Learning From Home the Untraditional Way

Parents around the world are all currently feeling a sudden appreciation for teachers.

Asking that all important question, just how do they manage to get through each day without turning to drink?

With most children being asked to continue their learning at home, the word homeschool is now doing the rounds all across the internet and I bet top searches after the coronavirus are all geared towards what activities can be done with children to help them with their learning.

There are differing opinions right now as to whether you should be following a structured day using the curriculum provided from your child's school or perhaps taking a more relaxed approach, allowing kids time to adjust to their new way of life.

Now I'm not a homeschooler, I do however work at a school and I am also a parent so I can see things from both sides.

And in my opinion I don't think any option is wrong.

I believe that you know your child and you'll know best how to approach the idea of learning from home.

For my girls, I've taken the more structured approach but instead of doing all work set by their lovely teachers, I am also mixing in things that they wouldn't get the chance to do at school which include various art tutorials.

So I thought it might be helpful if I shared some of my findings in a post so that all links were in one place rather than you having to trawl through various links to find new and exciting activities to try with your children.

Keeping active

There have been four things that we have had a lot of fun joining in with, keeping us fit and active whilst boosting positivity and they are:

P.E. with Joe Wicks

I love a HIIT workout so its been a bonus being able to continue my own exercise whilst having the kids joining in too. Going live on Youtube 9am Mon - Fri, this man is doing a fantastic job of keeping the nation moving.

Dance with Oti Mabuse

Going live at 11.30am Mon-Fri on both her Facebook and Youtube accounts. Great for strictly fans, and with various daily themes, this puts the fun into exercise.

Cosmic Kids Yoga

A more relaxed approach to exercise but no less fun. Cosmic Kids Yoga is great for the whole family.

Just Dance

If you don't have a computer console you can look up all of the Just Dance songs on Youtube. Believe me you will come away sweating every time.

Getting Creative

My kids have always loved getting creative. Whether that is through drawing, writing or simply making things out of random materials around the house. Some of the best things I've found for this have been via Twitter.

Rob Biddulph

This was the first one I found. Putting up different draw along videos on a Tuesday and a Thursday. These are perfect for any budding artist. Make sure to share via social media with the tag #DrawWithRob

Here's one my seven year old made earlier:

Afternoon @RobBiddulph catching up on this weeks #DrawWithRob with the 7 year old 💕 pic.twitter.com/3VwJWRgSwq

— Chantelle Hazelden (@MamaMummyMum) March 26, 2020

Methods to Beat Exam Stress

It's that time of year where kids up and down the country are all facing some sort of tests and exams. Whether that be GCSE's, end of year assessments, phonics tests or something more generalised. There seems to be a lot of pressure put on kids these days to do well because governments set unrealistic targets and children feel the need to meet these goals in order to do well in their future. 

But in a society where anxiety in the younger generation is on the rise, how can we help our children beat that awful exam stress? Here are five tips on how as parents, we can help our children to achieve their goals whilst keeping a positive outlook on things.

Trust in your child

I think we have to remember that each of our children are individuals, they have their own minds and they will already have methods that they feel help them in achieving their own goals. Don't question how they want to revise, simply ask them how you can help them with how they want to do it.

Making Phonics Fun

Reading is something that everyone should be able to do but in order to learn such an important life skill children must begin with the basics which these days means phonics. Teaching the letter sounds, blending etc can be time consuming and with lots of repetitive lessons it can also turn into something rather boring and dull. Not every child will have the same enthusiasm for books and this is why we need to make the subject of phonics more fun!!

It isn't down to any one person to instil this enthusiasm, teachers and parents should be working together to tailor learning sessions to each and every child involved.

My youngest is currently in year one at school and is due to take her phonics test this month which is what gave me the idea of putting this post together. Having had three other children go through the same process I've managed to come up with a few different methods to keep the learning fresh and exciting as well as using the knowledge and resources that their teachers have provided us with over the years.

I've broken this post down into four sections to simplify what I think might just help:

Fun and Inspiring End of School Year Gifts Ideas

As we make our way towards the end of the school year I find myself feeling a mixture of emotions. On the one hand I am almost breathing a sigh of relief because juggling work life, home life and school life can be hectic (parents will know what I'm talking about!) but I'm also left with a sort of sadness because it's another year of my children growing up that has simply flown by. Another years worth of memories made and I want desperately to remember it all and I know others do too. 

