Search Results

Let’s face it, keeping our little learners focused is hard work! Between short attention spans and a world full of distractions, it’s no wonder many children struggle to stay on task. The good news? Attention and focus are skills that can be built, without turning learning into a battle. With playful activities, simple routines and a few clever strategies, you can help children stay engaged and complete tasks! What is a Typical Attention Span for a Child? Here’s a guideline based on typical attention spans for children aged 4-7 years. Keep in mind that every child is unique, and these are general averages : 4-year-olds:  5–10 minutes of focused attention on a single task. 5-year-olds:  10–15 minutes. They can handle slightly longer tasks but still need movement breaks or changes in activity. 6-year-olds:  15–20 minutes. They start to sustain attention better, especially for hands-on or interactive learning. 7-year-olds:  20–25 minutes. With support and engaging content, most can focus for a longer stretch, though still not as long as adults. 10 Strategies to Help With Attention and Focus Short, Clear Instructions 🧑‍🏫 Give one or two-step directions at a time to avoid overwhelming them. Visual Schedules 📆 Use pictures or charts to show what comes next and keep routines predictable. Chunk Activities 🔚 Break tasks into small, manageable steps with clear start and end points. Movement Breaks 👯‍♂️ Incorporate short bursts of physical activity between tasks to release energy and refocus attention. Hands-On Learning 🙌 Use tactile or interactive activities (e.g., manipulatives) to engage multiple senses. Quiet, Low-Distraction Spaces 🤫 Provide a calm corner or area for focused work with minimal noise and visual distractions. Use Timers ⌛ Set a timer for short periods of focused work to create a sense of urgency and structure. Positive Reinforcement 👏 Praise effort, completion and persistence immediately to motivate sustained focus. Predictable Routines 🏫 Consistent daily schedules help children anticipate tasks and reduce anxiety that can distract them. Interactive Visual Cues 👉 Highlight key words, use finger tracking or point to visuals while giving instructions to keep attention on the task in hand! Helping children to build attention and focus is a long journey, there's no quick fix! However, by using consistent routines, playful activities and strategies that meet their developmental needs, you should soon start to see progress.

The prospect of starting Reception can feel like a big step for children. Some may be leaving their parents for the first time; others may not know any other children in their class and some may only just have turned four. Schools can ensure that they make this experience positive by arranging a new intake visit or visits during the summer term before children start Reception. Keep reading for new Reception transition day ideas! If you need a profile form for parents to complete about their little one, download your free 'All About My Child' sheet now. Make your new Reception intake visit a positive experience! What is a Reception Transition Day? A Reception transition day is when your new intake visits you at school. You may want to do this in small groups if you have a large intake, to ensure that you can give each child some 1:1 time and to ensure that children aren't overwhelmed by all of the new faces. Usually, a couple of hours, or no more than a morning, is long enough for each visit. If possible, make sure that the children aren't arriving and leaving at the same time as the rest of the school. Don't forget that you will need to consider where your current Reception class are going to go and who will be looking after them! The best thing you can do on transition day is to allow the children to get a feel for their classroom and to help them to get to know the adults and children who they will be with each day. Transition day fun How Do Transition Days Help? Transition days help children to feel less anxious about starting school. They are an opportunity for your new pupils to learn some of the basic routines of Reception class and for you to find out about each child and their interests . This will help you to hit the ground running in September. How Can I Prepare for Transition Day(s)? Consider where the children will come into school and where they will leave. Think about whether you will invite parents to stay and settle their child at the beginning of each session, or whether they will leave their child at the door. Set out an area for children to put their coats and bags. Have a tray ready to collect any forms which might be returned. Prepare a name sticker for each child, to help you to remember names! Set up your classroom with lots of inviting activities! Preparing for transition day What Shall I Do on Transition Day(s)? Begin the session with a quick carpet time: take a register, introduce the adults who will be working in the classroom, explain where the toilets are and tell the children how you will attract their attention when it is time to stop playing (e.g. "When I shake this tambourine, it means stop and look at me.") You will probably just want to stay in the classroom and Reception outdoor area to begin with, as this will be where your new pupils will spend most of their time when they start school. The most important thing to remember is to keep things simple and relaxed! Give