Story Café ~ MAY 2024

Story Café is a stay and play session with a focus on Communication and language development, with an emphasis on the benefits of sharing stories together. We share a story with props, play and explore around the story with activities, enjoy a healthy snack and finish with songtime. Each child takes home a free picture book and a sticker. Story Cafe sessions are FREE, including all activities, picture book and snack for children and adults, and led by our teacher / Communication Champion. This month we shared...

Bee by Britta Teckentrup 

A gorgeous story, shared with families on a gorgeous morning in the park. We hunted for bees in the trees, went on a nature scavenger hunt, played parachute games and popped bubbles.   Published by Little Tiger Books in 2016 Find out more here - https://www.booktrust.org.uk/book/b/bee/.   And here's a nice video so you can share the story at home - https://youtu.be/9rZchsF3Tlw

Here's what we did... 

We're going on a bear hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury

A classic story for sharing and joining in.  Brilliant rhyming text and lovely illustrations.  

We also shared a poem from Something about a Bear by Jackie Morris today. Find it in the children's library. 

and People need People by Benjamin Zephaniah. 

Who was Benjamin Zephaniah?  Read all about him on the Book Trust website here - https://www.booktrust.org.uk/authors/z/zephaniah-benjamin/ 

The illustrated version of the  beautiful poem from the late Benjamin Zephaniah. Benjamin was a performance poet, he wrote stories that rhyme, stood on a stage and told those stories to lots of people who loved to listen to him speak. He wanted everyone in the world to live together peacefully. The illustrations are great too - loads of opportunities to spot things in the pages and talk about how the people might be feeling and what they are doing.  We shared the story, explored painting our hands, making hand and people shaped stick puppets, and cutting out little chains of people holding hands.  

Listen / watch the story on youtube here - https://youtu.be/8uHHjAsPbLc?si=ch5zdrEBT93Pet2r

Sharing stories with families at First Steps Norwich CIC. Part of the NR3 Stories for families project, supported by The National Lottery Community Fund and Norfolk's Early Childhood and Family Service.  And a big thanks to Rose Feather for joining us to sketch families sharing stories and to engage families in exploring mark making.

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Story Café ~ APRIL 2024

Story Café is a stay and play  session with a focus on Communication and language development, with an emphasis on the benefits of sharing stories together. We share a story with props, play and explore around the story with activities, enjoy a healthy snack and finish with songtime. Each child takes home a free picture book and a sticker. Story Cafe sessions are FREE, including all activities, picture book and snack for children and adults, and led by our teacher / Communication Champion.  This month we shared...

A Busy Day for Birds by Lucy Cousins

Story Café ~ MARCH 2024

Story Café is a stay and play  session with a focus on Communication and language development, with an emphasis on the benefits of sharing stories together. We share a story with props, play and explore around the story with activities, enjoy a healthy snack and finish with songtime. Each child takes home a free picture book and a sticker. Story Cafe sessions are FREE, including all activities, picture book and snack for children and adults, and led by our teacher / Communication Champion.  This month we shared...

Barbara Throws a Wobbler by Nadia Shireen. 

Published by Penguin Books. Find out more here - https://www.booktrust.org.uk/book/b/barbara-throws-a-wobbler/. Thanks to Book Trust for an extra copy of the book to gift to a local family. This is a brilliant story about emotions, letting the wobbler take over, and calming the wobbler so they go away.  Barbara throws a big one, so big she doesn't even want an ice cream or a hug.  But she soon gets to know the wobbler and learns how to make it go away.  Will it come back though? Almost certainly. 

Here's what we did... 

Story Cafe | FEBRUARY 2024

These sessions have a focus on Communication and language development, with an emphasis on the benefits of sharing stories together. We share a story with props, play and explore around the story with activities, enjoy a healthy snack and finish with songtime. Each child takes home a free picture book and a sticker. Story Cafe sessions are FREE, including all activities, picture book and snack for children and adults, and led by our teacher / Communication Champion. 

Owl Babies by Martin Waddell and Patrick Benson.

Published by Walker Books. Find out more here - https://www.booktrust.org.uk/book/o/owl-babies/ 

A Story Cafe | Aliens love Panta Claus

 

Today we shared Aliens love Panta Claus bt]y Claire Freedman and Ben Cort.  The children all love space rockets at the moment so this is a lovely choice with a Christmassy take on the Aliens love Underpants stories.

Here's what we did in pictures...

A Story Cafe | Luna loves Library Day

 

This time we shared Luna loves Library Day by Joseph Coelho and illustrated by Fiona Lumbers.  It's a lovely story of a little girl called Luna whose Mum drops her off at the library to meet Dad, all ready with her book bag, library card, and books to return.  Luna and Dad look at some books and chose some for Luna to take home.  In the middle of the book, we are treated to a book in a book - the fairy story that Luna's Dad reads to her at the library.  One of the lovleiest moments in the book is when Luna chooses a book about magic tricks to take home - maybe she can magic Dad back home with her and Mum.

A Story Cafe | The Happy Hedgehog Band

 

This week at Story Cafe we shared The Happy Hedgehog Band by Jill Barton.  

