Song Box
* Gather together soft toys that represent characters from songs that the children are familiar with.
* In the picture you can see characters that represent 'Incy Wincy Spider', 'Horsey, Horsey', 'Hickory, Dickory Dock', 'Mary Had a Little Lamb' and 'Miss Polly'.
* Place all the characters in a bright attractive box.
* Introduce them to the children, oneat a time, so that when a particular character is selected the children sing the relevant song.
* Write which song or rhyme each character represents on the underside of the box lid to avoid confusion when different adults are using the box.
* Allow parents to borrow the box overnight so they can use it with the children at home.
Rhyme Time
* When telling rhymes to very young children, bring them to life with props.
* Babies will enjoy watching adults moving soft toys to tell the rhyme.
* Slightly older children will enjoy being able to look at pictures representing the rhyme.
* In the picture you can see simple picture cards for 'Little Miss Muffet'
and 'Humpty Dumpty'. Older children will enjoy the challenge of trying to sequence pictures from a rhyme. Throw the cards up in the air and invite the children to order them correctly and re-tell the rhyme.
Chatter Box
* Make a TV screen using a piece of cardboard and transparent plastic.
* Gather other items that people usually talk into, for example, a mobile phone, a toy phone, a walkie-talkie, small megaphones made from card, a microphone and so on.
* Place all of these items in an attractive box.
* Allow the babies and toddlers to explore the contents of the box on a regular basis, encouraging them to use the various props to 'chatter'.
Megaphones
* Make simple megaphones like those in the picture by rolling up sheets of paper and adding decorations to attract the children's interest.
* Invite the children to talk, sing and tell stories using the megaphones.
* As an alternative, collect empty stacking crisp tubes and empty wrapping paper tubes. Cover with photos of the children's families, cut-outs of favourite characters and so on.
Poetry Pockets
* Make rhymes come to life by reading very young children the rhyme and giving them a range of props to explore.
* The picture shows some props that can be used for any rhyme about sea life. These include a piece of netting, a fish glove puppet, a soft toy fish, a simple matching game and a range of small underwater creatures.
* Use the props to help the children recall the rhyme and to develop their language skills.
Group rhymes
* 'This is the way we wash our hands' (To the tune of 'Here we go round the Mulberry Bush')
This is the way we wash our hands,
Wash our hands, wash our hands,
This is the way we wash our hands,
Before we eat a snack.
* Encourage the children to participate by joining in simple rhymes.
* The above rhyme can be adapted for tidying up, welcoming friends, brushing teeth and so on. Using rhymes like this may help some children participate in daily routines.
Goodie Bags
* After introducing the children to a rhyme book or story, generate further interest by creating a Goodie Bag that the children can explore as and when they wish. In the picture is an example based on one of the Elmer the Elephant stories by David McKee.
* In this bag there is an Elmer book, squares of felt that the children can arrange on the floor like Elmer's coat, a soft toy Elmer the children can use to retell the story, small pieces of coloured squares of paper for creating a collage and coloured pencils to add marks.
Please note: Any activity involving small items that can be swallowed must be closely supervised by an adult.
