Bananagrams come to Facebook

The latest news is that Bananagrams has joined forces with one of the largest international gaming software companies – Majesco Entertainment – and is in development for use on various electronic platforms, initially launching on FACEBOOK in early October. Facebookers will be able to compete against friends in one of two multiplayer modes - the Classic Multiplayer Game, or the Banana Café, where they can race against the clock (posting their best times on a leader board) and play in real time against each other, having the ability to chat online the entire time! There will also be a Solitaire version for those who want to hone their speed and word making skills! Development for the iPhone, DS and Wii follow shortly! The entry into the electronic world is a wonderful compliment to the original games continued success, just making it easier for Bananagrams fans to play with family and friends around the globe!

Friendship in Networking Durham

Friendship In Networking Durham is a local networking group set up to help Women in Business in and around County Durham - providing a central hub to access business information, education, support and guidance.
Focused on developing relationships, friendships, growing businesses and participating in networking events – FIND is here to help local women reach their full business potential.
Our aims are to:
Provide a valuable network of contacts and to encourage trade, information sharing and support between Members
Provide access to seminars and workshops for professional and personal development
Inspire and encourage women to develop professionally and drive them forward for success in business
Encourage and support new enterprise by providing support to those women looking to set up their own business
Provide a central hub for like-minded individuals to share information, ideas and knowledge and develop friendships and team spirit
Raise the awareness of local women and the talents and resources they have to offer to County Durham
FIND is fast establishing itself as leading resource for North East women in business.

Phonics Flashcards

Phonics Flashcards from Oxford Reading Tree are a fun way for children to learn the initial sounds and letters of the alphabet. Playing the alphabet games will help children to : develop memory and concentration skills, learn to recognise individual letter shapes and sounds, read simple words, spell simple words.

Maths Wrap

For children, learning their times tables can be repetitive and boring – now thanks to the Maths Wrap, counting numbers is a whole lot of fun. The kinesthetic element aids memory and could be used at home or as a great mental warm up to a numeracy lesson.

Maths Wrap looks like an ipod and feels like a game, yet is a powerful tool for building confidence and helping children to understand the process of multiplication. The ipod-sized device has numbers notched down one side, and a cord attached. It comes with 12 cards to test different tables.

Many children learn best when they are physically engaged and doing something with their hands as it helps them to process information. The ‘doing-and-seeing’ method also helps children recognise patterns of numbers in the tables they are learning. Chilren, who are confident with multiplication, may find it easier to master complex problems such as division and algebra.

End of National Straegies

The government is to abandon the most significant education reform of the New Labour era in order to end the centralised control of schools and grant headteachers more powers, the Guardian has learned.
In a totemic break from the Blair years, next week's education white paper will signal the end of Labour's national strategies for schools, which includes oversight of the literacy and numeracy hours in primaries. The changes will strip away centralised prescription of teaching methods and dramatically cut the use of private consultants currently employed to improve schools.
They will give schools more freedom and establish new networks of school-to-school support to help drive up standards in what will be described as a "new era of localism".

Flashcards

Flashcards or Flash Cards. Either way they can be a great way to encourage children to learn and lots of fun for children and adults to play together. The Oxford Reading Tree Read at Home Flashcards are a fun way for children to learn common words used in English. Playing the word games will help children to:

1. develop memory and concentration skills
2. match letter and word shapes
3. recognise many common words by sight
4. build sentences

FIRST SKILLS FLASH CARDS introduce young children to letters of the alphabet, common colours and shapes, numbers 1 - 20 and maths symbols, important concepts which are the foundation of their future learning.

SAY AND SPELL FLASHCARDS are a fun way for children to develop their early reading skills.

Using the cards will help children to:

1. Match letters to picture
2. Match letter sounds to letter shapes
3. Sounds out letters in words
4. Blend letters to make words
   

All school Sats tests 'might go'

Experts looking at testing in England's schools have said formal Sats tests might eventually be replaced by teachers' assessments of their pupils.

As taken from the BBC website