I have been busy visiting the Spring Fair at Birmingham looking for new and exciting items for you all. We will shorly be taking stock of Bananagrams and some great products from Zoobookoo We still have a few items left in our sale so hurry along and grab yourself a bargain.
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Thursday, 7 February 2008
Wednesday, 2 January 2008
Parents urged to read to children
Children in England are not reading enough outside of schoolParents are being urged to make a New Year's resolution to spend more time reading to their children.
Schools Secretary Ed Balls is spearheading the initiative ahead of the National Year of Reading 2008, which officially starts in April.
Mr Balls said reading a child a bedtime story every night could have a huge impact on their development.
"Reading can bring fun to their lives, feed their imagination, and develop their curiosity about the world."
Too many children today are not reading for pleasure - and this is harming not just our children's reading skills, but also their imagination and general knowledge
Ed Balls, Children, Schools and Families Secretary
"As parents we need to make reading a part of everyday life for our children - whether that is reading stories to younger children or talking about books and magazines with older kids," he said.
A recent survey found the reading performance of children in England had fallen from third to 19th in the world.
The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, published in November, highlighted significant increases in the proportion of English 10-year-olds with the "least positive" attitudes to reading and who said they very seldom read stories or novels outside school.
Mr Balls said it could make "all the difference" if parents set aside 10 minutes a day before bedtime to read with their children.
Reading tips
"Too many children today are not reading for pleasure - and this is harming not just our children's reading skills, but also their imagination and general knowledge," he said.
The National Year of Reading is being run by the National Literacy Trust, which has some ideas to encourage reading in different age groups.
These include:
For babies to 3-year-olds - make a scrapbook about your child full of pictures and words. Read the words with your child and get them to say what else should be in their story.
For three to five-year-olds - cut out pictures from catalogues or magazines of objects that all begin with the same letter, plus a few that do not. Write down the names of the objects and get your child to match the picture to the name.
For five to eight-year-olds. - find your family's top five reads. Ask everyone in your family to name their favourite reads - it could be a book, magazine, comic or newspaper. Involve grandparents, cousins etc. And see if the neighbours agree.
Source http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7163172.stm
Schools Secretary Ed Balls is spearheading the initiative ahead of the National Year of Reading 2008, which officially starts in April.
Mr Balls said reading a child a bedtime story every night could have a huge impact on their development.
"Reading can bring fun to their lives, feed their imagination, and develop their curiosity about the world."
Too many children today are not reading for pleasure - and this is harming not just our children's reading skills, but also their imagination and general knowledge
Ed Balls, Children, Schools and Families Secretary
"As parents we need to make reading a part of everyday life for our children - whether that is reading stories to younger children or talking about books and magazines with older kids," he said.
A recent survey found the reading performance of children in England had fallen from third to 19th in the world.
The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, published in November, highlighted significant increases in the proportion of English 10-year-olds with the "least positive" attitudes to reading and who said they very seldom read stories or novels outside school.
Mr Balls said it could make "all the difference" if parents set aside 10 minutes a day before bedtime to read with their children.
Reading tips
"Too many children today are not reading for pleasure - and this is harming not just our children's reading skills, but also their imagination and general knowledge," he said.
The National Year of Reading is being run by the National Literacy Trust, which has some ideas to encourage reading in different age groups.
These include:
For babies to 3-year-olds - make a scrapbook about your child full of pictures and words. Read the words with your child and get them to say what else should be in their story.
For three to five-year-olds - cut out pictures from catalogues or magazines of objects that all begin with the same letter, plus a few that do not. Write down the names of the objects and get your child to match the picture to the name.
For five to eight-year-olds. - find your family's top five reads. Ask everyone in your family to name their favourite reads - it could be a book, magazine, comic or newspaper. Involve grandparents, cousins etc. And see if the neighbours agree.
Source http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7163172.stm
Friday, 28 December 2007
Thursday, 20 December 2007
Educational Games
Playing games at home with your children will not only help them with all essential numeracy and literacy but will also encourage them to share, communicate and will have a great impact on their understanding of family life. We are all busy people alway rushing about, never taking time to sit down and spend quality time with our children. Encouraging family time together will not only be beneficial for you now but your children when they become parents.
Simple card games, board games and even traditional party games will give children quality time to bond with you. It's all too easy to say "Oh later, I'm too busy now, come back later" but we all know later sometimes never. Make a point of setting aside time to play a game, it won't take long and you will find qualities in your child you may not have seen for a long time.
Some of my favourite are simple games like "I Spy", Card Games and board games like Shopping List and Pass the Word. Even games like Ludo and Snap will encourage children to share and count.
Simple card games, board games and even traditional party games will give children quality time to bond with you. It's all too easy to say "Oh later, I'm too busy now, come back later" but we all know later sometimes never. Make a point of setting aside time to play a game, it won't take long and you will find qualities in your child you may not have seen for a long time.
