Following a BookTrust Cymru digital training session, Mrs Smith has compiled a comprehensive guide for you on the different resources available for families and children. We hope you find them useful.
BookTrust Cymru HomeTime / Amser Gartref BookTrust Cymru
Search “BookTrust Cymru” – the website should come up as the first search result.
Once on the website, scroll down to the pink/purple picture of a girl riding a dragon and click on “HomeTime Cymru: Fun at home for families in Wales”.
The first section “This week on BookTrust Cymru HomeTime” has 3 featured items. The links could take you to another BookTrust page, an external website or to YouTube. For example, this week there is “Snatchabook” read by the author via a YouTube video for younger children, a link to a key stage 2 author’s page on the publisher’s website where she reads the first chapter of her book Wilde (or you can download it to read it yourself) and a link to an audio recording of a novel in Welsh. Where one chapter is read online, you will normally find a link to previous chapters below the one you’re playing so if you have missed these you can catch up. The features in this section change every week on a Thursday but you should be able find them again in the section at the bottom of page under “More HomeTime fun across the UK”.
The first section is followed by an optional survey – you could win a Kindle Fire! – but this is best completed after you’ve had a chance to explore and use the website.
The next section also has 3 features, but these tend to change less often. However, this week two of them relate directly to two of the features in the first section, so if you’ve enjoyed Snatchabook or Wilde, there are further activities to enjoy here.
After this, the “Fun at home for families in Wales” section has a link to a schedule of what’s happening on a daily and weekly basis for children in Wales, including available television and online activities. This is very useful as it pulls together what’s available from a variety of sources and is updated regularly.
Below this is a link to Huw Aaron’s “Criw Celf”. This is in Welsh, but the activities are very visual; to bypass the preamble where he explains he’s been posting an activity each day online since 23 March, use this link to have a go at one activity, drawing monsters:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEqrugnhnLk&feature=emb_rel_end
If you enjoy it, you can access others from YouTube or via the BookTrust link. There is also an art link on the main BookTrust website (not BookTrust Cymru).
The “More HomeTime Fun” section below this contains Rhymes and Songs for younger children in both English and Welsh led by adults; Pori drwy Stori where younger children can listen to stories in Welsh (this is a soundtrack only, so no visual clues for Welsh learners unless you already have the book at home and can follow along). If you click on the link for Interactive Storybooks and Games, the stories are at the top of the page and the games lower down. Some of the stories have a choice of language so they can be played in English or Welsh; if you want a challenge, play/read the English first, and then the Welsh. The Interactive games are mostly in English – try “Letterflies”. Again, the games are aimed at younger children (Foundation Phase).
The final section “More HomeTime fun across the UK” takes you through to the main BookTrust website where you can access more activities and also their archive of earlier features.