the children plenty of time to play and get used to their new surroundings. Set out resources in the main areas of your continuous provision; for example, sand/water, construction, role play, creative, fine-motor, outdoor, writing, maths, reading, etc. It is usually best to pare back the provision you have out for your current Reception children until your new intake knows where everything belongs! Ensure that you and your team are dotted around the classroom, to offer reassurance to anyone who needs it. Make sure that each adult has a notepad to quickly jot down any observations. You may want to provide some specific activities for transition day(s). You could ask each child to draw or paint a self-portrait, which can then be displayed ready for September. The children could write their names at the transition visit and then again at the end of their Reception year. You could ask children to cut pictures of their favourite toys from a catalogue - this will allow you to assess their cutting skills and help you to find out about their interests! Parachute games are another great way to get to know your new intake. They encourage collaboration and teamwork too. An example of a game to play is 'All Change' - children swap places if they have brown hair/a brother/a pet/go swimming, etc! Have a snack time together or perhaps in smaller groups to allow children the chance to chat and get to know each other. If the children are staying for lunch, consider having a Teddy Bear's Picnic. Allow them to bring their own teddies and eat on picnic blankets outside if the weather is fine. Take photos (with permission) of the children during their transition days. You can display these or share them with parents. If your transition days are before your new intake parents meeting, you can create a slideshow to play to the parents. They will love seeing their child playing happily at school! A nice way to end your transition day is with a story or singing time. Don't forget to hand out a sticker to each child too, to say well done. Make the new intake visit lots of fun! What Next? If you need a profile form for parents to complete about their little one, download your free 'All About My Child' sheet now. At the end of transition day, you can hand out a transition booklet for parents to complete and return to you. If you haven't already, arrange a meeting for the parents of your new intake. This is an opportunity for them to meet the staff and discover more about the school and the early years (EYFS) curriculum. Visit the preschools to learn more about each child and collect any transition documents. Some schools offer a home visit for each child. These visits are a nice opportunity for the child to show you their favourite things and to feel relaxed in their own environment. You might want to bring a school bag containing examples of uniform, PE kit, the school reading scheme, photographs of the classroom, etc. Send a postcard to your new starters over the summer holidays, telling them how excited you are about them joining your class! Find a great selection of classroom resources here. * This ENGAGING preschool activity book is ideal for helping preschool children prepare for starting school! They will learn how to count, rhyme, hear initial sounds, name shapes, cut and stick and more with these FUN activities. Preschool key skills activity book Clipart by Prawny at Pixabay *As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

We all know that tidy classrooms make for calmer learning spaces - but getting little ones to tidy up can sometimes feel like hard work! In Early Years and KS1 (Key Stage 1), tidying is about more than just keeping the room neat; it’s also about building independence, responsibility and teamwork. With the right strategies, tidying up can become a positive, engaging part of the daily routine. Image by olenchic, Pixabay Here are some tried-and-tested ideas you can use to encourage children to tidy up happily and effectively: 🎵 Use Music to Signal Tidy Time A short, upbeat song works wonders for signalling that it’s time to tidy. Children quickly associate the tune with putting things away and it creates a fun, positive atmosphere rather than a stressful one. However, if you have a particularly lively class, upbeat music might prove a little too exciting for them! ⏱ Try a Timer on the Whiteboard Adding a countdown timer on your interactive whiteboard helps children stay focused and gives them a clear goal. It turns tidying into a race against the clock rather than a chore. Encourage children to sit on their spots on the carpet when the timer runs out. 🔍 Mystery Mess This is a popular one! Choose a 'mystery item' before tidy up begins. Tell the class that whoever puts that special item away will get a reward. This motivates children to look carefully and really engage with tidying. 🌟 Praise, Stickers & Dojos Acknowledge good tidying with verbal praise, stickers or dojo points. Positive reinforcement goes a long way in showing children that their effort is noticed and valued. Children who tidy well could be first to receive their snack or go out for playtime. 📸 Show What Tidy Looks Like Take a photo of each area when it’s perfectly tidy and display it nearby. Children then have a clear, visual reference for what the space should look like at the end of tidy-up time. 