A chat, play and read campaign hosts a digital family day with children’s author and illustrator Nick Sharratt
On Wednesday 3 February at 10:00, the National Literacy Trust in partnership with The Institute of Wellbeing will be going live via Zoom to host a Hungry Little Minds digital family day.
This digital family day is going to be introduced and headed by children’s author and illustrator, Nick Sharratt. Sharratt’s popular book The Whales on the Bus (written by Katrina Charman, illustrated by Nick Sharratt and published by Bloomsbury Children’s Books) will be used as a recurring theme throughout the day.
The session will be going live via Zoom, from 10:00 to 12:30 and is primarily aimed at parents, carers and early years’ settings with children aged 0-5. However, the invite is extended to all families who are welcome to dip in and out of the activities. All activities will be based on the themes of chat, play, read and sing and are designed for parents and carers to be able to follow along, in the comfort of their homes.
In Croydon, wellbeing ambassador, singer, songwriter and former judge on the BBC’s ‘All Together Now’ Elle Cato will be joining in with fun filled vocal tutoring activities designed for children. A further seven areas across the country will be joining in the session, alongside local figures including Martyn the Music Man from Middlesbrough, Jemma Hardy from the Foundation Years Trust in the Wirral and Anish Harrison from Swindon Stories.
The digital family day is forming part of the Hungry Little Minds campaign, which is funded by the Department for Education and supported by the National Literacy Trust. This campaign provides families of children under five with lots of simple and fun activities to easily slot into their daily routines whilst building their child’s speech and language skills at home.
Ella Burns, Senior Project Manager at the National Literacy Trust, said:
“We are really looking forward to hosting this exciting day of interactive family fun, coming to you from all areas of the country. From a draw-a-long with Nick Sharratt to singing, stories and messy play, there should be something for everyone with young children to enjoy.”
Claire Kelly, Programme Manager at The Institute of Wellbeing, said:
“It can be a difficult job creating fun learning experiences for our children during this time where external support is restricted, but the Digital Family Day promises to be a fantastic event for us to reach into the homes of children up and down the country with quality home learning activities for everyone to join in with. After all, it takes a community to raise a child and that is just what we see ourselves as here in Croydon doing.”
A full schedule of the digital family day will be available on the National Literacy Trust’s Facebook page, but for now all families, carers and early years’ settings who would like to join the session please email Rebecca James: Rebecca.James@literacytrust.org.uk
For more information on the Hungry Little Minds campaign delivery by The Institute of Wellbeing please visit their website (The Institute of Wellbeing).
For more simple tips and activities that parents can do to support their children’s literacy at home, visit the national Hungry Little Minds website (https://hungrylittleminds.campaign.gov.uk/) or the National Literacy Trust’s Words for Life website (https://wordsforlife.org.uk/).