The Stay and Play sessions are part of the Tiny Happy People offering which also includes a wide range of free films, articles, quizzes and parenting tips. These have been specially designed with experts to help to nurture children’s language from pregnancy through to aged four.
Tiny Happy People launched last year with the backing of Her Royal Highness, The Duchess of Cambridge. At the heart of the initiative is a simple message - talk to children from as early an age as possible.
Tiny Happy People also has several hyperlocal ‘hubs’ in the heart of communities around the country, working closely with local councils, healthcare professionals and charities to support parents and carers in giving their children the best possible start in terms of their speech and language development. The virtual Stay & Play sessions are part of the launch of new hubs in Wales and Northern Ireland and feature parents and carers from the local area.
The November 26th session from our Northern Ireland Tiny Happy People hub, was a weather-themed Stay & Play event led by speech and language therapist Ruth Crampton from our Northern Ireland Tiny Happy People hub. Coronation Street star Brooke Vincent took part in the session exploring sounds that the weather makes using everyday objects and singing along to Incy Wincy Spider with toddler Mexx and baby Monroe. The Voice finalist, Leah McFall, also joined in the fun with her son Judah and baby daughter Nova.
For this Stay & Play, you will need:
- Cloth bag or pillowcase
- Plastic tub
- Piece of paper
- Two metal pan lids
PS Don’t worry if you don’t have all or any of these things you can still join in.
We love trying the activities on the Tiny Happy People website. It's really helpful when you have two little ones like I do. It's so sweet watching them play along together using all the songs, rhymes and actions. - Brooke Vincent
Ruth: Hello, everyone!My name is Ruth and I'm so glad you could join me for our Tiny Happy People Stayand Play coming to you from Belfast in Northern Ireland.To help us out today we're very lucky to be joined by some special guests and their little ones.
Ruth: Hello to Brooke Vincent from Coronation Street.
Brooke: Hello! I've got my little boy… What's your name?
Mexx: Mexx.
Brooke: And we've got little Monroe with us! –
Ruth: And to musician and singer Leah McFall… –
Leah: Hi! I'm with my husband Nathan and our son Judah and we've got our little girl Nova here.
Ruth: Hello, everyone!
Hanna: Hello I'm Hanna!This is Layla and this is Jake.
Lauren: Hi, I'm Lauren and this is Zara.
Zara say hello!
Zara: Hello!
Ruth: Welcome to our Stay and Play!Can all of your little ones give a big wave to the camera?
All: Hello!
Ruth: Today our session is all about having fun with the weather.We're going to sing songs, listen to storm sounds and even make some of our own weather sounds in our 'What's in the Bag?' game.
Ruth: Before we start here's a quick reminder of what you'll need later to play the game.You'll need a cloth bag or a pillowcase,a plastic tub,a piece of paper and two pan lids.It's not a problem if you haven't got all these things, you can still have fun making the sounds and singing along. And remember, join in whenever you can, but don't worry if you can't or if your little one just isn't feeling it today.
You can always watch again later in your own time.
Ruth: Now then, it's time to say hello to everyone across Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK who are joining us at home by singing our first song.It's our 'Hello Song!' Which is to the tune of Row, Row, Row Your Boat.
Ruth: You know this song!You know this one, don't you? Yeah!I'll show you the actions first and then you can all join in after.
Ruth: Wave, wave, wave helloHow are you today?Hello Northern Ireland, we hope that you will stayClap, clap, clap helloHow are you today?Hello everybody, are you ready to play?
Ruth: And now everybody join in with the actionsAre you ready Jake? Are you ready Layla?All: Yeah!
Ruth: Wave, wave, wave helloHow are you today?Hello Northern Ireland, we hope that you will stayClap, clap, clap helloHow are you today?Hello, everybody are you ready to play?That was brilliant everyone!
Ruth: Great job Mexx!
Ruth: Right, time for our next activity'What's in the Bag?'This is a great game to encourage little ones to listen and respondand join in.Younger children can have fun naming the surprise objectsin the bag and copying the actions and older children can have a go at guessing different types of weather sounds, which is great for developing their attention skills and learning new words.Don't worry if you don't have everything to hand, you can just watch and have a go in your own time, or improvise with what you have.
Ruth: So, as today's theme is all about the weather, we're going to use our objects to make fun weather sounds like rain, wind and thunder. So see if you can guess which weather sound I am making.Ready?
Ruth: Here we go!What's in the bag?Look, it's a plastic tub!It's clear and hard.If I tap on my plastic tub with my fingers it makes a noise.What does that sound like?It sounds like the rain!
The November 19th session was an animal-themed Stay & Play event led by Early Years practitioner Lisa Jones from our Wales Tiny Happy People hub. Mum to be Sarah-Jane Crawford took part in the session focusing on animals, sang along to songs like Three Little Ducks and had fun making animal sounds with 16-month-old Summer. Social Media influencer Erin Budina also joined the session with her 15-month-old Mila.
All you need to take part is:
- Cloth bag or pillowcase
- Teddy bear
- Sock
- Toy duck
PS Don’t worry if you don’t have all or any of these things you can still join in.