👥 Tidy Teams in Each Area Assign 'tidy teams' to different areas of provision and train them on how to tidy them. This builds teamwork and accountability, as children know exactly which area they’re responsible for. Rotate the teams each week or half-term. 🚫 Close an Area if Needed If a space isn’t tidied properly, consider temporarily closing it the next day. This sets boundaries and helps children understand the importance of looking after their classroom. 👩‍🏫 Adults Model & Help Children need to see adults tidying too! Model good habits by joining them, showing that tidying is a shared responsibility. 📝 Give Specific Instructions Instead of saying, “Tidy the construction area,” try breaking it into smaller steps, such as “Put the blocks in the big box” or “Put the counters back on the shelf.” Clear, simple directions make it easier for young children to succeed. 🖼 Pictures & Labels on Drawers and Boxes Use photos and labels on containers so children know exactly where everything belongs. This supports independence and makes tidying more manageable for all learners. 🎖 Tidy Up Captains Appoint 'tidy up captains' who lead and encourage their peers in different areas of provision. Children love having responsibility and it helps to create classroom leaders. 🎲 Make It a Game Turn tidying into a challenge: Who can find the most things to put away? Who can tidy 10 items?  Simple games like this keep energy high and make tidying fun. With a mix of music, visuals, structure and positive reinforcement, tidying up can transform from a stressful transition into a fun part of the day. By making it playful and giving children ownership of their classroom, you’ll not only keep things organised but also help them to build valuable life skills along the way. Shop hands-on resources

Hands-on learning doesn't have to cost a fortune - it's often at your fingertips! When it comes to helping children learn through play, expensive resources and fancy gadgets aren't necessary. In fact, you probably already have everything you need right at home! Hands-on learning is all about making education fun, interactive and memorable. Whether you're a teacher, home educator or tutor looking to level up learning time, these 10 simple and affordable resources can transform lessons from boring to brilliant! My Top 10 Resources for Hands-On Learning: 1. Dice Dice are perfect for maths games, decision making, creating number sentences and practising subitising! Why not grab your FREE Roll and Solve Addition and Subtraction Activity now! 2. Scissors and Glue Cutting and sticking isn’t just for art and crafts time - it’s great for sorting and matching activities too! Adding a cut-and-stick element to a printable sheet makes it more engaging and builds fine motor skills. This FREE Subitising Cut and Stick Activity is guaranteed to be a hit with little ones! 3. Bingo Dabbers Bingo dabbers (also known as daubers or dot markers) are great for letter or number recognition, shape and counting activities. Use them with printables or make your own dot-to-dot learning games. Here's a FREE Shape Bingo Dabber Download to get you started! 4. Playdough Playdough isn’t just for sculpting—it can be used to form letters, numbers, the hands of a clock and more! It's a great sensory experience, not to mention good for strengthening little hands. Here's some FREE O'Clock and Half Past Playdough Mats to try out. 5. Manipulatives From counting gems to buttons, conkers to shells, manipulatives are any small items that children can move, group and explore. They're perfect for hands-on maths, sorting, measuring and creating patterns. These FREE Loose Parts Pattern Mats are perfect for developing hand-eye coordination. 6. Pegs Pegs (clothes pegs or mini plastic ones) are amazing for building fine motor skills. Clip them to number cards or colour matching strips. You can even write letters or numbers on them for sequencing games! Here are some FREE Addition and Subtraction Clip Cards to show you how great pegs can be! 7. Fly Swatters or Toy Hammers Turn learning into a high-energy game with fly swatters or toy hammers. Call out a letter, number or word and ask your child to swat or whack it. It’s a great way to engage even the most reluctant learners! This FREE Swat that Fly Phase 3 Tricky Word Activity will definitely be a hit! 8. Small Toys Your child's favourite toys should definitely be incorporated into their learning - think mini dinosaurs, cars, animals or action figures. These toys can be sorted, counted and even used to help your child learn to blend in phonics. They’re a fantastic, free resource you already have lying around! Try sending a small toy down these FREE Phase 2 Phonics Slides! 9. Homemade Spinner Use a paper plate, a split pin and a paper clip to create a simple spinner you can customise for endless learning games. Your child could spin a number and add it, or spin a letter and say a word that starts with it. Grab these FREE Phase 2 Phonics Sound Spinners now! 10. My Printable Games & Activities Of course, my hands-on printables are a great way to make learning fun and engaging without buying new materials! I’ve created a huge variety of hands-on printable games and activities designed to be used with everything listed above! Whether you're reinforcing phonics, reading, writing or maths skills, there's something for every learner. Have I missed anything off the list? What are your go-to hands-on learning resources? Let me know in the comments below!

