Scots the haill year roond

The Scots language is not only spoken on 25 January, the birthday of Scotland’s national poet. People speak it on all the other days too. There are plenty of imaginative ways to break Burns out of the January slot and to use his Scots language to teach children about poetry and literacy all year round.

Halloween

Trick or Treating has become the norm in Scotland and we seem to have lost our own Scottish Halloween traditions very quickly but there are some great activities for children to try. As well as dookin for aipples (ducking for apples) and carving lanterns out of neeps (turnips), pupils could write a Halloween spell in Scots.

Instead of using the American name, Trick or Treat, parents could encourage their children to use the Scots word guisin for dressing up. Young guisers could learn to recite a Halloween poem or to tell a joke in Scots.

Christmas

Get the Festive Season off to a fun start with the Twelve Days of Christmas in Scots. It's sung here by the school choir of Lasswade Primary School, Midlothian.

  Download The Twelve Days o Yule Tide (4.6 MB)

  PDF file: The Twelve Days o Yule Tide (15 KB)


Summer

Read and listen to the classic Scots poem 'Schuil in June' by Robert Bain about being stuck in school on a hot summer's day. Read by Ann Matheson.

  Download Schuil in June (1.3 MB)

  PDF file: Schuil in June (10 KB)