Parachutes and music go hand-in-hand brilliantly. Parachutes help children move in time, and really experience music in many ways. They are also brilliant for cooperation, and when children explore music with a parachute, they are also learning all sorts of other skills too. What are the best parachute music games? Some excellent parachute music games …
On the phonics course that I run, one of the favourite activities has always been using washing lines to teach phonics. Many children love washing lines, and the practitioners like them too. They are easy to create and inspire lots of valuable learning. Using washing lines in general is great for children. It develops their …
So many children are completely entranced by puppets, and they are a fantastic tool to get young people talking and telling stories. Puppets can tell stories themselves, or they can be a part of stories, or they can just inspire children to create tales themselves. The possibilities are immense. So, how do you use puppets …
You see story spoons all over social media these days, and rightly so, because they are beautiful aesthetic resource that can have a lot of value. But how do you get children to use them in a constructive way, and not just hit each other or have sword fights? In short, how do you use …
Ball games are fantastic for learning, and can help develop skills across the whole curriculum. Some children are excited by ball games more than anything else, so the more you can tap into this natural enthusiasm the better. These games develop teamwork, coordination, listening, and can also help skills in maths, literacy and investigation. What …
Story stones are probably one of the most well-known resources for encouraging children to become independent story-tellers. They feel so natural and part of humanity’s storytelling past. But what do you do with them when you’ve got them? Here’s the quick answer. How do you use story stones? Some of the most effective ways of …
Want to improve your kids’ math skills? Children really enjoy fun math circle games, and they develop lots of skills during them that they can then transfer and apply in their play and in their lives. Some of the best math circle games use puppets, songs, or simple props to bring them to life. Having …
Eye contact is a skill that can be taught to some extent in all children through fun games and activities. Lots of parents and teachers worry when children don’t give them eye contact. It is easy to understand why. It is difficult to fully interact with others in life without making eye contact. Relationships and …
Learning to count forwards is the first priority for children. It is also something they experience more in their lives, and so naturally more important and easier to grasp. But when they have become confident at counting forwards, you can then teach the important skill of counting backwards. You start to teach counting backwards by …
For any of you that have taught early phonics to young children, the question may well have come up – ‘Do you teach blending or segmenting first?’ This is a common question, but one there seems no official answer to if you consult the usual authoritative channels. I have based my own personal answer to …