Do you want to have some fun with your child and find out more about the benefits of singing, talking and reading together in the early years?
Then come along to our local family hubs FREE storytelling and nursery rhyme sessions for parents/carers and under 5s.
Dudley’s family hub network is running sessions from 13 to 17 May as part of its new sing, talk and read together (STaRT) campaign, which highlights the value of home learning from conception throughout the early years.
Pop into one of our sessions which will take place from 10am to noon at:
Coseley on Monday 13 May 2024
Bayer Street, Bilston, WV14 9DS 01384 813096
Dudley on Tuesday 14 May 2024
Selbourne Road, Dudley DY2 8LJ, 01384 812440
Brierley Hill on Wednesday 15 May 2024
18 Parkes Street, Brierley Hill, DY5 3DY, 01384 813322
Halesowen Town Hall on Thursday 16 May 2024 (outreach event from family hub based in Lye)
Hagley Street, Halesowen, B63 3AT, 01384 813954
Stourbridge on Friday 17 May 2024
Forge Rd, Stourbridge, DY8 1XF, 01384 818780
Free books for young children are kindly being provided by the National Literacy Trust across the week in all Family Hubs. Representatives from the trust will be on site at the Coseley event on Monday and Brierley Hill event on Wednesday, to talk to families about their resources.
As well as stories and nursery songs, there will be the chance for young children to play and explore with their peers.
What is STaRT?
STaRT (sing, talk and read together) is a new campaign which aims to highlight the benefits of home learning for under 5s.
Learning to talk and communicate helps children make friends, feel good about themselves and do better when they reach school.
There's lots of things parents and carers can do at home to encourage learning in the early years from singing and talking to reading and helping children explore the world around them.
Sing
Share songs and nursery rhymes. Joining in with action songs and rhymes. Nursery rhymes introduce new words to children. They help them recognise sounds in words and hear rhyming words. Action songs help develop coordination and core strength. Singing together is a very social experience and builds bonds.
Talk
Introducing new words, modelling speaking in sentences and exploring and discussing the world around us. Talking to your child builds their self esteem and helps them feel valued. It teaches them what a conversation looks like. It expands their vocabulary and understanding of the world around them.
Read
Telling, sharing and reading stories. Having fun with imagination and creating your own stories. Reading to your child provides comfort and reassurance, confidence and security, relaxation, happiness and fun. It builds vocabulary, self-esteem, and feeds imagination.
Singing, talking and reading are only some of the activities you can do together, there are more activity ideas on our downloadable leaflet below.
Find out more about home learning on our Start for Life pages.
