Lockdown has been interesting to see more of how the kids play. My eldest loves Lego and is energetic but will sometimes sit quietly.
My youngest not so much 😂. He spends his entirely 3yo life running, climbing or eating! This one’s for him. Thanks for reading 💖
Think my writing is being influenced by lock down🙈
Thanks for reading/watching and hope you’re safe and well 💖
The crazy mummy between kids’ snacks reading The (not so) Great Hamster Escape
The (not so) Great Hamster Escape – Kirsten Allen
The hamster, (his cheeks filled with food)
Looked through the cage bars and thought it was rude
That the humans had the run of the house,
So did the cat, the dog and the mouse.
“I’m going to escape!” He said
And plans started to clack like a wheel in his head.
He couldn’t squeeze through the gaps – they were narrow
And his bum was the size of a small wheel barrow.
When he tried to prise the metal apart
The only thing that escaped was a silent long fart.
He attempted a gnibble and attempted a gnaw
But all the chomping and chewing gave him a sore jaw
He paced up and down trying to think
Only stopping briefly for a quick drink
An idea suddenly hit him like a tank at full throttle –
He’d make a small hole in his drinking bottle!
The hamster carried out his devious plan
And the next day at breakfast over croissants and jam
The smallest human noticed the bottle was dry
And the little offspring let out a cry
“Oh mummy, oh daddy there’s not a drop spare!”
But the grown ups were too busy to care.
So the little girl decided to do it herself
And grabbed a new bottle from the pet food shelf.
She carefully put the new bottle in
Then put the old one in the bin.
The hamster’s excitement reached the highest peaks!
“She’s forgotten to shut the door!” He squeaked!
He cartwheeled and rubbed his paws with glee
Very soon he knew that he’d be free!
Lit by only the moon, the house was quiet once more,
He crept and creeped out of that door.
But oh no! Alas! Alack!
He never saw the puddy cat…..
Something for young ones! Here’s a download with “The Tale of the Cheeky Monkey”
This rhyme one close to my heart…I used it in my first workshop at the Barnes Children’s Literature Festival last year!
As well as colouring in, why not make your own tree using old newspaper or similar?
Cheeky Monkey – by Kirsten Allen
Cheeky monkey, cheeky monkey!
Where on Earth could monkey be?
Cheeky monkey, cheeky monkey
Was climbing up the coconut tree!
Cheeky monkey, cheeky monkey
Picked up a coconut without a sound.
Cheeky monkey, cheeky monkey
Threw the coconut on the ground!
Cheeky monkey, cheeky monkey
Had a thought and picked another.
Cheeky monkey, cheeky monkey
Then threw it at his little brother!
Cheeky monkey, cheeky monkey
Made his little brother cry.
Cheeky monkey, cheeky monkey
Said it fell out of the sky!
Mummy Monkey crossly said
It wasn’t nice to hurt his brother’s head!
Little brother was very sad
And Cheeky Monkey felt quite bad.
Sorry monkey, sorry monkey
Said he was as sorry as could possibly be.
So, his brother then forgave him
And together they played in the banana tree!
Children’s rhymes and poems can shape the way we look at the world when we’re younger and bring back amazing memories when we’re older. To give you an example, I honestly can’t walk past a fish tank or see a kitten without fondly remembering sitting in a classroom (think it was Year 1) and learning, writing out and illustrating this one by Ogden Nash:
The Guppyby Ogden Nash
Whales have calves,
Cats have kittens,
Bears have cubs,
Bats have bittens,
Swans have cygnets,
Seals have puppies,
But guppies just have little guppies.
A.A. Milne, Michael Rosen, Roger Mcgough, Spike Milligan all have special places in my heart and different meanings for me. I think the one that terrified me was one we had to learn for a school concert: Matilda – Hillaire Belloc it’s a bit like “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” but much darker!
