Boost Your Child’s Love For Reading: Dive Into Free Weekly Bookbug Sessions This Spring

Bookbug will return to Cornerstone House Centre this April, with Cumbernauld Family Hub inviting local mums, dads and caregivers to reserve free places for scheduled Thursday morning sessions.

Commencing on Thursday 18 April 2024, Bookbug sessions will take place every week from 10.00am-10.45am at Cornerstone House Centre’s community-owned building (1 Esk Walk, Town Centre, Cumbernauld, G67 1BZ). The block will run for a period of six weeks, with the final session taking place on Thursday 23 May 2024.

Bookbug is for children aged 0-5 years and their parents, guardians or kinship carers. It provides an opportunity for families to enjoy sharing stories, songs and rhymes in a safe, friendly and informal environment.

Attending a Bookbug class is a great way for families to spend time bonding with each other and meet other parents in the local area. It can also help to build children’s social skills and support their speech and language development.

Most importantly, Bookbug sessions are fun, with group leaders trained to facilitate stories and songs in an entertaining and interactive way. Parents and children attending Bookbug gatherings hosted by Cornerstone House Centre can expect a warm welcome and to be made feel at ease.

Bookbug also provides opportunities for families to meet each other and have a change of scene and activities. Nikki Main, Family Hub Development Officer at Cornerstone House Centre, said:

“Cornerstone House Centre is an affiliated partner of Scottish Book Trust and is experienced in supporting children and families to grow and confidently develop through reading stories and singing songs together.

“We are really looking forward to welcoming children and adults back to Cornerstone House during April and May for our spring round of Bookbug.

“The sessions are full of enjoyment for children and promote positive interactions, relationships and emotional development.

“It is evident that Bookbug has made an extremely important contribution in effectively supporting families who face barriers to accessing services in Scotland since 2010, and Cornerstone House Centre has been proud to play a small part in its growth.

“Delivery of Bookbug has enabled Cumbernauld Family Hub to reach and support families that it may otherwise not have had the opportunity to, in particular parents and guardians experiencing disadvantage or inequality as a result of health, finance, age or social status.

“Locally, it has been established that Bookbug has helped parents feel better equipped to play and interact with their children, improved the language and communication skills of toddlers, prepared children for adapting to nursery and increased the guardianship confidence of kinship carers.”

In addition to the weekly sessions, Cumbernauld Family Hub is encouraging local families to make use of online Bookbug resources, including Bookbug’s Songs and Rhymes App, the Bookbug Song and Rhyme Library and the Bookbug Home Activities Hub.

Online Bookbug videos are also available through North Lanarkshire Libraries’ You Tube channel, with new content posted every week. Cornerstone House Centre, however, is one of the few organisations in North Lanarkshire currently delivering in-person Bookbug sessions. The planned sessions are possible thanks to The National Lottery Community Fund, which supports Cumbernauld Family Hub.

Nationally, Bookbug is rolled-out with the backing of Scottish Government’s Improving Health and Wellbeing Division, Creative Scotland’s Youth Music Initiative and Public Health Scotland, Bookbug gives every child in Scotland four free bags of books as babies, toddlers, three and five year olds. The bags contain books and other resources for sharing songs and rhymes that are suited to their age.

For further information or to reserve places on Bookbug, please contact Cornerstone House Centre on 01236 739220 or email familyhub@cornerstone-house.org.uk.

Click Here to Download Bookbug Information Poster for Spring 2024