BookTrust Cymru’s annual Big Welsh Rhyme Time returns with more bilingual rhymes
India Dunkley
Wednesday, February 8, 2023
BookTrust Cymru is encouraging families, schools and early years spaces across Wales to join in with Big Welsh Rhyme Time, a weeklong celebration of sharing bilingual rhymes, poems and songs
More than 25,000 children across Wales will share bilingual rhymes, stories and songs as part of the celebration this week. This is being encouraged in schools, nurseries and at home across the country from the 6-10 February.
Bwci Bo creators, Joanna Davies and Steven Goldstone have written new rhymes especially for BootTrust. Poet and writer, Sarah King and actress Rhiannon Oliver are also to get involved by sharing their own bilingual rhymes as well as resources to be used by children to encourage getting involved.
Big Welsh Rhyme Time is developed with the help of the Welsh government to support children’s language and development in the hope of ‘igniting a passion for reading’ in Welsh children.
Last year, over 25,000 children across Wales took part in the Big Welsh Rhyme Time and this is expected increase this year, with more than 530 early years settings signing up to take part in the activities spread across the week.
Kate Cubbage, director at BookTrust Cyru said, ‘Creating memorable moments to share stories, songs and rhymes can be crucial for supporting children’s early communication, language and reading skills but moreover it can be enormous fun.’
Rhiannon Oliver, who has composed a bilingual action rhyme for this year’s celebration also expressed their excitement for the week by saying that ‘rhyme is a fantastic way of exploring the playfulness and power of language’.
Families and early years settings can take part in new rhymes and activities, created especially for Big Welsh Rhyme Time 2023 by Welsh children’s poets, writers and illustrators. The videos and and downloadable resources are available here.