Children’s poetry is fantastic for repetition, vocabulary and according to one blog even physical coordination…
Why Reading Poetry is So Important for Children
It’s also great to create poems with children and get them thinking about how words can sound with rhythm. How they can be used to express thoughts and feelings or just fun noises!
A game that my 3 year old son loves it when I rhyme words and change the first letter to make new and sometimes nonsense words. He joins in which is fantastic (though we have to be a bit careful…listening to the radio he heard the name Jack Horn…he suddenly started shouting “Jack Horn! Jack Corn! Jack Forn!Jack Morn! Jack P…..” 😳 Luckily we were in the car so no one around and I managed to distract him by shouting frantically back “Jack Corn Jack Corn” and then change the topic which seemed to work)<<<<<<<<<<<<
y article that gives ideas for simple activities. I particularly love the suggestion of having a book around the house that kids can write in. I used to have my own blue notebook (would love to dig it out!) And poetry is educational, helps kids to read etc but most of all it's just good fun!
Children’s Poems <<<<<<<<<<<<
ouch and let me know – What was your or what is your child's favourite childhood poem?
One of my favourite parts about writing this blog, (my other favourite is that I’ve started writing stories and poems again) is that I get to read kids’ books and have a legitimate excuse for it! I enjoy reading adult literature too but there is something comforting about reading things I remember from childhood. Seriously, if you’ve had a tough day pick up a children’s book and get lost in it. Try it – it really works! I love re-reading Spike Milligan’s children’s poems, Roald Dahl books, Enid Blyton, Roger Mcgough’s “An Imaginary Menagerie” and another childhood favourite (which is at my mum’s but I’ve put it on my kindle) Michael Rosen’s “Quick, Let’s Get Out of Here”. Some of my best-loved all time classic books are “The Secret Garden”, “The Little Princess” and “Tom’s Midnight Garden”. The blog in some ways has helped me re-visit fond memories and I also love reading more modern authors and seeing what children are currently reading. Pseudonymous Bosch, Julia Donaldson, David Williams, J.K Rowling (ok showing my age as lots of adults have her books as a childhood memory! New-ish for me though :-))…the list could go on – If you have any suggestions of books you or your children have read I’d love to hear about them!
Anyhow, thought I’d do a review on the latest I’ve read:
My Brother’s Famous Bottom– By Jeremy Strong
This book is a great one for 7-9 year olds. I only realised after that it’s part of a series. It’s set in a slightly mad household. They’re struggling for cash as they have 3 children (the twins being the latest addition) and they audition the twins for a disposable nappy advert…it results in chaos! I loved the characters: There’s a boy called Nicholas, a set of twins, an angry neighbour and his wife, a motorbiking step-grandad, an outspoken grandma, a patient mum, a very funny dry humoured wind up-merchant dad and a goat. I found myself chuckling throughout. Short but sweet and I definitely want to read the next book in the series. Will be encouraging my boys (a baby and a toddler) to read it when they’re older. Very funny!
My eldest is 3 and going through the question stage. “It’s dark Mummy! Why is it dark? What about the moon Mummy? Where is the moon? Pointing at a light in the car: What is that Mummy? Answering his own question: It’s a light! Why is the light on Mummy? Light goes off: Where has the light gone Mummy? The light has gone off….” etc. etc. All this within a 2minute journey from the nursery to the car. It doesn’t stop there. Some days we get what feels like a full day in question commentary. Exhausting but fun – unless you’re trying to get somewhere on time! It got me thinking “Why do they ask “why?”so much?”
I found a couple of interesting links which helped answer my question….and apparently kids can ask up to 300 questions a day!!!! I shouldn’t be surprised but still…Wow!
Mothers Are Asked Nearly 300 Questions a Day….
The article below has some great tips and also suggests reading books to your children to encourage the questions. I love books that give children the chance to ask and answer questions. One of my son’s favourite is a Thomas the Tank Engine book that asks questions along the lines of “What does Bertie need to continue his journey? A red light or a green light?”
