Moving from nursery to Primary 1 in August 2024
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 activities are based around the book The Smeds and the Smoos by Julia Donaldson with
- 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 on these pages
- ideas to help children explore the book and its themes further through play in P1, with their new friends in school.
Week 1 activities
- listen to to The Smeds and The Smoos read by Julia Donaldson and find out what happens when young Smed and Smoo fall in love
- listen to a song about travelling to the moon
- re-create the scenes in the book with your family and friends
Week 2 activities
- visit the National Museum of Scotland and parks around the city
- listen to to The Smeds and The Smoos read by David Schwimmer
- paint a stone of some of your favourite things
Week 3 activities
- look out for Edinburgh Bear while taking the bus or tram to somewhere new
- listen to to The WayBack Home by Oliver Jeffers
- sing along to the Wheels on the Bus
Week 4 activities
- visit castles and look at the night sky
- listen to to Ruby's Worry by Tom Percival
- sing along to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Week 5 activities
- explore how you're feeling about starting school
- listen to The Colour Monster by Anna Llenas
- visit the beach
Week 6 activities
- try something new at Edinburgh Festival Fringe
- listen to Do I have to go to School? by Pat Thomas
- paint or draw some of the things you saw when you visited your new school
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.