Boomerang Book Bags Boomerang Book Bags are part of Pori Drwy Stori, the Welsh Government programme for Reception aged children. Pori Drwy Stori is run by BookTrust, the independent charity that works to transform lives by inspiring a love of reading. We’re going to explain how to get the most out of your child’s Boomerang Book Bag and then share some simple ways to enjoy books which will work with a whole range of books and support your child with their reading.

Magazine Cover Your child will receive a Boomerang Book Bag to take between home and school. It will contain a copy of Kitchen Disco and Pan Wenodd y Lleuad. Your child will also receive their own special magazine to keep. Read this magazine with your child and complete the activities together as this will bring the books to life and help you both enjoy them. On the back page of the magazine is a drawing activity and a parent survey. This page is for you to complete with your child. Once you’ve done this together cut it out and return to your child’s teacher. _________________________________________________________________________________ (The following are suggestions which may help you to engage with your audience): Have Book Bags, copies of the books and the magazine available for parents/carers to see, hold and look through. If parents / carers have already taken the magazines home ask them if they have done any of the activities. Create a display showing some of the work you might have already done in class about the two books

Reading with your child Reading together every day and having fun with stories will make your child a more confident reader. A recent study* found that reading with your child is the most important thing you can do to make them a more confident reader. After that, singing songs, telling stories and playing word games are also very helpful, useful, and are fun activities that support your child’s reading. Children who are confident readers make much quicker progress at school than those who are not. Finding a few minutes every day to read with your child will make a huge difference – and it can be fun! _________________________________________________________________________________ *The study mentioned is PISA - Let's Read Them a Story! The Parent Factor in Education, 2012 from the OECD: www.oecd.org/pisa/letsread

Top tips for reading with your child Sharing a book for just ten minutes a day can make a huge difference to language development, confidence and social skills! Share picture books, comics, poems, rhymes, songs… What you read Choose a range of books to read – picture books, non-fiction books about topics that interest your child (for example bugs or dinosaurs), comics, children’s magazines, books of nursery rhymes! Most importantly choose books that you and your child will enjoy! Daily reading makes a huge difference to children’s confidence and reading ability. Getting your child excited about books and enjoying books can have significant long-term benefits. It’s shown that regularly reading for pleasure really helps children and young people do well in school*. *Source: Do Students Read for Pleasure? PISA in Focus (OECD 2011)

More top tips! Find a quiet place. Turn off televisions, tablets and computers. Bedtime is a good opportunity. Talk about the pictures, ask questions about what your child can see. Most importantly, have fun! Remind parents and carers that there are more top tips for reading in the magazine that came inside their Boomerang Book Bags and that completing this magazine with their child will give them lots of ways that they can enjoy the books in the bags. These approaches and games also apply to other books!

Reading games through the day Sing songs, recite rhymes and tell stories, true or make-believe! Look for letters and words in the world around you when you are out and about (signs, adverts, wrappers…) Play I-spy-with-my-little-eye… Talk about photos and pictures – tell stories from your family life. You can read anywhere. Talking is also very important. Talking: Talk to your child, ask them about their day, tell them about your day. This could be while you’re cooking their tea, bathing them, or on the walk home from school. Say silly things which will spark their imagination – if they ask you where their shoes are say something like, “I don’t know – maybe a monster ate them?” Letter sounds and shapes: Look for words and letters when you’re out and about. Spell your child’s name in the park using sticks or leaves, or write it in sand. Work out the start sounds of words and ask them to think of other words that start with the same sound. Look at signs and find more letters and sound them out. Make it fun, don’t be afraid to make a fool of yourself as this will make the experience more memorable for your child!

Reading Read to your child. Tell your child stories – from books, about your life and their life, or share stories that you’ve made up! Talk about the books you’ve read. Look for rhyming words when you read. Let your child see you reading. Read the same book over and over again. Read new books. Read yourself. Read together – the same words at the same time. Make up stories together. When you’re talking with your child and telling stories it can be in any language. The wider the range of the language you use with your child the more words they will know. Don’t be afraid to go back and re-read simpler books just for fun – books that you once read to your child they can now enjoy reading to you. Ask your child questions about the book and the characters – what would they do in that situation, how would they feel if… etc.

Visit your local library Libraries are child-friendly – you don’t have to keep quiet! Libraries don’t charge fines for books taken out on children’s cards. Choose books together. Choose books you can read to your child. Choose books for yourself. A visit to the library can be an exciting after-school or weekend activity. The library is an excellent place to find books to read. The librarians will help you choose books if you ask them to. Whatever your, or your child’s interests, you’ll be able to find books you enjoy reading. There will be books that are entirely new to you, books from your childhood and books featuring characters you already know and love. _________________________________________________________________________________ (The following are suggestions which may help you to engage with your attendees): Give your attendees information about where the local library is, how to join and explain that it’s free. You might want to add that libraries don’t charge fines for books on children’s cards if you’re late to return them. You might even want to invite a librarian to your event.

Read to your child Talk to your child. Let your child see you reading. Boomerang Book Bags www.poridrwystori.org.uk Read to your child Talk to your child. Let your child see you reading. Visit the Pori Drwy Stori website for more ideas at www.poridrwystori.org.uk The website has lots or resources for you and your child, including audio versions of our Welsh books, rhymes and poems online games interactive story books You could also look at the main BookTrust website to find book recommendations: www.booktrust.org.uk -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Note: You might wish to make some tablets or PCs available showing the Pori and BookTrust websites for parents to browse at the end of the session.