As a teacher, you spend countless hours creating engaging lessons and activities for your classroom. What if you could turn those resources into a steady stream of passive income? Imagine waking each day to multiple sales! Hearing a cha-ching while marking books! Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT) is a platform where educators sell their teaching materials to other teachers—and the best part? Once your resources are uploaded, they can keep earning YOU money for years to come! If you’re ready to start making extra money on TPT, follow these simple steps to set up your store and start selling. Find Your Niche and Name Your Store Before jumping in, take some time to identify your niche. What subjects, age groups or types of resources are you passionate about? Focusing on a specific area will help you stand out and attract a dedicated audience. Once you’ve chosen your niche, pick a memorable and professional store name that reflects your brand. Keep it simple, relevant and easy to search! Also, make sure that you check TPT’s search bar, Google and social media to ensure the name hasn’t already been taken! Create a Logo and Set Up Your TPT Store Your store’s branding is important for attracting buyers and building credibility. Design a simple yet professional logo that represents your brand. You can use free design tools like Canva to create one easily. Then, sign up for a free TPT account and set up your seller profile with a friendly bio, an eye-catching store banner and your new logo. I would advise upgrading to a premium seller account for a higher profit percentage and better earning potential! Find Time to Create in Your Schedule Balancing teaching and creating resources can be challenging, so try to set aside dedicated time in your schedule. Treat your TPT business like any other commitment by blocking out specific hours in your week. Whether it’s an hour at the weekend or a few minutes each evening, consistency will help you build your store over time. Planning ahead and batching content creation can also make the process more efficient. Create High-Quality Resources Your success on TPT depends on the quality of your resources. Choose topics that are in demand, such as lesson plans, games, activities and classroom decor. Make sure your materials are: Well-organised and easy to use Visually appealing with clear fonts and formatting Original and free from copyright issues Design Eye-Catching Covers and Previews First impressions matter! Your resource cover should be professional, eye-catching and easy to read. Use tools like Canva or PowerPoint to create high-quality thumbnails. Also, include a preview file so buyers can see what they’re getting before they buy. A great preview can significantly boost sales! Start Earning Passive Income Today! Selling on TPT is a fantastic way for teachers to earn extra income while making a difference for teachers and children worldwide! Ready to launch your store but feeling overwhelmed? You’re not alone. What if you had a simple plan to support you? Check out my FREE 4-STEP LAUNCH PLAN for new TPT sellers. Buy The Teacher’s Guide to Selling on TPT (book) Buy the TPT Seller’s Guide (printable download) Photographs from various artists at Pixabay.

Home education allows parents to tailor learning and resources to their child’s pace, learning style and interests. Whether you're transitioning from traditional schooling or starting afresh, setting up for home education needs careful thought. Here’s a guide to help you select resources for home-schooling success! What Kind of Home Education Do You Want to Provide? Before you rearrange your living room or order heaps of books, take some time to think about how you're going to home-educate your child. Are you in favour of structured, curriculum-based learning or are you leaning towards unschooling and following your child's interests? Understanding the approach you want to take will help you to plan your space and resources. Design a Learning Space for Your Child Your learning space doesn’t need to look like a traditional classroom but it should be a place where your child can concentrate and feel inspired to learn. A table or desk, comfy reading nook and accessible shelves for materials can create a balanced environment. Ideally, pick a room with lots of natural light and don't forget to include any outdoor space in your home school plans too! Gather Essential Materials and Resources Having the right materials to hand will make your lessons run more smoothly and bring them to life. Stock up on essentials tailored to your child’s interests and learning style. Consider including (contains links): Basic Supplies  Essential items include basic stationery like notebooks, pencils, pens, rulers, scissors, glue and sharpeners. You'll need a whiteboard, along with whiteboard pens and visual aids. Art and Craft Resources Art and craft resources are essential for bringing imagination to life in home education. Art supplies like paints, brushes and colouring pencils encourage exploration, while resources like playdough and craft materials will help your child develop creativity and fine motor skills. Books and Reading Materials Books, textbooks, comics and digital resources offer diverse learning opportunities, while age-appropriate fiction and non-fiction builds literacy skills. Having a well-stocked bookshelf encourages a love of reading and also supports independent exploration of new ideas and subjects! Fine Motor Resources Fine motor resources will help your child develop hand strength and coordination. Tools like scissors, tweezers, beads, lacing cards and playdough encourage hands-on learning through fun, tactile activities. Phonics Resources Phonics resources are essential for strong reading and spelling skills. Tools like letter tiles, flashcards and phonics activity books help children connect sounds to letters. Engaging games and activities make learning fun as your child masters blending and segmenting. Number Resources Number resources help children build vital maths skills through hands-on