Ideas for working with children in the early years Here are some ideas for literacy activities involving babies and very young children, and their parents. These are smaller-scale initiatives than those highlighted on the key initiatives page.

Babies into Books (Busy Babies)

This is a community literacy project for parents or carers and children aged from birth to four years, run by FAST LANE in Kirklees. The main aims are to promote interaction in the child's learning and development; to raise awareness of the role of the parent in their child's learning; to encourage parents to introduce books to their babies; to promote early language development; to lay foundations for early reading development; and to enable parent and child to have fun together. Parents and carers are invited to attend a group that meets weekly (usually for one term). Those groups that follow a full 12-week programme are offered the opportunity to gain accreditation in Early Literacy Development 0-2 years.

The library and information service in Hampshire runs Baby Rhymetime for under-2s with their parents or carers. These are fun, toe-tapping rhyme and singing sessions using musical instruments and traditional nursery rhymes. A handbook of rhymes is provided, and the library staff encourage those who attend to join the library and to use books with their babies.

The sessions are free, informal and friendly: it is no problem if people arrive after they have started, and the staff ensure that everyone who attends is welcomed and chatted to, and that the adults are offered a cup of tea. Around 16 people come each time, and the activities last for an hour. Parents and carers sit in a circle with their child on their lap, and there are two leaders, who use puppets and instruments to make the rhymes come alive.

Hampshire County Council funds the initiative, with the musical instruments provided by Sure Start and expertise by the early years coordinator from the Early Years/Library Service Partnership, as well as the library staff. The sessions are publicised through local parent and toddler groups, and the fact that since they began more sessions have been requested, in more venues, indicates their popularity. Staff have also observed that participants' confidence in communication, and their knowledge of rhymes, have improved, that library use has increased and that those who attend have shown increased commitment to the sessions and a greater willingness to engage with others.

For more information on Baby Rhymetime in Hampshire, email mary.jones@hants.gov.uk. Baby/toddler rhyme sessions are also run in libraries in other areas.

Background
Book Bugs is a weekly activity run at Start Point Sholing Early Excellence Centre, which is situated in a pocket of deprivation in Southampton. The aim is to encourage parents and their young children to read and play together. Two consecutive sessions take place in the centre's community play room, each for a different group and lasting an hour and a half; the later one is for children coming straight out of pre-school and school, and these sessions start with a snack.

What goes on
Staff choose a range of books on a particular theme, such as counting books, spring, or pets, and these are displayed on the 'story station' (two display blocks pushed together and covered with material) at the beginning, middle and end of the session. Children and their parents or carers sit together for group story time, when the children can choose books from the story station to listen to, and puppets and props are shared out. Parents are also encouraged to read the books to their children, and lots of big comfortable cushions are placed around the room to facilitate this, but staff do not make a big issue of whether parents join in or not. The staff also read individually to children if asked.

The sessions are quite flexible, depending on the dynamics of the group. For example, the session may take place outside, or the group might not sit down at all for a story from a book, but instead make use of the dressing up and role play area, where the children can star in their own imaginative stories. After the session parents can look through and borrow packs similar to Storysacks, for a charge of 30 pence.

Results of the sessions
No formal evaluation has yet been carried out, but staff have observed that although some children are not interested in sitting down and reading when they first come along, and there is no pressure for them to do so, they become more interested as the weeks go on, really enjoying the sessions. Staff do not specifically try to find out whether the parents themselves have literacy difficulties, but in all cases the aim is simply to give parents the confidence to read as families, and new ideas for how to do this. Staff emphasise that it is not a big problem if books are ripped or lost. They judge that the props that go along with the stories are particularly good for engaging the children's interest, and that the parents feel welcome to come along, even if it is just to sit and chat.

Funding
The scheme was the idea of the centre's director: it was budgeted for when the centre opened and continues to be part of its general term-time activities, funded by the local authority and staffed by the centre's early years workers.

Contact:
For more information call Hayley Channell (community play worker) on 023 8036 3309.

Partnership between Sure Start, the M6 Theatre Company, Artists in Schools and the Library Service in Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council has led to the creation of an environment for two to five-year-olds and their carers. This was developed as a result of 10 artists' residencies in early years settings, as part of a 2-year Sure Start project. Each residence started with a performance of Storytree - an M6 Theatre Company production for the under-fives. Children, artists and early years practitioners then worked together to respond to the images, sounds and themes of that performance through dance, music, den-building and mark-making. The end product was an environment of sounds, shadows, mirrors and dens that reflect the Storytree themes. Visiting children could either watch a performance of Storytree or listen to stories read by a children's librarian before following a trail to the environment, where they could either work alongside an artist or explore on their own.

This project aims to encourage the use of libraries by all families and to promote books for babies and toddlers. It runs a weekly pre-school library in the nursery itself, which is used by families every day, and young children who are the siblings of the nursery children are encouraged to borrow books. There are also workshops and other events to promote books and literacy to families, and a Sure Start speech and language project in which therapists tell parents what they can do at home to develop their children's language skills before they reach nursery age.

The project was set up following an internal survey of how many families were using books. It has raised awareness of the importance of books for very young children and has increased library use by families. Parents and their babies are developing closer relationships as well as improving their literacy skills.

Sure Start provides funding for this and ten other community libraries across the Sure Start area, using the expertise of the librarians and staff from the nurseries and from Sure Start.

Start Singing was a collaboration between Tullie House Museum in Carlisle and the local Sure Start programme, which aimed to stimulate young children's literacy through traditional nursery rhymes and hands-on activities using objects from the museum's collections. In this way families were encouraged to engage with the built and oral heritage of their local area.

What went on
Sessions were run in the community for parents and their children under 4. They used both widely-known and local dialect nursery rhymes as a starting point, raising parents' awareness of the importance of rhyme and song for children's language development. Related museum objects were introduced, and parents and children also had fun with art and craft activities related to the nursery rhyme. Parents were then provided with a book and tape to encourage them to go on using the rhymes at home, and later on a video was also provided. Parents were given free Tullie cards on 'taster' visits to the museum, and were encouraged to visit other heritage sites.

Funding and evaluation
A grant from the Curiosity & Imagination network provided for tapes, booklets and costumes, while staff time and venues were funded by Sure Start. The project was run in summer and autumn 2003, and it is hoped that it will carry on. An external qualitative evaluation is in progress, and it seems from follow-up home visits that parents, some of whom did not know the nursery rhymes beforehand, are still using the rhymes at home several months after the project.

Links:
For more information contact Helen Philips on 01228 625937 Email: helenp@carlisle-city.gov.uk
For Curiosity & Imagination visit www.curiosityandimagination.org.uk

Reference:
(1) This information appeared in the article "Advice that works for parents" in the Sure Start magazine Upstart! Issue 16, February-March 2003