Musical instruments can help children develop the sound recognition skills essential for reading, spelling and writing. Early years settings call the tune as they try out a few for Nicole Weinstein.

NURSERY RHYME SINGING SACK

TTS Group

Age Range: 3+

Price: £34.99

Contact: 0800 318686 www.tts-group.co.uk

This sack contains six nursery rhyme character puppets, six instruments and a sheet of stretchy cloth.

- Tested by Arnbrook Primary School, Nottingham

'It's a very versatile pack which can be used for a quick sing-song with the instruments or a longer activity with the fabric and puppets. It's also very inclusive because there's no end product and no right or wrong way of using the bag.

'We sat in a circle and sang nursery rhymes together doing the appropriate actions. Each child held a piece of the fabric and I placed a puppet connected to the rhyme on it and we sang while making the puppet dance. Sometimes we stretched the fabric wide and said "1, 2, 3" and let go and watched the fabric fly away. I would certainly buy this and over time I would add other things of interest to it to re-establish the awe and wonder aspect of retrieving something from the bag. It's good value for money. To create your own bag from scratch would cost considerably more. I think it could be used in some way with all age groups from nought to five years.'

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