learning. Items like counting blocks, number charts, flashcards and abacuses make concepts like counting more tangible. Games and puzzles add fun to practice, fostering a deeper understanding of numbers. Addition and Subtraction Resources Addition and subtraction resources make learning maths interactive and fun - much better than a worksheet! Tools like tens frame boards, dice activities and board games will help your child visualise problems and build confidence. Multiplication Resources Multiplication requires lots of hands-on practice and repetition! Tools like times tables charts, activity books and games make concepts easier to understand. These resources will help you create an engaging and effective learning environment at home. From games to hands-on activities, they'll help to ensure that your child has an enjoyable and successful education! *As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. You might also enjoy: A Guide to Home Education in the UK: What You Need to Know Hands-On Printables Shop: Time-saving digital downloads

Homeschooling in the UK is becoming an increasingly popular choice for families looking for a flexible approach to education. Large class sizes, underfunding, bullying and mental health issues are all factors cited by parents as reasons for turning to home education. On 12th December 2024, the Department for Education (DfE) reported, ' As at census date in autumn 2024, local authorities reported 111,700 children in elective home education (EHE). This is an increase from an estimated 92,000 in the previous autumn'. If you’re considering home educating for the first time or looking for guidance on how to get started, this guide will help you navigate the process! Is Homeschooling Legal in the UK? Yes, homeschooling (or home education) is completely legal in the UK. Parents have the right to educate their children at home under the Education Act 1996, which states that children must receive an education suitable to their age, ability and any special educational needs. Children must receive a full-time education from the age of 5. Do You Need to Notify Anyone? If your child is currently enrolled in a school, you must write to the headteacher asking them to de-register your child, informing them that you are going to educate them at home. The headteacher who will then inform the local authority. Official guidance from the government states, ' If your child is currently at school, you should tell the school if you plan to educate them at home. The school must accept if you’re taking your child out completely. They can refuse if you want to send your child to school some of the time.' If your child has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and attends a special school, you will need permission from the local authority before deregistering them. Do You Have to Follow the National Curriculum? There isn't a legal requirement for home educators to follow the National Curriculum, although many parents choose to do so. With homeschooling, you're free to design an educational approach that best suits your child’s learning style and interests! They'll probably love our hands-on resources for a start! Some parents choose to follow the National Curriculum, while others adopt alternative approaches such as Montessori, unschooling or a mix of different methods. You don't need to be a qualified teacher to home educate your child and unlike schools, no Ofsted inspections will take place. Your local authority can provide information and support, so don’t be afraid to contact them. Most local authorities will contact you at least once a year requesting information about the education provided and the progress your child is making. How Do You Plan Your Child’s Education? There's no one-size-fits-all approach to home education and no legal requirement for the number of hours your child needs to be home educated. Mainstream state schools are required to provide a 32.5-hour week but a fair amount of this time is taken up with lunch, breaks and transition times . With homeschooling, you can work and take breaks when it's best for you and your children! These are some of the learning approaches which home educators use: Structured learning – Following a timetable similar to school, with planned lessons and assessments. Semi-structured learning – A mix of formal lessons and child-led learning. Unschooling – Learning through everyday experiences, focusing on a child’s interests rather than structured lessons. Project-based learning – Exploring topics in depth through hands-on activities and research. Socialisation and Activities A common concern about home education is socialisation. Will my child have any friends? However, many home-educated children take part in:         •       Local homeschooling groups         •       Sports clubs and extracurricular activities         •       Online learning communities         •       Educational trips to museums, galleries, and historical sites Homeschooling groups and co-ops provide great opportunities for children to interact with their peers and participate in group learning activities. Support and Resources There are lots of resources available to support homeschooling families in the UK, including: Educational websites – this one (!), BBC Bitesize , Oak National Academy  Home education organisations – Education Otherwise   Local councils – Some provide resources and advice for home educators Final Thoughts Home education offers a unique and flexible way to educate children, allowing you to tailor learning to your child’s needs and interests. While it requires commitment and planning, many families find it a really rewarding experience. Are you currently homeschooling or thinking about starting? Share your experiences and questions in the comments! You Might Also Like Help, my child can't read! 10 ways to help your child with handwriting Check These Out Free hands-on learning resources Time-saving digital downloads and learning resources Images from geralt, Mimzy, Mojpe and tarasyasinksi - all can be found on Pixabay.

