JustPickOneUK

 Every expert under the sun will recommend reading to your child at bedtime. The stories they can listen to are calming, it is a bonding experience and you can share knowledge. They will be exposed to language that doesn't usually come up in daily conversation and how often do you speak in rhyming couplets during the day?  Reading to your child does not have to cost the earth. There are so many places you can get books from. Most local supermarkets have a charity book stall, charity shops, book shops and online. But you can always use your local library for free.  Teaching English as a language to read is infuriating and confusing as there are so many oddities within it. Break becomes Breakfast. Why did the EA change with each word? Thought, Though, Through, Cough. 4 letters, 4 different sounds! Never mind the difference with north / south divide. Bath or Bath? I'll leave that up to you.  Once your child has the ability, begins school or you teach at home, then pleas...

I don't know about you but my brain goes blank sometimes. Usually when I get asked a question. Something like, what's your favourite film? What's your favourite song? My brain shuts off in those moments like I've never seen a film ever before and no music exists in the world.  The worst is at bed time when your child says Tell Me a Story. I am certain he doesn't want to hear one  that goes "There once was a boy, he went to sleep, The End."  But I now have a strategy for telling a story. It doesn't take too long and as long as you follow the 5 steps I'm going to detail below then you can have a story quiet easily without too much brain fade. You can also get your listener to give you some of the information as well which makes for a tailored story for them.   In school the teachers had a training session regarding story telling and it now seems so easy. It may not be new to some of you but it provided clarity for me. There are a variety of different...

Children's birthday parties can be an emotional, financial and confusing nightmare. But they don't have to be.  You can put in as much or as little effort as you or your budget can afford. Will your child remember the exact places and people in attendance of their parties when they are 21? Probably not. Will they remember that they enjoyed themselves with those they actually want to spend time with. More likely.  There are those families who will always invite the whole class to a soft play centre or bouncy castle place and everyone has a ton of food and presents galore and party bags for all. That's fine.  There are those families who invite a few friends round to their house for a large play date with a bit of cake and a party bag. Also perfectly fine.  Families who don't invite anyone to anything and spend their money on their child. All good here.  Families who cannot afford to join in or throw a party. Which is sad for them, but there should be no pressure ...

Parents get a backstage pass to their child's life. They see the ups and downs. They see their child's first words, steps, writing, singing, playing. What their child is 'into'. Favourite games, toys, people, TV shows and foods. They know what brings them comfort when in stressful situations. Now imagine you know none of this and you get handed 30 of them to care for while trying to teach them something. That is day one in a school.  When a child comes to school they are in a new place where they don't have their usual support system around them. Teachers receive a register of up to 30 children, all of whom have individual lives, likes and dislikes. Teachers also have to learn their names, try to learn any difficulties these children may have, work out who may need more help with the adjustment to school than others. Which ones are fully toilet trained, who can read simple words, who is naturally quiet, who has additional needs or who will have no clue how to regula...

Your child going to school for the first time is a big change for any household. But there are things you can do as parents to help make things smoother on you. I have sent my child in to school and I work in one as a teaching assistant and these are some things which I feel may help others.  i. Label everything. You have worked hard to choose the right school, got all of the uniform, a bag, a new bottle, lunchbox, coat, hat, gloves etc.  Most of these items will be put down or taken off and potentially lost. If you put a label on it with your child's full name your class teacher or teaching assistant has a much better chance of keeping track of it and getting it back to the right child. You don't need to use expensive labels, a Sharpie will do a good job on its own. But please check it every so often to make sure its still visible.   ii. Leave your child at the door. It sounds easy but if your child is having a wobble and in tears about going in to school, most of t...

Being a parent is hard work. That's a simple fact. Getting children ready and out the door to come to school can be a challenge. When your child gets to school, I hope they are greeted with a warm welcome so they feel they are in a safe environment with people they can trust. I try to create that environment for the children in my classroom.  Sometimes children can have a bad morning due to a variety of reasons. A bad sleep, a relative or pet passing away, a fall out with friends, family divorce, a house move or even a toy going missing are all examples of things outside school which can significantly impact their behaviour, concentration and friendships within the classroom.  Sometimes children take a different approach to dealing with tragedy than adults do (yes, a toy being lost for 10 minutes can be tragic for them). They are still learning to cope with emotions and do not have the logic as a back up to work out how to deal with them. Sometimes the reaction to bad news or ...