Bookbug Session Plan: Mavis the Bravest

The Hello Song

Benefits

Familiar start – lets everyone know a Bookbug session has started.

Tips

Smile and use names if you know them. Clap or tap along to the beat and use signs if you know them.

Two Little Dicky Birds

Benefits

This song is great for fine motor development: children can use their fingers to participate in the song as you sing with them. For younger children this is great for object permanence, understanding that something exists even when it’s not in sight.

Tips

When sharing this song with babies and toddlers, sit face to face so they can see the actions you are doing. You can help children understand different ways of using their voice by adding in new verses, e.g. ‘Two little dicky birds, sitting on a cloud. One named quiet, one named loud. Fly away quiet, fly away loud. Come back quiet, come back loud.’

Three Craws

Benefits

This is a great song for early counting giving children the opportunity to count up, but also uses other mathematical language such as first, second, third and fourth.

Tips

Opportunities to engage in finger play help children develop their fine motor skills and dexterity. Encourage toddlers and older children to use their fingers to show how many craws are on the waw.

Old MacDonald

Benefits

A great song to explore different animals and experiment with sounds and movement.

Tips

Encourage the toddlers and older children to share their ideas of what animals they might find on the farm. Babies find beat comforting and soothing, when sharing this energetic song with babies, you can gently tap their back to the beat, gently rock them in your arms or bounce them on your knee to the beat.

I wonder what's in my bag today?

Benefits

Builds anticipation and captures the attention of the children.

Tips

Use Bookbug to help engage the children in singing the ‘I wonder what’s in my bag today?’ song. Use Makaton to support different communication needs. Sing the song to the tune of ‘Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush’, i.e.:

‘I wonder what’s in my bag today, bag today, bag today I wonder what’s in my bag today, come and take a look. . . At Bookbug’s favourite book.’

Mavis the Bravest by Lu Fraser and Sarah Warburton

Benefits

We all, at times, have worries and fears and Mavis is no different. This clever rhyming book explores friendship and courage, and is a great book to share with children who might be about to explore something new.

Tips

There are lots of opportunities to explore sounds and noises throughout this story. Encourage the children to join in with the animals' sounds throughout the story, or turn themselves into a noisy tractor, or maybe they can come up with different ideas to create the click-clacking sound of Mavis’ knitting needles.

Hurlin up and doon in the Big Green Tractor

Benefits

This is a fun and interactive song which encourages everyone to get up and move around. There are lots of great Scots words, for children and grown-ups to use and discover.

Tips

You could use the Bookbug app to play this song during your Bookbug session, this will help you share the song with the families and remind them that the Bookbug app is available for them to download and use at home too!

Baa Baa Black Sheep

Benefits

A good song for early counting and developing speech sounds. This song gives children the opportunity to explore the ‘b’ sound, so being face-to-face with babies and toddlers when sharing this song helps them to see how your mouth moves as you create this sound.

Tips

Actions are a great way to help children understand and participate in the session. You could use Makaton to add some actions to this song when you share it with the children and their families.

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

Benefits

A soothing song to share at quite times or nap times. The actions will help children to develop their fine manipulative skills, moving/wiggling their fingers and creating shapes with their hands to make a diamond.

Tips

Gently rock your baby in your arms as you share quiet times together or share this song sitting face-to-face. You can do the actions with your own hands and let them see how they are moving. With older children, encourage them to copy the actions you are doing.

The Goodbye Song

Benefits

Tells everyone the session is coming to an end.

Tips

Wave, smile and use names if you know them. If you know Makaton you can support this song with signs.