It's finally summer, even if the weather doesn't always quite catch on. It's time to bring some fun and excitement into your learning environment - it's time to enhance your continuous provision! Keeping your class entertained and inquisitive during the summer months can be a challenge, but with the right activities, you can create an environment that promotes exploration, creativity and learning. Here are some fun continuous provision ideas that are perfect for the summer season! 1. Summer Continuous Provision Maths Area Your class will be drooling as they practise addition with this fun hands-on ice cream activity! Children choose an addition sentence, place the correct number of scoops of ice cream (pom poms) in each of their (brown paper) cones and add to find the total. With such an enjoyable way to practise, they'll master their addition facts in no time! You'll also find a great range of differentiated summer addition and subtraction games in the online shop. Why not set them up outdoors? 2. Summer Shadow Art This is a lovely outdoor activity which requires very little preparation time, just lots of sunshine! Lay out sheets of paper on the ground behind the children's favourite small-world toys. You may need to weigh down the corners if it's windy. Challenge the children to draw the outline of a toy's shadow before the sun moves! They can then use watercolours to paint their shadow drawing. Talk about how shadows are made and explore how their position and size change throughout the day. 3. Summer Outdoor Water Play Set up a water tray outdoors with containers, pans, egg cups, bottles and measuring cups for exploring volume and capacity. Teach your class to compare the capacity of containers and to measure using non-standard measures. Children can use water (or sand, rice, marbles, etc.) to find out which container holds more, and which holds less or to measure the capacity of different containers. You'll find capacity activity cards  (complete with poster and recording sheets) in the No Worksheets Allowed shop. 4. Summer Continuous Provision Small World An under-the-sea scene is fairly easy to set up and a great way to enhance your continuous provision! Use blue fabric to create the sea. You can add some yellow fabric to create an island or beach. Rocks, pebbles and shells will make the scene even more realistic! You can buy plastic or wooden sea creatures to complete the set-up. An under-the-sea small world scene is sure to capture children's imaginations and encourage them to build wonderful storylines! Find more ways to provide small world play on a small budget here . 5. Summer Construction Area Enhance your construction area with laminated pictures of summer structures. Encourage children to use the photos to help them build small or large-scale models of things like sandcastles, a beach hut, a lifeguard station, a hotel or a plane. Can they design their model first, listing what they will need and planning how to make it? When the children have made their models, they could measure them using standard or non-standard measurements. 6. Summer Phonics/Literacy/English Why not put some phonics readers outside? Find a shaded area, put out some beanbags and then add a basket of books. Being outside promotes a sense of well-being and has a calming effect, so it's the perfect place for some relaxed reading time! Children could also practise writing their tricky words using water and a paintbrush on the ground. How long will it take before the words evaporate? You'll also find summer-themed phonics games and writing mats in the online shop. 7. Summer Role Play Transform your role-play area into a campsite, complete with a tent, sleeping bags, chairs and maybe even a guitar for some singing around the campfire! Children will love to play and engage in imaginative camping-themed scenarios. Alternatively, you could create a travel agents, airport or beach. Whatever you decide on, make sure that you add plenty of writing materials so that children can experience writing for a purpose! 8. Shape Bubble Wands Shape bubble wands are not only exciting but also help children to learn about shapes! Here's how to make them: Make a pipe cleaner into a 2D shape and twist the ends together. Loop another pipe cleaner around the bottom of the shape pipe cleaner. Twist where the pipe cleaners meet to secure. This is the handle for the bubble wand. Thread beads onto the pipe cleaner handle. Fold the end up so that the beads don't fall off. 9. Phase 4 Phonics Activities This printable phase 4 phonics pack includes various fun activities, early reader texts and games designed to help children master their phonics skills. By providing a mix of independent and collaborative tasks, the activity pack encourages children to develop their reading and writing skills in a creative and hands-on way! The activities are perfect for your continuous provision and can also be used with small groups or for intervention work. 10. Playdough Ice Cream Parlour Transform your malleable area into an ice cream parlour this summer! It's a brilliant way to encourage children to communicate with each other and develop their social skills. You will need sandpaper or stiff paper to make cones, different coloured play dough, an order form, ice cream tubs/old yoghurt pots, empty sauce bottles, ice cream scoops, a till and some money. Encourage your class to make posters, opening times, price lists and menus for your ice cream parlour! By incorporating these fun continuous provision ideas into your classroom this summer, you can create an interactive and engaging learning environment that keeps children excited about learning all summer term! For the final week or two of the school year, make sure you take a look at '10 end of school year activities for the exhausted teacher' . It might just help you to crawl over the finish line. You might also enjoy the following blog posts 10 continuous provision ideas for spring 10 continuous provision ideas for autumn 10 continuous provision ideas for winter