And it isn't just the mums and dads that want to look back on these days gone by, it's other family members, teachers and even the kids themselves as well. Lucky for all of you, I've teamed up with Snapfish to share with you some budget-friendly, easy ideas for personalised gifts that can hopefully capture these memories or perhaps an item that will allow you to remember a certain day or a specific pupil. Each one making a perfect keepsake that although simple will look more high end. 

So lets start with the teachers because lets be honest, they work hard all year and they love our children just as much as we do and deserve nothing less than a big thank you for all their efforts throughout the year. I mean I applaud my children's teachers, especially putting up with my five year old because boy has she got .... character. And what better way to thank these adults who inspire than with a gift that's unique to them.

Starting Secondary School

Last week I got the confirmation that my eldest daughter will be attending our local grammar school starting in September. I think back to my children when they started primary schools and I'm trying to remember how I was feeling, even though the process was quite similar it seems as though this next milestone seems harder somehow. 

The transition from primary to secondary school is a big one. Different surroundings, new friends and an even higher focus on learning with more homework. I guess what's even scarier is that it marks the beginning or adolescence and Elise starting at an all girls school I'm already worried about the thought of her perhaps being bullied because we all know girls can be more than bitchy at times.

Secondary means going from being one of the oldest to one of the youngest, stepping back into the unknown territory, having to navigate your way around the school (anyone else remember thinking that secondary school was enormous?) and taking on more responsibility with increased amounts of lessons and homework.

My Sunday Photo 2016 #37

September is here and that means it is time for the obligatory back to school photos and this year is one that is going to stand out for me because my youngest has officially started primary school, I no longer have any children at home.

Starting School Advice, Parents Helping Parents

The end of the Summer holidays are in sight. For some parents this will be a welcome relief and for others in may be a more anxious time, especially if your child/ren are starting primary school or secondary school for the first time. So I thought I'd offer a little advice from one parent to another with a little help from some blogging friends. Words of wisdom that might help you and your kids feel a little less worried about this next big milestone that you're facing, I mean parents should be helping other parents shouldn't they.

Back to School Made Fashionable with House of Fraser

The time for kids to go back to school is nearly upon us and of course that means the dreaded school uniform shopping. I've always found when buying the obligatory uniform from the school itself it can not only be expensive but the ties and cardigans/jumpers are never anything particularly nice to look at and who wants to be dressed the same as everyone else anyway? This is where House of Fraser can help.

Saying Goodbye to the Nursery Years

The years fly by, people always say it, cherish those moments because before you know it they'll be gone and that's what I'm wishing I'd done more of today. Yesterday was my youngest daughters last day at nursery and I can't help but feel really sad, it's one of those time when I truly hated saying goodbye.

All of my children have attended the same nursery. I've seen many staff come and go but I'll never forget them because they have all been wonderful in their own way. There are certain ones that still talk to me if we bump into each other in the street, never forgetting my kids (their attitudes are hard to forget lol).

Forget About Preparing Children For School What About Preparing The Parents?

So yesterday I found out that my youngest daughter will be attending the same school as her sisters. I can't tell you how much of a relief this was. You'd think after going through this process three times previously that I would be well prepared for all the emotions that come along with it, but I'd be inclined to say that I've got worse with each child! I mean forget about preparing your children for school what about preparing all the parents?

Getting Ready For School With Matalan

This year seems to be flying by and it won't be long before I find out which school my three year old will be attending in September (fingers crossed the same one as her sister's!) and of course this means that I'll need to start sorting out uniform for her. So it seemed like perfect timing when Matalan asked if I'd like to review a selection of their everyday school wear.

Primary School The Final Frontier

Todays, the day, the final frontier, the last ever time I will be applying for primary school for any of my children. Ultimately it feels like the end of an era. No more babies although I suppose I will always see them as my babies.

I remember quite clearly when I applied for my eldest to start at primary school. It was such a nerve racking time. It was a big decision to make because ultimately my choices would decide a part of her future. It would be an influence on how her learning journey would begin.

Petit Fernand Name Labels Review and Giveaway

Name labels, they are a must have when you have kids, especially when they start going to nursery/school, it's surprising how many things can go missing, gets worse when children have the same pair of shoes or lunch box for example.

Now I've admitted in the past that I can't sew, I know that's bad but my wonderful mum has always been the one labelling clothes for me so when I found the wonder that is iron on name labels I was able to label my own kids clothes, go me!!

