Family and Home

I have been reading with interest the continuing phonics debate on Mumsnet this week in response to Guest Posts from Michael Rosen and Nick Gibb.

This year the UK government introduced phonics screening tests at the end of Year 1 and there is a firm commitment to the teaching of synthetic phonics as the primary method of teaching reading.

For me there are 2 key questions in this discussion:-

1. How important is phonics instruction for producing fluent readers?

2. Is it appropriate to test young children’s phonic knowledge?

To celebrate the power of the London 2012 Olympics we have up for grabs 2 sets of 3 iBooks for iPad

Amazing Olympic Stories 1

Amazing Olympic Stories 2

Amazing People of London

To have a shot at winning these great prizes enter our prize draw

When I was asked to review Cbeebies’ legend Justin Fletcher’s new joke book which was published today (3rd May), I was looking forward to finding out how he would measure up against the comedy benchmark set by my three year old son. Read on for the verdict . .

Disturbed Sleep! This morning Mummy is feeling a tad tired. Sometime in the early hours I remember hearing the familiar patter of feet heading towards the marital bed and through the haze of sleep, my daytime resolve to be firmer and return nocturnal wanderers to bed, turns to mush. As my three year old approaches I open Read more

Pre-School places in Portishead are at a premium. Pre-School providers in Portishead have asked us to highlight the importance of forward planning to avoid disappointment. This useful article will help you to make the right choices for your child.

A Review of Justin Fletcher (CBeebies) CD Hands Up the Album

Tree Fu Tom is a new CBeebies Programme that encourages active participation in the story. The Series creators have worked closely with the Dyspraxia Foundation, raising awareness of this misunderstood condition and encouraging co-ordinated movements that will benefit all young children.

It has become a tradition in my house that we make Welsh Cakes for St David’s Day.  As a child in Wales St David’s Day was a big event.  We would go to school dressed in traditional costume. The morning would involve a special assembly during which we sang Welsh songs and presented prizes for Read more

My 7 Year old is steadily working her way through the Harry Potter books, so this game has arrived at an opportune moment. Lego Harry Potter 5-7 years covers the last 3 books of the series and as my daughter is currently reading the 6th book she was able to explain some of the characters Read more