best National Bookstart Day yet. And she responds to a very special email from a mum...National Bookstart Day 2010
We hoped for 4,500 events – we had more than 5,000. This was our best National Bookstart Day ever, resulting in more than 100,000 families celebrating NBD.It is enormous fun but it does take months and months of work and planning. Our heartfelt thanks for all the hard work and creative energy that went into achieving these outstanding results – from back garden beaches to real donkeys – it was amazing.
You can find out more in our blog post round up, which includes inspiring accounts written by Bookstart Development Managers, coordinators and more.
Some schemes are already getting ideas together for Friday 10 June 2011 when the theme is, ‘All Aboard!‘. Happy planning!
Email from a Mum...
How delightful, what a lucky baby, what a lucky mum.
If they continue to share books, and if dad…
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Round up of National Bookstart Day blog posts
Posted Tuesday July 6th 2010
by Bookstart
We've had a great number of blog posts from people inspired by the many National Bookstart Day events that they have organised or attended.
Catch up on the blog posts below:
> Midlands – BDM Paula Sutton attends six inspiring events in three days
> Hertfordshire – Childminder Helen King builds a beach in her back garden
> South Gloucestershire – BDM Kath Navratil visits the town of Yate for the celebrations
> Northamptonshire – Denise Brennan, Bookstart Family Worker, attends a beach party in Duston Library Children's Centre
> Leeds – Lorraine Lee, Children's Development Librarian, on the many events in her area
> South Tyneside – Clare Craig, Early Years Librarian, puts on a nursery rhyme trail
> Darlington – Suzy Youldon, Bookstart Coordinator, transforms Crown Street Library
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When the seaside came to the Midlands...
Posted Monday July 5th 2010
by Paula Sutton, Bookstart Development Manager - West Midlands
Paula Sutton, Bookstart Development Manager for the West Midlands, goes on an unforgettable tour around the region, packing in six inspiring National Bookstart Day events in three days.
You can’t get much further away from the sea than in the Midlands, but that didn’t stop the Bookstart Coordinators there from bringing all the fun of being 'At the Seaside' to their National Bookstart Day events this year.
I never fail to be impressed by the hard work and imagination that goes into organising NBD events by coordinators. This year I was fortunate to be able to visit events in six authorities in three days. I wish I could have gone to all of them!
First stop – Chesterfield Library, Derbyshire: Seaside crafts, Punch and Judy and a welcome for Chris!
Bookstart Coordinator Sarah Watson and the staff of Chesterfield Library were decked out in flip flops, hats and sunglasses. They entertained families with stories, songs and seaside crafts in the Children’s Library and there was also face painting and a balloon and Punch and Judy man adding to the seaside feel.
Partnership working was very evident here with the Sure Start librarian and partners from Children’s Centres and…
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Bringing the beach to the back garden!
Posted Friday July 2nd 2010
by Helen King, EYP Childminder, Hertfordshire
The day the seaside came to us
I am always looking for inspiration and ideas to help my local childminder get together fun sessions where children have a enjoyable learning experience and I have an opportunity to share good practice.
I was enthused when I read that the theme for National Bookstart Day this year was the seaside. I thought it was a great idea as I could really bring a book to life by having a sandy beach at my home.
To tie together the Bookstart theme with a celebration of National Childminding Week, I organised to bring the seaside to us. I invited my local childminding colleagues to a beach party and asked everyone to bring their buckets and spades.
Building a beach!
With the help of my family I created a beach in my back garden using a large blue groundsheet and some crash mats. We created a large area that the sand could not escape from.
Several trips to a local supplier and 40 bags of sand later our beach was taking shape. We put up a colourful windbreak, flag bunting, a beach umbrella and lots of and toys to create a grand beach…