I was recently contacted by Petit Fernand who asked if I might like to review some of their products, I opted to review their school pack (£30) which contains a huge 140 labels.

Trutex Uniform Review

School uniform, we all have to purchase it for our children at some point in their lives, we can't avoid this cost and because of this parents like myself are always on the look out for uniform that is not only good quality, long lasting but also affordable.

Having three children in school with one more due to start next year, the cost of shirts, skirts, cardigans etc is something I have to try and budget for every Summer.

When Trutex approached me and asked if I'd like to review a selection of some of the school wear that they stock, I was happy to oblige.

Trutex was actually established in 1865 so it is no surprise that they are the UK's leading school uniform supplier. Stocking everything from main uniform, sportswear and outerwear in a range of styles and colours, there is something to suit every school.

I chose shirts, trousers and cardigans for my eldest daughter, she's just had a growth spurt so this was perfect timing.

What I liked immediately was that every item was made to go in the tumble drier, seen as my washing machine is on 24/7, this was a big plus for me, saves on time and effort.

The shirts I chose were non iron blouses, another bonus as I am not a fan of ironing!! I liked on the site that there was a size guide stating not only age but inches and cms of chest size too meaning you can purchase clothes that are just right.

5 Reasons I Hate My Kids Going Back To School

I know many parents who are all ready to celebrate when the end of the school holidays get closer.
Getting excited to have some peace and quiet, less noise from those bickering children. Time to pop the kettle on and finally catch up on the back log of missed TV programmes, jeremy kyle here we come.

I personally dread the children not being at home all of the time and not just because I miss having them around.

Here are just 5 reasons why I hate my kids going back to school.

Early wake up calls should be banned!!

Gone are those extra minutes in bed, no more getting ready at your leasure.

The evil alarm which wakes you up at some horrid hour before the sun has even managed to rise is back. This is not the way I wish to be woken up!!

I'd say thank god for the snooze button but I can't tell you how many times I've been late because I've gone back to sleep thinking I have hit snooze when in fact the alarm has been turned off completely.

Hello morning rush.

Monkey Goes To School Book Review

I was recently asked if I wanted to review Monkey Goes to School, a book which is part of the Monkey Wellbeing series.

With Gracie nervous about starting school, it was an opportunity that would be really beneficial to myself and my daughter.

For those of you that haven't heard of the Monkey Wellbeing series, let me explain a little of what it is about :

Monkey came from a handmade storybook which was created by Helen Sadler to help her daughter through a tough operation at a young age. This was after she struggled to find any other books or resources that would help an 18 month old child understand what going to the hospital entailed.

With this one book came huge success and there are now many tailor made photographic storybooks starring Monkey available to support families through unknown stressful times.

Who's The Teacher?

Do you ever wonder who's the teacher in your childs life? I've always been keen to help my children learn. I bought books for them to read even before they were even born, the toys that they play with not only allow them to have fun but they also encourage them to learn different skills from counting and sorting to role play and dealing with certain emotions.

However when my children started school I thought I would become what I would call a back seat teacher, still helping them along their learning journey but becoming someone that reinforced what their school teachers were teaching them rather than being the main source of where their knowledge comes from.

My 6 year old daughter Freya and her class mates were let down big time last year by their teacher when they were in reception. Unfortunately they weren't taught all of their phonics and other basic skills and some were left not really being able to read properly when they started year one in September.

Am I smarter Than An 8 Year Old?

I used to be quite smart. I did well in primary school, managed to get into a grammar school and all my grades at GCSE were at B or above. I'm not saying any of this to boast, however when you read all of that you would think that I would be smarter than my 8 year old daughter, well if you did think that then you would be wrong!!!

Even when Elise started at primary school I felt at a disadvantage, what I was being told that they were learning all sounded foreign to me, I didn't have a clue about phonics, let alone how to pronounce the sounds!! Even now when my 5 year old is learning certain diagraphs (I had to look up that word too), I have to ask my eldest daughter how it is really supposed to be said.

We are at the stage of primary school now when Elise comes home with homework on a regular basis. This includes both mathematics and literacy. Now I got an A* in maths so I always thought that I would have no trouble in helping my own child if they were to become stuck, wrong again.

Just last month she had a piece of maths homework that required her to use number lines, I am obviously just not down with the kids because my first thoughts were, "what's a number line?". In simple terms it is the way our kids work out how to add or subtract numbers, what happened to writing one number on top of the other and working out the sum?