Do you feel like you've tried everything to help your child improve their spelling skills, but nothing seems to work? Are you fed up with the arguments about learning spellings? Tired of hunting for scraps of paper and thinking of fun activities?  Learning to spell can be stressful enough, so why not introduce a spelling basket? Since setting one up for my son, spelling practice has been a much more laid-back experience. I just ask him to get his basket and select an activity. There's far less huffing and puffing (from both of us) and he prefers it when I'm not breathing down his neck while he practises!   What is a spelling basket? A spelling basket is a simple tool that can help turn spelling practice into a fun and engaging activity.  First of all, find a basket or box which is large enough to hold your spelling resources.  Then fill it with all or a selection of the following: Whiteboard and dry wipe pen Chalkboard and chalks Plain and coloured paper, notebook Variety of writing materials - pencils, pens, crayons Spy pen for writing secret spellings A printed-out keyboard for 'typing' spellings A magnifying glass for writing tiny spellings An LCD writing tablet Rainbow scratch notes A timer for writing the spellings as many times as possible in 1 minute! You can find resources for your spelling basket  in my Amazon storefront!*   How does my child use the spelling basket? Each day, ask your child to choose how they would like to practise their spellings.  Ensure that they have the list of words in front of them and let them get on with practising!  The night before the spelling test, check which words your child is still unfamiliar with and go over these together.   What are the benefits of using a spelling basket? The great thing about the spelling basket is that it gives your child ownership over their spelling practice. Your child will enjoy reaching into the basket and pulling out an activity, and they'll be more motivated to spell out words when they're using fun resources!  Plus, by using a variety of different items, you can keep things fresh and interesting.   So, if you're looking for a simple yet effective way to help your child become a spelling superstar, try introducing the magic of a spelling basket into their routine! This football writing activity book is ideal for helping young children improve their writing skills while incorporating their love of football! Packed with exciting pages, children will be motivated to write labels, captions, lists, speech bubbles, instructions, letters, poems, recounts, stories and more! You might also enjoy the following blog posts: 10 fun spelling activities for key stage one Help with handwriting 15 essential tips for engaging reluctant readers *As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

With spring finally here, it's time to start thinking about how to incorporate the season into your classroom's continuous provision! Continuous provision refers to all of the different provision areas (e.g. maths, art, role play, outdoors, etc.), learning opportunities and resources which are available for the children in your class to use.   So, what kinds of enhancement activities can you include in your classroom's continuous provision during the spring season? Here are a few ideas to get you started: 1. Spring art Use spring as inspiration for your art area! Offer a variety of materials such as pastels, paper, scissors and glue for children to create their own spring-themed artwork. They might do observational drawings of flowers, make tissue paper blossom pictures or collages of a spring day. Children could be encouraged to create their own 3D spring animals such as the one shown. Provide cardboard tubes, paints, googly eyes, feathers, pens and a selection of spring animal pictures and let the children's imaginations run wild! 2. Outdoor spring provision Spring is the perfect time to set up an area to grow flowers or vegetables. Encourage children to help plant and water the seeds. They can then compare the height of their plants as they grow and use standard or non-standard measures to measure them. Another idea for your outdoor area is a bird-watching hide. Challenge your class to build a hide using a den-building kit! Provide chairs, some binoculars and a bird identification guide. You could set up a bird feeder and a birdbath to encourage more feathered visitors! 3. Spring counting activities Children will enjoy counting leaves, petals, spring wooden loose parts or fluffy toy chicks with these spring counting mats . They read the number and then count out the correct number of items. Another idea would be to count sets of spring objects and then use a peg to find and clip the corresponding number on a number line. Alternatively, children in Year 1 could count the spring items in groups of 2, 5 or 10.   4. Spring role-play Encourage imaginative play by setting up a spring-themed role-play area. This could be a garden centre, a farmer's market or a picnic area. Offer props such as hats, aprons, plants and baskets for children to use during their play. Children can use the items they create in the art area to resource their role-play set-up. They can also make signs and badges, design their own seed packets and fill out forms. Don't forget that you'll need a till and some money to make purchases too! 5. Spring fine motor activities There are many ways to incorporate fine motor activities into your spring continuous provision. You could cut out butterfly shapes from cardboard and punch holes around the edges for children to thread string through. Seed sorting also provides a fabulous fine motor workout. Simply gather different seeds and ask children to sort them using tweezers. Geoboards are another excellent way to improve finger strength. Provide spring photos and challenge your class to use rubber bands to create leaves, flowers or animals. 6. Spring writing This spring, encourage children to write a poem using descriptive language to describe the sights, sounds and smells they experience. They could also keep a journal about the process of growing plants. Ask them to document the different stages of plant growth, from planting the seeds to watching them produce flowers. On your writing table, leave out these FREE spring writing mats . Your class will love the spring-themed picture prompts - they’re great for encouraging children to write simple phrases and sentences! 