Bookbug webinar: Scots for Tots – sharing Scots songs, rhymes and stories with bairns

Watch our recorded webinar to give you a start with sharing Scots songs, rhymes and stories. The webinar explores how to use Scots in your Bookbug Sessions and support the variety of dialect variations spoken in Scotland.

So if you want to shooglie wooglie, sort oot your heids from yer taes and sing along with the Toaty Wee Puddock, then this webinar will help you add more than a dash of Scots to your session!

This webinar was led by Laura Green, Education Officer at Scots Language Centre (@LairnScots(this link will open in a new window)). Laura is a teacher and Bookbug Session Leader and previously worked as Scots Language Development Officer for West Lothian Council. She has delivered Scots Bookbug sessions in libraries, nurseries, schools and community organisations across the country.

This webinar was recorded on Tuesday 18 January 2022. Onscreen polls are mentioned that are not visible in the recording.

Captions and a downloadable transcript (found at the bottom of this page) are available for this webinar.

Here’s what you can do next:

• Use the Bookbug Song and Rhyme Library (use Scots language filter) or the Bookbug app for Scots songs and rhyme inspiration.
• Use our two Bookbug Sessions plans: Bookbug Session plan 1 or Bookbug Session plan 2
• Check out our Scots Books for Bairns book list
• Explore the other Scots content on our website.
• Visit Scots Learning Centre Learning(this link will open in a new window)
• Visit the early years section of Scots in schools(this link will open in a new window)

Lyrics to the songs and rhymes shared in Scots were:

• Fit like aabody?
• I hiv a little spider (slightly different version)
• Roon aboot, roon aboot
• Hurlin up an doon in the big green tractor
• Ally Bally

‘Hello everyone’ song in Scots

Hello everyone, hello everyone,

Gled that ye could come.

Hello everyone, hello everyone,

Gled that ye could come.

I, I, I, I, I’m gled that ye could come.

I, I, I, I, I’m gled that ye could come.

I hae a toaty spider

I hae a toaty spider,

I'm awfy fond o' him,

He runs up tae ma shooder,

He lowps oan tae ma chin,

He runs up tae ma heid,

He lowps oan tae my neb,

And when he's awfy tired,

He runs back tae his bed.

Night, night.

Yin, twa, three fower five

Yin, twa, three, fower, five,

Yince Ah caught a fish alive,

Six, seeven, echt, nine, ten

Then Ah let it go again

How did ye let it go,

Acause it bit ma finger so,

Which finger, did it bite?

This wee pinkie oan ma right!

Five wee ducks (Five Little Ducks)

Five wee ducks

Went swimmin yin day,

Ower the hills an faur away.

Mammy duck says

"Quack, quack, quack, quack"

Only fower wee ducks came back.

Toaty wee puddock (Little Green Frog)

Mmm mmm says the toaty wee puddock yin day,

Mmm mmm says the toaty wee puddock.

Mmm mmm says the toaty wee puddock yin day,

An the puddock went mmm mmm bleblebleble

The books shared were:

Nip Nebs by Susi Briggs and Ruthie Redden (Curly Tale Books)

My Luve is Like a Red, Red Rose by Robert Burns and Ruchi Mhasane (Picture Kelpies)

We’re Gangin on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen & Helen Oxenbury; Translated by Susan Rennie (Floris Books)

The Doric Gruffalo’s Bairn by Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler, Translatit intae Doric bi Sheena Blackhall (Itchy Coo/Pan Macmillan)

The Gruffalo’s Wean by Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler, Translated into Scots by James Robertson (Itchy Coo/Pan Macmillan