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World Book Day: A Celebration of Storytelling and Imagination
At Sunflower Children's Centre, World Book Day is more than just a day - it’s a celebration of storytelling, imagination, and the love of reading. Each year, we engage children, families, and practitioners in exciting activities that bring stories to life, making reading a joyful experience for everyone involved.
Dressing Up
One of the highlights of our World Book Day celebrations is our team competition for the best-dressed team across the building. Each team selects a book or a set of characters, and everyone joins in, creating a fantastic atmosphere filled with exciting costumes and enthusiastic storytelling. Our children are also encouraged to dress up as their favourite book characters and bring in their favourite stories to share with their friends. We encourage our practitioners and parents to recycle for their costumes - the more homemade, the better - so it doesn’t have to cost anything.
Reading Library
At Sunflower, we strongly promote storytelling and reading. Families have access to our reading library, located just outside the entrance, ensuring that children can continue their love for books and storytelling within the home. We also provide home learning packs and story sacks, which support families in encouraging a reading culture beyond the setting.
Bringing Books to Life
Our passionate storytelling practitioners bring books to life in unique and engaging ways within our practice. In previous years, one of our teams acted out ‘The Three Little Pigs’ for the children, creating a dynamic and interactive experience. On other occasions, we have set the scene with books such as ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt,’ ‘Goldilocks & The Three Bears’ immersing children in the story through sensory and real-life experiences. These activities enhance their understanding and enjoyment of books, making the stories more memorable and meaningful.
Inspiring Creativity Through Storytelling
Our preschool team takes creativity a step further by encouraging children to make up their own stories using props from the small world area. This supports imagination, language development, and a deeper connection to storytelling. Enabling the children to be able to create their own stories through props and a good imagination!
At Sunflower Children’s Centre, we believe that encouraging a love for reading from a young age lays the foundation for a lifelong appreciation of books. World Book Day is just one of the many ways we celebrate the magic of stories, ensuring that children develop a passion for reading that will stay with them forever.
With many thanks to Dawn Gibbons for writing this article.
Dawn is the operations manager at Sunflower Nursery and a member of the EuHu Teacher Board.