What I read ~ September and October 2023

Summer by Ali Smith. Set in Summer, in different years, but partly in 2020, beautifully articulating lockdown. But also about brothers and sisters, in different times and from different places, with the common thread of change and coping with change. Part of the author's Seasonal Quartet, and one of the first novels to tackle Covid and all it brought.  Published by Penguin Books. Find out more here - https://www.waterstones.com/book/summer/ali-smith/9780241973370

STORY CAFE ~ The Paper Dolls

This week, we shared The Paper Dolls  by Juila Donaldson and illustrated by Rebecca Cobb.  Here they are (the paper dolls not the author and illustrator...) - Ticky and Tacky and Jackie the Backy and Jim with 2 Noses ans Joe with the Bow.

And on their adventures they meet ... a tiger, a crocodile, a dinosaur, the pigs at the farm, a jar of honey and a bus, and they lie down in the green grass.

STORY CAFE ~ Cock-a-doodle-doo! Farmyard Hullabaloo

Story Cafe is about inspiring a love of books and stories within families and early years settings.  

A Story Café | How do Dinosaurs go to School

Some of the children who come to Story Cafe are off to big school in September, some are off to nursery or preschool, and some will be coming back to see us in September.  So our stories today are about transitions to school, or nursery.  But babies, toddlers and young children go through many transitions just within a day, going out of the house to go shopping, going to the childminder or Grandma's house, going for a nap or to bed at the end of the day.  Sometimes it's good to remember that we all deal with transitions like these in different ways, all of which are OK, and sometimes it's hard, anmd someines we just need a little bit more time.

A Story Café | Nen and the Lonely Fisherman

At today's Story Cafe we shared the lovely tale of a Merman called Nen, and a lonely fisherman called Ernest, written by super picture book author Ian Eagleton and illustrator James Mayhew, and published by Owlet Press.  We need to say a massive thanks to Sam from Owlet Press who sent us a copy of the book to gift to one lucky family whose name was drawn out of the hat.

We started off by having a chat about children's communication and language development, using the pyramid model.  We emphasis that early communication and language development is all about chatting as you play and go about daily life - as we do this, children develop their listening and attention skills, and then begin to understand  as they connect words with objects, people and actions.  

We shared the story, with some fishy props, and when the big storm came, and Nen was searching for Ernest, the children were really excited to spot him in the sea.  We sang "12345 once I caught a fish alive" as that was the only fishy song I could remember!  

A Story Café | The Very Hungry Caterpillar

This time at Story Café we shared The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle.  The classic story of an egg, a caterpillar, a cocoon and a beautiful butterfly.  

Jasper's Beanstalk | a Story Café

Today's Story Cafe was based on Jasper's Beanstalk by Nick Butterworth and Mick Inkpen.  A brilliant classic that takes us through the days of the week as Jasper finds a bean, plants it, digs it, rakes it, waters it, mows it, and finally after a very, very, very long time, sees it grow into a beanstalk worthy of a giant.  We made beanstalks (I found some very cool leaf shaped sticky notes), and planted seeds in little pots to take home and grow (hopefully!).  Read on for a picture guide to what we did, and some ideas for more picure books based on the theme of planting seeds, as well as a link to hear the story read aloud. 

We all went on Safari | a story café

This week's Story Cafe was all about numbers.  We shared We all went on safari by Laurie Krebs and Julia Cairns.  Loads of children and ther families or childminders came along to listen to the story, play, chat, get a bit messy, and go home with a Story Cafe sticker and a free picture book.  Have a look at the photos below to see what we did...

A Story Café ~ Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy

This time at our Story Cafe, we shared Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy by Lynley Dodd.  The first and classic Hairy Maclary story, where the little black dog goes on a wild chase followed by all his friends - Bottomley Potts all covered in spots, Muffin McLay like a bundle of hay, and all the rest,  only to be chased back home by the ferocious Scarface Claw, the toughest tom in town.

A Story Cafe | Handa's Surprise by Eileen Browne

This time at Story Café we shared the classic Handa's Surprise by Eileen Browne.  Story Cafe is where we invite families along to a stay and play session to share a story, and learn a bit about their children's communication and language development.  We share a healthy snack together, sing some songs, and give every child a picture book to take home. 

A Story Cafe | Oh No! Shark in the Snow by Nick Sharratt

At our Story Cafe last week we shared Oh No! Shark in the Snow by Nick Sharratt.  A wintry take on the classic Shark in the Park starring Timothy Pope and his quiff-bearing Dad.

A Story Cafe | Aunt Amelia by Rebecca Cobb

Today's story was Aunt Amelia by Rebecca Cobb.  The children don't remember Aunt Amelia as they only met her when they were very small.  But today she's coming to babysit.  Mum and Dad have left her an enormous lost of do's and don'ts, which the children and Aunt Amelia have a brilliant time following - doing exactly the opposite of what Mum and Dad's list says.

A Story Cafe | Tree by Britta Teckentrup

At this week's Story Cafe we shared the beautiful Tree by Britta Teckentrup.