Parachute games are one of the best ways for young children to learn a range of skills across the whole curriculum. They strengthen their hands by gripping, and they improve their coordination by the movements involved in the games. They develop their listening and attention, and learn to cooperate with others in a fun context. …

Children learn to count a bit like robots. This is certainly not a bad thing – it is just the way it is. You count with them as you go up stairs, or you count the clouds in the sky, or the cars going past, and always you are starting with one. This is all …

When I very first started teaching I had all sorts of problems with behavior! I remember the first lesson I ever took, and about half of the children lay down on the floor and refused to sit back up again. Dark days! Shortly after this, one of my first discoveries to counter interesting behaviors such …

What is Forest School? One of the current positive trends in education at the moment is the increasing popularity of Forest Schools. This brand of learning has a fantastically wide range of benefits. It is the type of learning that many of us try introduce to our own kids on family days out and holidays: …

Many of us often find that we have lots of exciting strategies to teach other skills in phonics, but when it comes to teaching tricky words it’s just a case of getting out the flashcards again, and hope the children remember them. How else can you teach tricky words more excitingly? Using flashcards indeed is …

Struggling to find alliteration activities? You’ve come to the right place; and can I just say that these games are spectacularly superb and seriously special! Alliteration is something that children can begin to understand through repetition of enjoyable activities, many of which can just be thrown into your daily routine. How do you teach alliteration? …

Ten frames are becoming one of the most widely used models to teach a range of strategies in early maths. Ten frames are a good tool because they allow children to visualise quantities within the context of ten. Our number system is based around the number ten, for the simple reason that we have ten …

I have to say that if I could select just one resource to take from my classroom, it would undoubtedly be claves, or ‘rhythm sticks’ as we like to call them. Rhythm sticks are simply long pieces of broomstick-like wood, cut into about 8-inch sections and the ends sanded down. You can use claves, but the …

Often when creating fine motor activities, the simplest and the cheapest resources are best. Items that are lying around either at home or in a setting, or things that can be bought for next to nothing can provide quality learning experiences, and provide the starting point for a host of imaginative potentialities. This is definitely …

Counting sticks are one of the most versatile tools to teach a range of skills in maths. It is also a simple resource that can be used very effectively with children aged between 3 and at least 11, and maybe higher. There is no end to its versatility, as well as its simplicity. But how …