You Choose!

Product Information

Make some hats - make simple cone shaped hats and let the children decorate them however they like, or give them the choice of transforming it into a clown's hat or a princess's. You Choose" offers lots of starting points for learning and is the perfect book for following the children's lead in the activities you do. "You Choose" is the sort of book you could focus on for a week or two, followed by another couple of weeks on just one aspect of the book that the children really showed an interest in, like animals or transport. There is something in here for everyone -so go ahead and let them choose! Personal, Social and Emotional Development

As always, we asked you to recommend your own favourites, or books you think fit the bill after You Choose- and boy, did you deliver! Here are just some of the ideas you came up with: For me it’s a rollercoaster of emotions that I’m trying to manipulate the reader into’ - Alex Wheatle on fictional world building, creating new language and seeing yourself in a book Take photos of the children and make frames for them together, just like the pictures in the book. Display them with some of the children's ideas about friends. If you've been referred to a specialist through the NHS e-Referral Service, booking your appointment online is easy, safe and secure. Frank Cottrell Boyce on why reading for pleasure is the most important thing you can pass on to a child

Engage children with digital learning

Dressing Up - have a selection of all sorts of outfits, including hats and shoes, to dress up in. Give the children things to dress up for - a fancy dress party, a ball, going to work etc. Emphasise choice in everyday situations - e.g. which colour apron would you like/would you like milk or water to drink/shall we read this book or this one? In most cases, you have the legal right to choose the hospital or service you'd like to go to. This includes private hospitals, as long as they provide NHS services. The classic Would You Rather... by BookTrust Lifetime Achievement Award winner John Burningham presents children (and adults!) with a thought-provoking array of unusual choices in a slightly different way - from 'would you rather eat supper in a castle, breakfast in a balloon, or tea on the river?' to, 'would you rather be made to eat spider stew, taste slug dumplings, chew mashed worms, or drink a snail shake?'

Why not try Dorothee de Monfriend's A Day With Dogs, Natasha Durley's Creature Features, Susan Steggall's The Life of a Caror Katie Abey's We Wear Pants?

Make a book - You Choose begins with 'Imagine you could have anything you wanted!' Collect the children's ideas about what they would choose if they could have anything they wanted and put their ideas in a book with photos and pictures.

Blowing bubbles - ask the children to help make big bubble wands out of wire and fill up some washing up bowls with bubble mixture and blow big bubbles outside. Have a look at Nikki Dyson's Flip Flap Dogs or Axel Scheffler's Flip Flap Ocean, - both published by Nosy Crow - which allow you to choose and create new and silly combinations of dog or ocean animal. If you're looking for another brilliant vocabulary-building book... I would wear... - get out the dressing up clothes and invite the children to choose what they would wear to a party. Take a photo of each child and make a book of them all dressed up, with captions: 'Jordan would wear a bear suit'. Homes - the book has pictures of different kinds of homes - talk with the children about the kind of home they live in. Look at the similarities and differences.Rhyming words and alliteration - have fun thinking of words that rhyme with choose (lose, snooze - include nonsense words). Try and think of words that begin with the same sound as something in the book - e.g. 'bed' - bus, banana, bear, bangle- are any of these things in the pictures in the book? Odd one out - Invite the children to make an interactive 'odd one out' display, using all sorts of groups of animals, with an odd one out. Use hoops, boxes and baskets to display the groups in. The children could have fun mixing up the groups and changing the odd one out. Now accompanied by You Choose Your Dreams and You Choose in Space, there are even more amazing choices for preschool children. But if you feel like moving on, here are some suggestions - and we'd love to hear yours! If you feel like moving on to picture books... Speak to a GP if you want to be seen at a hospital or clinic. They'll help you decide what care is best for you and make any necessary referrals.

Books are absolutely crucial in getting us to think about new worlds': we speak to the award-winning author, Onjali Q Rauf

Retailers:

If you were hungry, which of the delicious-looking foods would you eat? Which of the jazzy clothing options will you choose? Where will you choose to live - a fairy castle, a windmill, the Taj Mahal? In their different ways, all four books enable the reader to learn and spot a variety of types of thing, from daily activities to types of clothes and different kinds of vehicles. For older primary children... Disco dancing - in the section on what you would choose to put in your house there is a glitter ball and a lava lamp. Try to get hold of these, put on some music and have a dance! You may have more than one hospital or clinic to choose from. But the options will be the same if you book online or over the phone. Follow the children's interests - there may be a part of the book the children show a particular interest in, such as animals or hats. The children could make some animal tails (fluffy bunny/stripy zebra/swishy horse/curly pig etc) for a 'guess whose tail this is?' display. Or they could decorate hats for a hanging display.