As parents, we all have a secret toolkit that we carry around with us: distractions, ways of speaking, words we say, maybe even a mini Soreen or a box of raisins… We draw on our invisible tools all day and every day to survive each varied moment, from get up time to bedtime, as smoothly as we can. For over 30 years, Social Stories have been written to support children with learning difficulties, but with AI being so easy to access now, Social Stories can be created in a few

4 o’clock, 5 o’clock… dinnertime! Do you remember playing What’s the time, Mr Wolf? in the playground? Do you remember the challenge of learning to tell the time? I don’t recall learning to read the clock but I definitely remember the challenge (and sometimes pain!) with my own children. Will had a keen interest in the time when he was in year one (and I happened to be his school teacher at the time!) but he did NOT want to know anything about the analogue clock. He coul

School's out for summer in the UK. Parents have done the last pile of ironing and thrown away the old shirts, t-shirts and socks after each wear as they counted down to the end of term; the lunchbox snacks have run out; shoes have holes in, and the water bottles with the chewed straws have had their last refills. Some families will be glad to see the end of the homework, take a break from filling out the reading records, and pause asking times tables questions, but others mi

If there's one small thing a parent or carer can do to help their baby's literacy in future years, it is to provide access to lots of stories from a very young age. There are huge benefits in sharing books, with the adult reading and the child snuggling up to listen, but there's another gem that brings so many benefits; regular access to audiobooks. Do you remember those cassette tapes that came with a story book and when there was a tinkle sound, you needed to turn the page

When I was at primary school, we spent a long time practising handwriting. When I was a new teacher, if children were writing sentences by the end of reception, they were considered to be gifted and talented! Fast forward to today and the writing expectations placed on our little people are much harder to achieve, especially after large proportions of their lives have been spent in lockdown. Expectations in the reception year The Early Learning Goals, which indicate the exp

It's that time of year again when the Christmas ads appear, lights begin to twinkle, and people we meet ask our children what they would like Father Christmas to bring. Writing a letter to Santa can be a joy, but for parents it can also be a tricky task to complete, as our little people navigate their way through learning the alphabetic code, whilst being able to compose their own sentences and include all the things they would like. In our house, we start with a Smyths Toy

"Mummy, Mummy! I read a real story book!" It's never too soon to 'read' real books. We play pirates, teachers, doctors, vets, but do we play at being readers? In my one to one lessons, I like to introduce real books as soon as I can as it gives children such a boost to know they are doing real reading and it's not all about Biff, Chip and Kipper! Carefully chosen books, like Please Mr Panda (https://amzn.to/3urldqa) or Puffin Peter (https://amzn.to/3urldqa) enable the rea

There's so much more to communicating than just the words we use. Our eyes, facial expressions, gestures, volume and tone all work...

Whether you normally look forward to the long summer holidays or you dread them, this year is different in so many ways. We'll be...

Many schools send home reading books from the start of reception and some start a little before. Some schools start later and some don't...

It's very likely that, for at least the last half term, your child's teacher has been sending you 'home learning tasks' ranging from a...

It's May 2020 and we've been at home for nine weeks or so. We have a dog and a daily walk is a must for us but, with or without a dog,...

"Tommy Thumb, Tommy Thumb, where are you? Here I am, here I am, how do you do?" Peter Pointer, Toby Tall, Ruby Ring and Baby Small, too!...

Is it 'w' for Will or 'W ("double you") for Will? Should we sing the alphabet song yet? I'm often asked by parents if they should teach...

Tonight, I was sent the most adorable video by a friend of mine. Her little girl is just over two years old and she was telling the...

Today we took a walk to the local car boot sale. Once we got through the regulars - the garden tools, interspersed with china tea sets...

Learning to read begins long before school. "Children are made readers on the laps of their parents." — Emilie Buchwald. It's true -...