Some of my favourite are simple games like "I Spy", Card Games and board games like Shopping List and Pass the Word. Even games like Ludo and Snap will encourage children to share and count.
Friday, 14 December 2007
National Year of Reading 2008
The 2008 National Year of Reading will create a powerful focus of opportunities and activities so that children, families and adult learners understand the benefits that reading for pleasure and purpose can bring to change their lives."
The National Literacy Trust and The Reading Agency are leading a consortium of organisations committed to promoting reading to manage the National Year of Reading 2008 (NYR) on behalf of the DCSF. For more information read the press release.The NYR will run from January to December 2008. From January to March organisations and authorities will be asked to take the Reading Challenge, to pledge and plan their support. Delivery of the NYR will be launched in April 2008.
The National Literacy Trust and The Reading Agency are leading a consortium of organisations committed to promoting reading to manage the National Year of Reading 2008 (NYR) on behalf of the DCSF. For more information read the press release.The NYR will run from January to December 2008. From January to March organisations and authorities will be asked to take the Reading Challenge, to pledge and plan their support. Delivery of the NYR will be launched in April 2008.
Tuesday, 11 December 2007
Bedlam Cube
The Bedlam Cube has 19,186 different solutions!
Everytime it is attempted it is different and becomes addictive
Playing the Bedlam cube is educational and improves spatial awareness & hand eye co-ordination.
The Bedlam Cube is a British Invention
Unlike other Puzzle Cubes it has NO additional needless packaging!
The Bedlam Cube consists of 13 unique geometric shapes
The Bedlam Cube is a personal challenge
World Class Education
The Government is set to unveil its ten-year plan aimed at giving every child in England a 'world class' education.
Schools Secretary Ed Balls will outline the sweeping reforms as part of the new Children's Plan which heralds a major shift in the Government's approach to dealing with youngsters.
He said he wants Britain to be 'the best place in the world for children to grow up' and the document will cover every aspect of children's lives from how they spend their free time to the role their parents play in their education.
The plan includes foreign languages to be taught in primary schools and changes to national Sats tests.
It will also attempt to revive the key role parents play in their children's education and that every child will have a personal tutor who knows them 'in the round' and will act as the main point of contact for parents.
Additionally, parents' complaints will be handled more clearly and openly, and they will be given 'regular, up-to-date information' on their child's attendance, behaviour in class and educational progress.
The plan's publication comes a month after an academic report said the Government had spent £500 million in a failed attempt to boost reading standards in primary schools in the seven years to 2005.
And it follows a Government survey published last month on the well-being of children which found more needed to be done to close the gap in achievement for children from deprived backgrounds.
As part of the plan, former director of schools inspectorate Ofsted, Jim Roseor, will conduct a 'root and branch' review of primary education, the first in more than a decade.
Mr Balls said at the weekend: 'He will look at the primary curriculum and see how we can take out some of the clutter, reduce the number of set subjects so that we have more space for maths and have more space for reading.'
He said pupils could be tested when they are ready, rather than all at the same time, if a pilot programme currently under way in 500 schools proves successful.
However, Sats will not be abolished, despite pressure from teaching unions and education academics who say they put unneeded pressure on pupils, parents, schools and teachers.
Mr Balls added: 'I think parents want to know the information, not only about their child but how their school is doing.'
Schools Secretary Ed Balls will outline the sweeping reforms as part of the new Children's Plan which heralds a major shift in the Government's approach to dealing with youngsters.
He said he wants Britain to be 'the best place in the world for children to grow up' and the document will cover every aspect of children's lives from how they spend their free time to the role their parents play in their education.
The plan includes foreign languages to be taught in primary schools and changes to national Sats tests.
It will also attempt to revive the key role parents play in their children's education and that every child will have a personal tutor who knows them 'in the round' and will act as the main point of contact for parents.
Additionally, parents' complaints will be handled more clearly and openly, and they will be given 'regular, up-to-date information' on their child's attendance, behaviour in class and educational progress.
The plan's publication comes a month after an academic report said the Government had spent £500 million in a failed attempt to boost reading standards in primary schools in the seven years to 2005.
And it follows a Government survey published last month on the well-being of children which found more needed to be done to close the gap in achievement for children from deprived backgrounds.
As part of the plan, former director of schools inspectorate Ofsted, Jim Roseor, will conduct a 'root and branch' review of primary education, the first in more than a decade.
Mr Balls said at the weekend: 'He will look at the primary curriculum and see how we can take out some of the clutter, reduce the number of set subjects so that we have more space for maths and have more space for reading.'
He said pupils could be tested when they are ready, rather than all at the same time, if a pilot programme currently under way in 500 schools proves successful.
However, Sats will not be abolished, despite pressure from teaching unions and education academics who say they put unneeded pressure on pupils, parents, schools and teachers.
Mr Balls added: 'I think parents want to know the information, not only about their child but how their school is doing.'
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