Celebrating Robert Burns and Scottish culture with young children
We have suggested a few Burns Night (or Day) experiences for early years establishments. Please tell us how you celebrate 25 January in your setting - email the Early Years Content Editor.
Food
Involve children in cooking and tasting porridge, oatcakes, haggis, neeps and tatties, Scotch broth, dumpling or shortbread.
Movement
Play a selection of different types of Scottish music and encourage children to respond to mood and rhythm.
To celebrate Scottish culture, Jamestown Early Education and Childcare Centre in West Dunbartonshire arranged for a piper to pipe the children into nursery as they arrived for their nursery session. Dancers from Jamestown Primary School then entertained the children at the nursery while the children joined in the dancing and had great fun.
Creativity
Allow the children to design their own tartan:
- Use model car wheels, dipped in paint and rolled across paper in top-to-bottom and side-to-side movements.
- Drip thin paint down a sheet of paper, then turn the paper at right angles and drip again.
Heriot Primary School Nursery Class in Paisley, Renfrewshire, is combining various elements of the curriculum in its Burns events. The children have been learning simple Scottish poems and songs as well as performing a sound picture of the Tam o' Shanter story for an audience of parents, carers and Primary 1 and 2 children and staff of Heriot Primary. Other activities currently being undertaken include paper weaving, transient art in Scottish colours, food tasting and lots of storytelling.
Children at Parkhead Primary Nursery Class (West Lothian) designed tartan and made their own 'kilts' for St Andrew's Day, an activity which could be used for other celebrations with a Scottish theme.
Word file: Arts and crafts ideas: making a 'kilt' (288 KB)Singing/Scots language
Sing songs like 'Ali, Bally Bee', 'Three Craws' and 'Ye cannae shuv your grannie aff a bus' with children. Useful websites and resources include:
- Mama Lisa's World: Scottish children's songs
- Kist o' Dreams: Bairn's Kist - a resource CD to help parents and practitioners share Scottish singing games, action songs and lullabies with young children.
- Electric Scotland: Works of Burns
- Animal ABC: An introduction to the alphabet in Scots.
- Scuil Wab: Infant songs - recordings of four traditional children's songs.
- Electric Scotland: Children's poems - children's poems with audio files.
Homecoming Scotland 2009
A full calendar of events around the country will mark Scotland's first ever Homecoming year and celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns.
LTS has it’s own special Homecoming Scotland website that provides schools and early years settings with many opportunities to develop aspects of Curriculum for Excellence as well as links to other interesting materials to celebrate Scottish culture in this special year.
You can also send a Homecoming e-card to family, friends or other schools and nurseries to tell them what you will be doing in the Homecoming year.
Burns Day at Cherry Tree Nursery
Nursery staff used Robert Burns's birthday to widen children's understanding of Scottish culture.
View Burns Cottage interior
Panorama of the family room in Burns Cottage (requires QuickTime).
Burns interactive
Get a flavour of Robert Burns from this interactive resource featuring the actor Andrew James Weir.
Burns Night
Pictures of Rabbie Burns and a plate of haggis, neeps and tatties on the 5-14 Curriculum website.
Itchy Coo
Publisher specialising in Scots language books for children and young people.
St Andrews Day leaflet
A leaflet encouraging schools and pre-schools to celebrate St Andrew's Day.