Making the most of your Bookbug at Home kits

• Remind families to have the kit ready for your visit, so that they can join in and use the same resources as you.
• If you’re doing other activities as part of your visit, use the Bookbug finger puppet to signal that it’s time for stories, songs and rhymes.
• Use the songs and rhymes from the free Bookbug app or Song and Rhyme Library as a starting point if this is a new experience for families. Encourage them to download the app themselves so they can use it in between your visits. 
• Choose songs and rhymes linked to the puppets and encourage the child or parent/carer to find their matching puppet and join in with you. For older children, try building the anticipation by hiding the puppets in the bag. Can they guess which puppet you will bring out next? 
• Use your puppets creatively! You could tell a simple story using them as the characters; or play a game of virtual hide and seek with them by hiding one at a time and getting the child to guess where it’s hiding. Again, you can take turns in playing this game.
• Let the family choose which of the books you’ll read together during your session.
• Encourage families to use the books and resources between your visits. The kit doesn’t need to be packed away and only brought out when you’re there. The books and other resources can be used throughout the day and at bedtime too. Encourage them to share with you which songs, rhymes and stories they’ve been enjoying!

Speech, language and communication

The pack of activity cards contain ideas of how to use the items in the kit. Written with input from the National Early Language and Communication Project(this link will open in a new window), each activity, written from the child’s point of view, encourages parents to share, watch and wait and respond to their little one.

Encourage parents to remember the following when sharing stories, songs and rhymes together to build their child’s communication and language:

• Listen, watch and respond to me
• Get face-to-face or down at my level
• Watch and wait before joining in
• Copy my sounds, gestures, and words
• Use your home language/s
• Have fun!

Look out for more information on the work of the National Early Language and Communication Project. Visit the exploring parentclub.scot's articles(this link will open in a new window) for ideas of how to encourage parents to chat together with their children, such as top tips for chatting with your baby(this link will open in a new window) and top tips for encouraging your child’s speech, language and communication(this link will open in a new window).

Book activity suggestions

Monkey and Me by Emily Gravett

• Chant along! After sharing the book a few times see if the child can join in with you when chanting the repeated phrase from the book, Monkey and Me, Monkey and Me, Monkey and Me we went to see...
• What animal is next? Can the child guess the order of the animals the girl visits? The drawings give you a clue before you turn the page to reveal the animal!
• Extend the story Did you notice on the last page that there is a real monkey at home with the girl? Ask the child, how did it get there? Did she sneak it out of the zoo? Did it follow her home? What will happen when she wakes up? Will she be able to keep it? What will the grown-ups say?
• Animal role-play adventure Recreate the book's story by acting out the animals mentioned. Encourage children to walk like penguins, hop like kangaroos, or stomp like an elephant? Can they make the sounds of the animals as well?
• Animal guessing game Using clues, gestures, actions or sounds, have one child act out an animal while others guess. Include animals not in the book.
• Animal parade If the child has some soft animal toys maybe they can create a parade, mimicking the girl's imaginative adventures. Let the child describe or introduce their soft animal.
• Your own zoo adventure After reading the book, ask children to draw or talk about their own imaginative journey to the zoo. What animals would they visit and why?
• Animal yoga Lead children through yoga poses inspired by the animals in the book. Penguin: Stand tall with arms by your side and waddle. Kangaroo: Hop and hold hands at chest level like paws. Monkey: Bend forward, swing arms, and pound your chest gently.
• Animal footprint hunt Make animal footprints out of cardboard or paper and hide them around the room. The child can search for the prints and guess which animal they belong to.
• Bookbug app Play some animal-themed songs and rhymes from the app and move and dance like that animal around the room e.g. Katie Bairdie, Old MacDonald, Percy the Pink Parrot and Playtime for the Penguins.

Yawn by Nick Sharratt and Sally Symes

• Yawning game Can you read all the way through the book without anyone yawning? If someone yawns, you must go back to the beginning and start all over again!
• Animal actions As you read the book, encourage the child to act out each animal's movements e.g. purr like a cat, flap arms like a bird, or wiggle like a fish.
• Yawning sounds Explore the sounds of yawns. How does a mouse yawn? How does a lion yawn? What would a robot or a dinosaur look like yawning? Let the child experiment with soft and loud yawns, silly yawns, or exaggerated yawns.
• Bedtime routine Help the child create a bedtime routine. Include activities like bath time, brushing teeth, putting on PJs, reading Yawn and then finishing with a lullaby, like Wee Willie Winkie.
• Animal guessing game Before turning each page, read the rhyming clue, leave a pause and have the children guess which animal will appear next based on the rhyme.
• Sleepy animal charades Have the child act out animals falling asleep or yawning, while others guess what animal they’re pretending to be.
• Yawn counting Count the number of yawns or animals throughout the book.
• Rhyme creation Can you help the child to create their own rhymes following the book's pattern e.g. 'The yawn went to a dog…on a log' or 'The yawn went to a rat...on a mat” or 'The yawn went to a sheep…in a jeep.'
• Relaxation exercise Use the book as a wind-down activity before naptime or bedtime. Guide the child through gentle stretches and yawns.
• Bookbug app There are lots of songs and rhymes on the app to help with a bedtime routine or for moments of relaxation throughout the day. Do you have a favourite to help you yawn and get ready for bed? Twinkle Twinkle, Ally Bally, Star Light?