Lullabies Story telling When you sing lullabies, your child is

Lullabies
When you sing lullabies, your child is
soothed by the softness of your voice
and your child is comforted by being
gently rocked. Lullabies are a good
place to start. They soothe babies
all around the world.
These are Turkish lullabies
Ninni ninni ninni e ninni
uyusunda buyusun ninni
tipis tipis yurusun ninni
eeeee.
Ben kizima gul demem
gulun omru az olur ninni
eeeeee
uyusun da buyusun ninni
eeeeee
Uyu yavrum uyu
ninni soyleyim sana
susun kuslar otmeyin
yavrum uyanmasin .
And this is a very old English lullaby
Rock-a-bye baby, in the treetop
When the wind blows, the cradle will rock
When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall
And down will come baby, cradle and all
Baby is drowsing, cosy and fair
Mother sits near, in her rocking chair
Forward and back, the cradle she swings
And though baby sleeps, he hears what she sings
From the high rooftops, down to the sea
No one’s as dear, as baby to me
Wee little fingers, eyes wide and bright
Now sound asleep, until morning light
Do you remember
lullabies from your
childhood?
Nursery rhymes
Nursery rhymes help children to listen to
different sounds and notice the ones that
rhyme. Here is one of the favourites
from the Caribbean.
Gran’ma, gran’ma sick in bed
She call for the doctor. The doctor said,
Gran’ma gran’ma you ain’t sick;
All you need is a walkin’ stick!
Shake, shake, shake, shake,
Shakety, shake!
Shake, shake, shake, shake,
Shakety shake!
To the front, to the back,
To the suh, suh side.
To the front, to the back,
To the suh, suh side.
How many rhymes
can you remember
from your childhood?
Story telling
Story telling helps children to learn about
their history and traditions. Parents, aunts,
uncles, and grandparents can tell children
stories from their own childhood. Here is
a Swahili story.
Tortoise and rabbit were very good
friends. One day, tortoise invited rabbit
and cooked a delicious meal. He then
told the rabbit that he can only share it
if he hides his whole body plus his head
inside his fur. The rabbit tried and tried
but could not. But the tortoise hid his
in his shell and so ate all the food by
himself.
hands but when he came back rabbit
said they were not clean because he
had used them while walking back and
they were sandy. Tortoise went back a
few times, but every time he got sand
on them. Rabbit went to wash his hands
and hopped back with clean hands and
ate all the food by himself. 
The rabbit was very angry and on the
second day he invited tortoise and
cooked a very delicious meal. He told
tortoise that he can only share it, if he
washed his hands down in the river.
Tortoise went to the river to wash his
Perhaps you can
remember a story
told to you when
you were a child?
Favourite books
Children of all ages enjoy being read
to and following stories in books.
This helps them to get ready to read.
Enjoyment of books and stories is the
most important thing in learning to read.
Here are some of Hackney children’s
favourite books:
Peepo
The Gingerbread Man
The Billy Goats Gruff
Where the Wild
Things Are
us
B
The Little School
Little Rabbit Foo Foo
So Much
The Owl and the
Pussycat
Dear Zoo
Gruffalo
Walking Through
the Jungle
Where to get books
Free books are available from your
national Bookstart scheme. Contact
Dawn Hendrickson, Hackney Libraries
on 020 8356 5237.
Hackney Libraries:
Clapton Library
Northwold Rd E5 8RA
020 8356 2570
Shoreditch Library
80 Hoxton St N1 6LP
020 8356 4536
CLR James Library
24-30 Dalston Lane E8 3AZ
020 8356 1665
Homerton Library
Homerton High St E9 6AS
020 8356 1690
Hackney Central Library
1 Reading Lane E8 1GQ
020 8356 1690
Stoke Newington Library
Church St N16 0JS
020 8356 5230/5231
Stamford Hill Library
Portland Ave N16 6SB
020 8356 2573
Parents and caring adults play an
essential part in giving their child a love
of reading. We recognise that Hackney
parents have a wide range of rich and
diverse experiences and we want to
celebrate these.
This leaflet is about using your lullabies,
nursery rhymes and stories to help
children read. Each section will take
you through a series of stories, favourite
books, lullabies and nursery rhymes
collected from parents across Hackney.
All can be shared with your child.
Do you have stories
to share with other
parents?
Help Get Hackney Reading again by
sharing your stories with parents across
Hackney. We are collecting lullabies,
stories and nursery rhymes that you may
have listened to when you were young.
Please contact Linden Children’s Centre
on 020 7254 9939.
What can you do next?
We thought about all the ways we could
help children to read. Here are some of
our ideas
•Sing lullabies to your child from the
earliest age
•Help your child to learn nursery
rhymes
•Get grandparents, aunts, uncles
and friends to tell stories from their
childhood
•Encourage your child to make up
stories
•Encourage your child’s imagination by
playing with puppets and dressing up
clothes.
•Read to your child
•Share books with your child that helps
them understand about the world
Once upon
a time in
Hackney...
Using your experiences
to get your child ready
to read
•Help your child to read the signs they
see around them like “Bus Stop” and
the “stopping” sign when they ring
the bell on the bus.
•Borrow books and find out about story
times at the local library
•Give your child the chance to listen
to stories in the language you use at
home
And all the children in Hackney
sang lullabies, told rhymes and
stories and they all read happily
ever after.
Thank yous:
A major thank you to the staff, families and children of Hillside, Linden, Fernbank, and Clapton Park
Children’s Centres for sharing their stories and rhymes.
www.learningtrust.co.uk/childcare