Try something new with Edinburgh Bear

Every year, no matter where they are in Edinburgh, children moving into P1 spend their final weeks of early learning becoming familiar with the same story and doing shared activities. This means that when your child starts school, they and their new classmates will already be familiar with the story and characters, and the themes of journeys, adventure and friendship. 

This year, our chosen book is ‘The Everywhere Bear’ by Julia Donaldson. You can watch and listen to ‘The Everywhere Bear’ by Julia Donaldson.

What we are doing

• six weeks of activity ideas for children to experience in early years settings before the holidays
• six weeks of summer ideas and activities for families during the summer
• ideas to help children explore the book and its themes further through play in P1, with their new friends

Summer holiday activities

Here are some ideas including indoor and outdoor activities, stories and games for each week of the summer holidays. 

Week 1 activities including singing along to The Everywhere Bear and doing some yoga bear moves.

Week 2 activities including listening to Five Bears by Catherine Rayner and hunting for bears at the Museum of Scotland.

Week 3 – activities including a new book, more songs and a trip on a bus or tram.

Week 4 – activities including a Teddy Bear's Picnic and making playdough.

Week 5 – activities including going to a beach and making up a song about how you feel about starting school.

Week 6 – activities including making your own paints and getting ready for your new school morning routine

Grant payments

There are three extra payments for parents to help towards the costs of being pregnant or looking after a child:

• Scottish Child Payment
• Best Start Grant
• Best Start Foods.

You may be able to get these if:

• you live in Scotland
• you or your partner are getting certain benefits or tax credits
• you or your partner are pregnant, or are the main person looking after a baby or child who's the right age for a payment.

You can apply to the Scottish Government online, by phone or by post. Find out more about the Scottish Child Payment, Best Start Grants and Best Start Foods payments and apply online.