Homeschoolingmama

Little person eagerly stated he wanted to learn Spanish a while back. I was thrilled, languages are so important, and I do believe every new language opens a new door. If you're bilingual, you'll understand how meaning and emotion is lost through translation. In order to understand cultures and people, I am a firm believer that language is the most important aspect of all; once you open that door, you can enter a whole new world! His decision to want to learn spanish was great, but having only ever undertaken a 6 week course about 15 years ago, I realised that this would mean both of us learning and not just him. In order to start and enjoy this learning journey, I needed to search out resources that would provide the knowledge but fun was an essential add on. Without fun, play or laughter learning is difficult and difficult mundane learning equates to very slow progress as well as the child losing the love for learning. One of the resources I found and we have loved sin...

We recently received this wonderful fact filled pack from Archiboldclutterbuck (to read more about Archiboldclutterbuck  resources click here). Contents and what we think The pack is made up of an activity booklet and a poster. The poster is a great visual tool; with in depth (but not overbearing-too much to read) information about 6 critically endangered animals across the globe. Each animal is listed with a fact file (for instance type of animal, habitat etc), and reason as to why they are critically endangered. For each animal listed there is a beautiful photograph; I do believe having photography in such posters and texts is important , as it really does bring the whole concept and idea to 'life'. We love the poster as it's a great size, vibrant and easy to understand, with all the vital information but without too much to read, making it a perfect poster!  The activity pack is what you...

'Space Race' is a key stage 2 board game by Oaka books, focussing on physics, following the national curriculum closely. In order to appreciate why this game is different, it's important to look at what makes Oaka books unique. The idea behind Oaka books is that the resources are designed with focus on visual learners and Oaka books ensures areas such as dyslexia are not ignored. 'Oaka’s aim is to make curriculum based topics easy for everyone with their fantastic range of visual learning guides. All of the packs are curriculum based and with the colourful, fully illustrated and clearly laid out designs they are ideal for visual learners. They include memory maps, glossaries of key words and terms, as well as Oaka Active Learning Maps (with character cards) or Games (with flashcards). We have over 47 Oaka topic packs and revision guides for children at KS3/CE level helping them to understand key topics for a range of subjects from Science and French to Geography and...

If you like the idea of being able to print packs (containing all the information needed to teach the specific topic), I do believe taking a look at ' Teaching Packs ' is a good idea. Teaching Packs cover a wide range of subjects, from maths, English, science, geography, history and much more.  In order to explain a little bit more about teaching packs, I thought it would be a wise idea to use three recent packs we have downloaded and printed as examples.  Poetry pack For English, we are planning on covering poetry, and as one can imagine the topic encompasses quite a lot. Ideally, when we start a new topic I like to have all the information required at hand, so we can look through the topic as a whole (rather than teaching new ideas at a later date - usually going over the ideas again is more our style).  Therefore, as you can imagine, finding all the resou...

Tutor In A Box is a great maths subscription box, designed to support your child's learning whilst fully incorporating the national curriculum. When I first discovered Tutor In A Box, I couldn't wait to try the boxes, so as soon as the primary boxes launched, I made sure to subscribe (as quickly as possible!). The first box we received was all about place value- not including decimals  (I've subscribed to the year 5 boxes). This being the first maths resource of this type, that we decided to try, meant we were very excited to get started!  So what's included? The place value box has the following contents: 2 yellow cards- one outlining year 5/6 goals, and the second one with clear list of vocabulary children should be familiar with.  Mint green card - a place value chart. This card neatly and concisely outlines all the important information children should learn and understand. The chart intricately shows the breakdown of numbers; clearly illustrating ...

If you've had a chance to look through my instagram page or read any of my reviews, you'll notice that I do like Orchard toys.  There are a few reasons why I like Orchard toys games, they are: The quality of the products is superb. All of the games we have are still as good as new, and that's after lots of play! They are excellent educational games. Orchard toys design and produce some very good educational games that I can use instead of pen and paper.  They are inexpensive for the quality and product being purchased.  They are unique, you cannot find copies of the games or similar games. They are fun! That is so important, not only do children learn whilst playing, but they also have ever so much fun. Slug in a Jug This is one of our newest Orchard toys games. The concept is simple, help children with rhyming words. It is aimed at children from 5-9 years of a...

On our home ed journey, I like to find resources that provide fun, giggles, support our educational journey and most importantly are easy to use (anything that requires gathering resources/equipment always ends up on the 'to do' list). This is where 'My Little World' sets have been fantastic, with everything required provided, you simply open them up and get going! Arts and Crafts If there is one area I feel we lack resources in, and don't spend enough time on, it is definitely the arts and crafts. I also find it a little overwhelming when there is paint, glitter, glue, card...you name it, all over the room, so being able to find something that doesn't make a huge 'mess' is great (it is important to appreciate that children's creativity isn't 'mess', but at times the living space, for my sanity needs remain a living space!).  When I first saw the 'My little World' sets I knew that they would provide ...

I’ve always enjoyed Orchard toys, and always keep my eyes peeled for any other games that might work well for either child. ‘The Game of Ladybirds’ was a buy more so for youngest child. Recently she has shown an interest in taking part with the schooling and so I thought it was time she got to try her hands at some educational games. The game is simple to play, and the aim is to help build confidence when it comes to counting. The game comes with 24 ladybird cards, 1 dice shaker, 1 dice and instructions. So how does it work? Layout and instructions are very simple, but that’s important as the game is aimed at 3-5 year olds. The ladybird cards are doubled sided cards, one side is plain red with white spots (various number of dots, from 1 to 6), the other side has a leaf with ladybirds (all have a different number of ladybirds). The cards are placed with the spots side up, the youngest player goes first, simply using the dice and dice shaker to roll the dice. The player ch...

I believe all children are fascinated by the wold of science, and even more so when it comes to biology and our bodies. We've been using workbook style resources and have found them to be good, but when I came across An Usborne Flap book - 'See Inside your Body'  I knew it was going to be a great buy.  This book offers a more exciting walk through the body, with delightfully colourful illustrations and over 50 flaps to lift. It sounds like a younger children's book, with the flaps, however the detail shows otherwise.  Topics covered The book contains the following chapters: Your amazing body Eating and exercising  Breathing air  Pumping air Bones and Muscles Brain Power The Senses  Drinking and Weeing Body Works How much detail Just looking at some of the topics, and you will be amazed with how much detail this book has, and how in depth the topics are covered (for children). F...

I had my eyes set on Botley, a coding robot enabling children to learn through play without the use of screens. As soon as I noticed it in the Prime sale, I purchased it, and I am extremely happy with my decision.  B otley, the coding robot by Learning Resources , comes with a 77 piece activity set. So what's it all about? Taken directly from the manual, it simply is: 'Coding is the language we use to communicate with computers. When you program Botley using the included Remote programmer, you are engaging in a basic form of 'coding'. Beginning with the very basics of sequence programming is a great way to get started in the world of coding. So why is learning this so important? Because it helps teach and encourage: 1) Basic coding concepts 2) Advanced coding concepts like If/Then logic  3) Critical thinking 4) Spatial concepts 5) Collaboration and teamwork'  Coding is a huge part of education,...