While planning a bear-themed storytime this week, I was typing up a handout for parents to take home which included the rhyme "Going on a Bear Hunt." It's a fun rhyme to do with children anytime. You can even find the book in our catalog here: Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen & Helen Oxenbury or Going on a Lion Hunt. You can watch it here: Going a Bear Hunt video.
It starts off like this:
We’re going on a bear hunt!
We’re gonna catch a big one!
We’re not scared!
Are you?
Not me!
Look!
A hill!
We can’t get round it.
We can’t get through it.
Gonna climb over it.
(makes hill climbing actions) Huff, puff, huff, puff, huff (mimes reaching the top and looking around with eyes shaded and then running back down) Ooooh, what a loverly view! Weeeeeeeeee.
So I started thinking about an early literacy skills tip I read a while ago that suggested taking your children on a letter hunt. Let's call it a Letter Safari! Letter knowledge, learning to name letters and recognizing them everywhere, is one of the skills children will need to learn to read later.
If you're grocery shopping or waiting in a line, give your child a letter (you could start with the first letter in their name) and ask them to point everytime they spot it. For example, "Here's the letter D. Where else do you see the letter D?" Help them if needed and encourage them when they find that letter!
Using the tune for "Going on a Bear Hunt," here's a rhyme you can use on your Letter Safari:
We're going on a letter hunt.
We're looking all around.
There are so many A's
Waiting to be found.
You can change the letters or even hide some letters around your house and help your child to search for them. Have fun!
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