My children and I really enjoy reading rhyming books and stories together. As well as being lots of fun, hearing and saying rhymes develops a range of skills. It helps them to recognise and discriminate between sounds, which helps build foundations for learning letter sounds when they begin to read and write. It helps them […]
language & literacy
11 Brilliant Garden Themed Books for Kids

As it’s National Allotment Week, I thought I’d share some of my favourite garden themed books for kids this week! I’ve got some fiction (though perhaps this should be called ‘stories’ as several of them are factual) and some non-fiction, as well as some delightful poetry! NB: This post does include affiliate links, which means […]
14 Brilliant Space Books For Kids

Recently T and I have been doing a lot of learning around the theme of Space. It’s a happy coincidence that it’s coincided with the 50th anniversary of the moon landings! This has been a topic which has really engaged her, and there’s so many different aspects to learn about which has meant that we’ve […]
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10 Activities to Try This Summer

Looking for some small on cost but big on fun activities to do this summer? Look no further! Here are ten activities you can do with things you’ll probably already have at home!
Simple CVC Word Building

Learning to read is an exciting adventure and sharing in that adventure with the children I taught was one of my favourite parts of the job! Unsurprisingly, I’ve found teaching my daughter to read even more rewarding, and I thought I’d share this simple CVC word building activity which you can do with your child […]
Letter Match Game

The case for lowercase Resources for teaching children letters are often based on the uppercase alphabet. Magnetic letters are quite often uppercase, for example, and in many workbooks on sale, capitals are used. You can see why – capitals are easier to form. Over half of them are made of only straight lines, in comparison […]
Make Your Own Shadow Puppet Theatre

In November as part of T’s home education, we spent a couple of weeks exploring and investigating light and shadow. As part of this, we created our own shadow puppet theatre! Here’s how we did it. Choose a story First thing is to pick which story you want to perform at your theatre. This can […]
Muffin Tin Reading Game

Practising reading with your children can be a tricky one. Some children are naturally quite keen, while others might take a bit more persuading. Regardless of how keen your child is, one thing comes pretty much guaranteed: if it feels like work, they won’t want to do it! So, it’s in everyone’s interests if reading […]
Valentines Sensory Play

Valentines Day is almost here! If you hadn’t realised, don’t worry: it’s not until Thursday. You’ve still got time! May I suggest you finish reading this post for some great Valentines sensory inspiration, and then get on it?! T has been asking me if Valentines Day includes children. Of course! Or at least it does […]
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Arctic Playdough

A couple of weeks ago, T and I did a few activities around the theme of the Arctic. Playdough is always a popular choice of activity in our house and I love that it keeps both children entertained in different ways. I decided I would put together an Arctic Playdough invitation for them. When it […]