A London Colney teaching assistant has enlisted the help of a fluffy companion to help inspire and entertain children during the coronavirus lockdown.
Gemma Broom and cavapoo Teddy have been entertaining children with Tuesday Tales with Teddy since the start of the lockdown.
Initially the bedtime videos were being shared with children in Gemma’s reception class at St Bernadette Catholic Primary School , but she then decided to launch the videos on a new YouTube channel.
Gemma told the Herts Ad: “I started it up because I work as a teaching assistant in a local primary school in reception class.
“I have a niece and nephew, and previously I had made Teddy talk at Christmas time and sing We Wish You a Merry Christmas.
“The children absolutely love it and come into school asking me if Teddy can really talk!”
Teddy started off reading the Three Little Pigs, and has since gone on to read classics like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Gingerbread Man, The Gruffalo, and the latest is Oi Cat.
“When we heard the schools were going to close, we started planning work that would be set for the children,” Gemma continued.
“We discussed maybe posting a video of ourselves reading our focus book, The Three Little Pigs.
“Not one to love the camera myself, I suggested Teddy could read it instead.
“So I first recorded him reading The Three Little Pigs and posted it to our online learning platform so that the children and their parents could listen and watch!
“Then I thought, well I might as well share this with as many children as possible as it might give some parents five minutes of peace, or give them a break from the bedtime story one day a week!
“So I created a YouTube channel, edited the original video so it had a bit more general talking in it appropriate for YouTube, and I shared it across Facebook.
“I’ve since had people messaging me saying they love it. I even had one lady – who is in the same university group as me – send me a book to read along with a cuddly toy for Teddy!
“This was for our most recent video, where we read “Oi Cat” which was sent in to us.
To see more of Teddy’s stories, go to youtube.com/channel/UC4LGdDLELXslI7JMfKTYW2g
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