Tiny Happy People is a brilliant website, and having quick and easy ideas for activities to do with Summer during my pregnancy has been brilliant. It's so reassuring to know that the activities we do together are so valuable to Summer’s development. - Sarah-Jane Crawford
Get involved and watch our animal-theme stay and play event.
Lisa: Hi everyone! Helo bawb! Hi! My name's Lisa, thank you for joining us and welcome to today's BBCTiny Happy People Stay and Play, coming to you from Wrexham, North Wales.
To help us out today we're very lucky to be joined by some special guests and their little ones.
Hello to influencer Erin Budina!
Erin: Hi, I'm Erin and this is Mila. Mila, say hi!
Lisa: And radio DJ Sarah-Jane Crawford.
Sarah-Jane: Hi everyone, I'm here with Summer. Say hello! We're so excited to get involved today! Yay!
Mandy: Hello! I'm Mandy and this is Cain.
Persida: Hi, I'm Persida.
Mark: Hi, I'm Mark.
Rio: Hi, I'm Rio.
Jaiden: Hi, I'm Jaiden.
Lisa: Welcome to today's Stay and Play. Can all of the little ones give a great big wave to the camera?
Hello! It's so nice to meet you! Our session today is all about animals. Anifeiliaid. And I've lots of really fun activities lined up for you. We are going to sing songs, play 'What's in the Bag?' and pretend to be animals.
Ry'n ni'n mynd i ganu achwarae 'Beth sydd yn y bag?'a chogio neu esgus bod yn anifeiliaid.
Before we start, here's a quick reminder of what you'll need to play along with our 'What's in the Bag?' game a little bit later. You'll need a cloth bag or a pillow case, a teddy bear, a sock and a toy duck. It's not a problem if you haven't got the same animals you can play the game with any toy animal.
We'd love you to join in when you can, but don't worry if you can't or if your little one's just not feeling it today. You can watch again later in your own time.
Now we're going to say hello to everyone in Wales and across the UK who are joining us at home by singing our first song. It's our 'Hello Song!''Cân Helô!' It's to the tune of Row, Row, Row Your Boat. We're going to do it first in English and then in Welsh. Listen to me first and then we'll sing it all together. Don't worry about how you sound just give it a go!
Wave, wave, wave hello How are you today? Hello Wales, we hope that you will stay. Clap, clap, clap. Hello How are you today? Hello everybody, are you ready to play? Wave, wave, wave hello. How are you today? Hello Wales, we hope that you will stay. Clap, clap, clap. Hello how are you today? Hello everybody, are you ready to play? We're ready!
Chwifiwch i ddweud helô,Helô, sut dych chi?Helô Gymru, arhoswch gyda ni.Clapiwch i ddweud helô,Helô, sut dach chi?Helô ffrindiau, dewch am hwyl a sbri!
Well done everyone! That was brilliant! Ok, now we've all warmed up it's time for our first activity called'What's in the Bag?'
Beth sydd yn y bag?
Today is all about linking objects and sounds and actions. Babies will start to link what you say to what they can see. For older children it can help develop their vocabulary as you introduce new words.
Mae babis yn cychwyn cyfateb bethrydych chi’n ei ddweud i bethmaen nhw’n gallu ei weld.I blant hŷn, mae gweithgareddau felhyn yn helpu i ddatblygu iaitha sgiliau lleferydd ac yn dod â geiriaunewydd i mewn i’w bywydau nhw.
Don't worry if you don't have time to get your bag ready, you can watch and have a go in your own time, or you can improvise with what you've got around you.
Let's play 'What's in the Bag?'
Now, let's see what I have in my bag. Oh, it's a brown bear!
Tedi bach brown ydy o!
Teddy bear!
Now it's your turn to find your teddy bear. Oh, who's that? It's the bear! My bear sounds like this…Grrr!
The May 14th session was a musical event led by early years practitioner, Suzy Scott, from Glasgow’s Tiny Happy People hub. You can join Rachel Riley and Pasha Kovalev as they sing along to songs with 16-month-old Maven, including a special version of Row, Row, Row Your Boat about the River Clyde and the Squinty Bridge.
Local digital content creator, Emma O’Donnell, also joined in with her 11-month-old Harry.
As part of Mental Health Awareness Week, the session gently re-introduced families to what they might expect from Stay & Play sessions as they return across the UK, while offering fun activities to play along with at home with your baby.
All you will need to take part is:
- A bag or pillow case
- A wooden spoon
- A banana
- A teddy or cuddly toy
Tiny Happy People has some great ideas for interacting with your little ones, we’ve learnt some great new games and Maven loves all the songs, rhymes and actions. - Rachel Riley
In Friday 21st May’s session, you can join Geordie Shore’s Marnie Simpson, her fiancé Casey Johnson, and their baby Rox in a session focusing on sensory play.
This included activities such as playing with sock puppets. Also joining the session was well known local blogger, Beth Tippet, aka Happy Cornish Mama, along with one-year-old Ferne and two-year-old Freddie.
To join in with this session you will need:
- A bag or pillow case
- A big sock
- A little sock
Tiny Happy People has really has some lovely activities to do with your kids, I will definitely be re-visiting it soon! - Marnie Simpson