My 8 year old also has a new set of spellings to learn every week but these spellings aren't just normal spellings, oh no each set of words are different types of words. For example last weeks words were homophones , anyone else left scratching their heads at that?

I honestly feel like I need to go back to school myself these days because there is no way that I am smarter than an 8 year old because I feel like my daughter is the one who is constantly teaching me things.

Do any of you feel the same as me, are you smarter than an 8 year old??

xxxx

How come they get a day off??

So my two eldest daughter's came home yesterday with a letter informing me that next Thursday, the 17th of October, that half of their schools teachers will be on strike.

It means that Elise will be able to go in as her teacher isn't striking but Freya will miss out on a days education because her teacher deems it necessary to have that day off. I get that teachers work hard and I don't necessarily agree with the idea of performance based pay etc , but in all seriousness what do they think this strike is going to achieve?

The letter that was sent home to us, is making out like this strike is based on the fact that they care about our children and they think the government is putting unrealisitic pressure on our kids to reach targets, we all know that isn't the real reason they are striking, if they cared that much surely they would see that the children losing a days worth of valuable education isn't a solution to the problem at all.

I am very fortunate to be a stay at home mum, meaning that I am lucky enough to be around to look after my children but what about working parents? Some now need to lose a days pay because they will have to take a day off from work themselves to look after their children.

This whole thing really annoys me. If we were to take our children out of school for a day that wasn't because of an illness, at the very least it would be frowned upon and for most of us, it would be mean that we would be charged a fine as it would be unauthorised.

So how is it that teachers are able to get away with having a day off of school, how is that acceptable, surely the rules should work in reverse?? I think what they are doing is extremely irresponsible.

My 5 year old is now asking me why she can't go to school on Thursday when her sister can and I just don't know what to tell her.

Are any of your children having to have a day off from school next week because of teachers striking? What do you think about the whole situation??

xxxx

Winters Coming

Ok ok I know for many of us the sun is still shining, yay!!! However with the girls getting ready to go back to school, I thought I best start getting them kitted out for the Winter months, this includes the much needed school coats.

Now I am quite fussy when it comes to the girls coats, I like them to be long in length, a hood is a must and of course they need to be nice and cosy.

Next kindly offered to send me school coats for the girls to review, so I popped on to their site to pick out which coats I would like for my daughters. I decided on the gorgeous Long Military Front Jackets.

What swayed my decision was the fact that they came in different colours, this meant that Elise and Freya could have the same coat but in a different colourway, no arguing about whose coat is better.

This coat comes in four different colours including red and black. I asked the girls which colour they wanted. Freya decided on the Berry and Elise decided on the Khaki. Both colours were lovely, very smart looking, not too bright. I would say the Berry is more of a burgundy colour, which is the same as their school uniform so very fitting.

The coats are made out of polyester and are like a longer length puffer jacket, ideal for the colder weather and they can be easily done up with a zip or poppers, or both. I like how it does up around the neck to so you wouldn't really need a scarf when wearing this coat.

What I really love is that the hood can be rolled up and zipped away, hidden in the collar when not in use. My only concern would be that the hood may not be very waterproof because it isn't very thick, however I'm hoping the rain stays away for a bit longer, so I might not get to test the hoods out for a while yet!!

The inside of the coat is lined with fleece, making it extra warm and cosy. There are even two pockets on the outside, these can be used to store their gloves in when not in use or to keep little hands warm when out playing and chatting in the playground.

Of course I couldn't write a review properly without the coats actually being worn and tested out properly. So Elise and Freya got into model mode to showcase just how gorgeous these coats really are. Freya told me that in the second photo she is, "sleep smiling".

The coats are a perfect length, sitting just below their knees and the size of them means that there is plenty of room to move and even if they were to have a growth spurt the coat would still fit them. 

The hoods are a great size, covering their head but no over hanging so they can still see perfectly when they are up. The belts on the front add a nice finishing touch to an already stylish coat and if you can't already tell from the photos, the girls really love them. 

The coats are machine washable, so no need to worry about them getting dirty as they are easily cleaned.

Priced between £32 and £38 dependant on the age of your child, they may seem on the dearer side but I think they are well worth the money as the quality is superb and because of how roomy they are, they may even get away with wearing them the next year too!!!

So who else has bought their Winter coats, what criteria do you have when it comes to buying coats and jackets for your children??

Disclaimer : These coats were sent to me free of charge for reviewing purposes however all thoughts and opinions are my own.