Such a lot for them to find out about and sometimes we learn new stuff along the way too! Thanks
Last but not least, hope you enjoy my latest poem. It’s about some of the things I’ve found myself saying…….No wonder they ask so many questions!
What a Confusing World! – by Kirsten Allen
I’m listening and watching and only three-But oh my! The world’s such a confusing place to be.
Mummy says “Stay where I can see you!”
But how would I know where that is?
Mummy says “Don’t talk to strangers!”
But “be polite and say ‘hello’ to this lady! Go on – give her a kiss”
“Don’t run – you’ll slip and fall in this dreadful rain!”
“Quick run or we’ll miss the very last train!”
“You must share toys – now give him your bat!”
But if I want something “No! She’s playing with it – you can’t take that!”
“Sit still! Slow down! Don’t just inhale the food on your plate!”
“Come on! Hurry and eat up or we’ll be late!”
However, I’m hopeful that by the time I’m four,
I’ll understand a little more!
©
Well I promised the book review of Kitchen Disco (by Clares Foges and Al Murphy) and what a book it is! It arrived on Friday and without exaggeration we have read it about 8 times already. It’s great for around 6/7 and under with so much colour, fantastic rhyming and a good beat. It almost feels like you’re at a party when you read it. It tells you to “Dance like you don’t care!” (Though my 3 year old keeps insisting “I do care Mummy!” – not sure if he means his dancing or mine! 😂)
It’s all about the party fruit have when everyone’s asleep. So “Swing your hips, shake your pips and let’s get all excited!” Such an enjoyable book that my son loves doing the moves to.
There’s also a website attached with a video (link below) though if I’m honest the book is fun enough without it.
What a lovely week! I’ve been fortunate to have been asked to do a monthly blog for a wonderful charity, Motherwell Cheshire CIO so watch this space!
https://www.motherwellcheshirecio.com/services
Also I’ve volunteered to do a regular storytime at Hanwell Library in London which starts on the 9th November. Very excited and looking forward to it!
We’ve also got a wonderful new addition to our book family (it was recommended by a lovely lady on a Facebook thread) It’s such a sweet amusing story I just had to share!!!
The Pout-Pout Fish – by Deborah Diesen
This is a story about a pout-pout fish with a pout-pout face spreading his dreary-wearies all over the place! (Think we’ve all had those days! 😂) It’s not his fault…it’s the way he was born…or so he thinks! This has lots of repetition and rhyming, alongside colourful characters. It’s a great one for the under sixes. Really love this book and so did my 3 year old. Here’s the link below. Have a great weekend!
I know it’s not until next week but with all the pumpkins, skeletons and witches about it’s hard not to get into the Halloween “spirit” (see what I did there?!)
Hope you enjoy this Halloween Rhyme!
Witching For Beginners
By Kirsten Allen 26.10.17
No one believes me,
When I say I’m a new witch
And that it was my broomstick,
That knocked my sister in the ditch.
I couldn’t find a prince to turn into a frog
But I found a magic potion in the bathroom,
So tried it on the dog.
Instead of turning into a creature, from the murky pond,
Our poor, brown, furry, four-legged friend,
Turned an orange shade of blond.
And I then I tried to tell Mum that it was my untrained super witch powers,
That accidentally whacked the heads off all her best most favourite flowers.
I’m new to this whole witching thing,
So I am at a loss,
And really don’t know the right spell
To make her stop being so cross!
©
What are your favourite Autumn children’s books?
This week Sandhurst Library have very kind in asking me to lead a storytelling session on Thursday and it’s Autumn themed. I’m so flattered that they would like to hear some bits that I’ve written alongside some Autumn type books.
So here’s a little something I wrote for the occasion:
Autumn – by Kirsten Allen
Mud squishing in my fingers
Brown conkers all around
Golden leaves are falling. What a crunchy sound!!!
Furry squirrels playing hide and seek with the acorns that they find.
Lushes lovely berries!
Types of every kind.
These are the wonderful things I think of,
When Autumn springs to mind.
©
KIDS’ STORYWORLD 