Hilhead Pages

Schools & Education

Hillhead Primary School

Dear Parent,

Welcome to HOME from HILLHEAD, the nursery’s new home reading scheme. We recently applied for a grant from the Scottish Executive to set up this initiative and were pleased to hear that our application had been successful.

The plan is that for the next nine weeks you will receive a child’s book. Books will be changed each Tuesday. Each time your child takes home a book, you will always be asked to rate the book. Other times your child may be asked to draw a picture relating to the story. Other packs contain a disposable camera and you will be asked to take some pictures of your child reading the book or doing some activity related to the book. so don’t be shy- take a few pictures.

Each few weeks we hope to produce a newsletter which will contain some of your child’s pictures, photographs and views about the books.

At the end of the ten week period we hope to rank each of the books to make a Hillhead top ten. A champion book in the nursery can then be named.

MEMORIES OF BOOKS
Reading books to children can become a very important part of their childhood and their memories. Pupils in Primary 4 and 6 told us a little about books which they enjoyed when they were younger.

“My favourite book when I was little was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. My Mum used to read it to me over and over again. I used to call them the Hi ho men. My favourite dwarf was Doc because he was the leader. I didn’t really like the old lady who was trying to kill Snow White but I liked the seven dwarfs.”
Alan Ferrier Primary 4

My favourite book when I was little was Peter Rabbit. My favourite part of the book was when Peter Rabbit was being chased by Mr McGregor out of his garden, through his vegetable patch. Peter was a mischievous rabbit and always got in to trouble. The book has lovely pictures and was well illustrated. I used to love listening to Mum or Dad reading this story to me”
Hannah Deverson
Primary 4

The title of my favourite book was Hop on POP. The author of Hop on Pop is Doctor Seuss. My Mum used to read it to me every night at bedtime. I was aged four. The main characters are Pat and Pup. The book is about silly rhymes and strange looking characters. The book is funny and easy to read. Ryan Sinclair Primary 6

My favourite book is Little Miss Chatterbox. written by Roger Hargreaves. I was three years old and my Mum read it to me at night time. Little Miss Chatterbox is about a girl who can’t find a job because she talks too much. But eventually she finds a job which suits her down to the ground, doing the speaking clock on the telephone. I liked it because it was really funny.
Lynsey Sutherland Primary 6

My favourite book used to be Jack and the Beanstalk. My Mum used to read it to me when I was three or four years old. I used to like this book because it was fun to read and exciting to find out what would happen to Jack every time he stole from the giant. I remember I used to shout the giant words instead of my Mum - FI FA FO FUM!
Lauren Sinclair Primary 6

THE BOOKS

The books which you will read to your child over the next few weeks have been chosen to cover a range of writers and book types.

Julia Donaldson, Paulette  Bogan, Babette Cole and  David Wojtowcz are a selection of the children’s writers whose books figure in the scheme.

Building sites, dinosaurs, visits to the doctors and losing a favourite toy are just some of the settings in  which the books take place.

We hope that you and your child will enjoy them and we look forward to seeing what your child thinks about each of the books.

Why Read To Your Child?

Evidence from a large number of studies confirms the importance of reading books to young children.

Some studies have specifically found that the number of times which parents reported reading books to their child is linked with the child’s literacy level in school.

Reading books to your child is not only a pleasurable enjoyable activity but it will also give them a greater understanding of language and reading.

Reading books is an important part of nursery life.