In ten years of working with children aged 3-5, I have found that one of the most important skills in early phonics is definitely segmenting. It is a crucial skill in early writing, and it is involved in reading too. But what exactly is it? Segmenting in phonics is the ability to separate a word …
Learning to put spaces in between words takes a huge amount of time for most children. It is a really abstract concept for them, and they are getting to grips with lots of other parts of early writing at the same time. When they begin writing, children will be learning the formation of the letters …
In preschool fun and engaging circle time games can teach many crucial skills that children can then use to deepen their play. Eye contact, turn-taking, understanding emotions, and listening are all key skills in life and they are reinforced during circle time! (As well as working through gross motor skills, cognitive skills, language development, social …
Nonsense or silly words are a big thing in early education these days, and practitioners are looking for more ways to teach them successfully. If this sounds like you, then you have come to the right place. I have been attempting to teach nonsense words for ten years, and in this post I condense all …
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 …
Parachutes are one of the most versatile and fun pieces of equipment to teach a range of skills in the early years. They are fantastic for maths, social skills and physical development. But what about phonics? Though used less for phonics than other areas of the curriculum, parachute games are a brilliant way of bringing …