7. Butterfly farm kit A butterfly farm kit can be a wonderful addition to your classroom's continuous provision enhancements during spring. They're a great way to teach children about the life cycle of butterflies, as children can witness the stages first-hand. This can help them to understand the concept of growth. A butterfly farm kit can be an exciting way to engage children in hands-on learning about the natural world, teach them about responsibility and care and also provide opportunities for language and literacy development! What's not to love? 8. Spring phonics blending activity This spring phonics blending activity is a fun and engaging way to help children develop their reading skills. Draw and cut out pictures of lambs and add them to your farm small-world play. Then place magnetic letters on each of the lambs to make a word. Ask a child to drive a toy tractor along, sounding out each letter of the word. Can they then blend the sounds together to read the word? You can differentiate this activity depending on the ability of the child you are working with. 9. Spring jigsaws These spring and Easter number jigsaws can provide several benefits for children. They can help to improve their cognitive skills, hand-eye coordination and problem-solving abilities. Not only that, but they're also a fun and engaging way for children to practise their counting skills! In addition, they can help children develop patience and persistence as they work towards completing the puzzle. A must-have for your spring maths area! 10. Spring addition You can use cardboard to create a tens frame and provide children with spring-themed counters to use for counting and adding . For example, you could use flower, bird or butterfly-shaped wooden counters. You can also use real flowers or petals for counting and adding. Encourage children to use the tens frame to represent the numbers and to add them by counting the total number of counters on the frame. A fun and interactive way to help children develop their maths skills this spring! By incorporating these activities into your classroom's continuous provision, you can provide opportunities for children to learn whilst having fun! If you have any further ideas, I'd love to hear them. Please feel free to add them to the comments below! You may also enjoy reading: Ten continuous provision ideas for autumn Ten continuous provision ideas for winter Ten continuous provision ideas for summer Continuous provision in key stage one Spring learning resources: Spring and Easter resources

Fine motor skills refer to the small movements made by our fingers, hands and wrists. They allow us to perform all sorts of tasks, from writing and drawing to cutting and buttoning up clothes. Developing these skills is especially important for young children, as they begin to develop their independence and learn how to write. You can find out more information in this fine motor skills blog post . Fortunately, there are many resources available to help children improve their fine motor skills. Here are some tried and tested examples which you can use at home or school: 1. Hole Punchers Hole punchers are a great way to develop fine motor skills, as they require children to use their fingers and hands to manipulate them. You could use hole punchers in a maths activity. Write a number on a piece of paper and ask children to punch out that many holes. 2. Playdough and Tools Playdough is an excellent tool for developing fine motor skills, as children can squeeze, pinch, and roll the dough. Using tools can add even more of a fine motor workout to the activity! 3. Activity Boards Using activity boards is an fun way to develop fine motor skills, as children have to use their fingers to twist and turn different screws and tools. An engaging activity for children who love building and construction! 4. Lacing Threading and lacing are great activities for developing fine motor skills, as they require children to pick up and manipulate small objects. Hand-eye coordination will also be improved because concentration is needed to thread the lace through such small holes! 5. Pegboards Pegs and pegboards are an ideal way to improve a child's pincer grip. Pincer grasp refers to using the forefinger and thumb together to ‘pinch’ or grasp an object. Pegboards also fun for making patterns and creating pictures! 6. LCD Writing Tablets These tablets are an anxiety-free way for children to practise mark-making and handwriting. If they make a mistake it doesn't matter, they can simply start again! 7. Pipettes The design of a pipette means that they're perfect for developing the pincer grip! This is the same grip needed for holding a pencil. You could challenge children to transfer a drop of water into each section of an ice cube tray! 8. Geoboards As children manipulate elastic bands over the nails, they'll exercise the small muscles in their hands. Not only that - they'll also improve their hand-eye coordination! 9. Magnetic Blocks As children build with the blocks, they'll begin to improve control over small hand and finger movements. This in turn will help them to perform activities such as writing or using scissors. 10. Tweezers Sturdy tweezers require a little more force to squeeze them, making them perfect for school-age children. They also support an efficient pencil grip, as they generally have moulded finger placements. In conclusion, developing fine motor skills is essential for children! By using resources such as those listed above, along with puzzles, scissors, beads, and colouring books, children can improve their fine motor skills and enhance their overall physical and cognitive development. So why not try some of these resources today and see the difference they can make? Find all of the resources above in my Amazon shop . As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. You may also be interested in the following blog posts: Help with Handwriting Bingo Dabber Activities for Children D.I.Y Fine Motor Activities for EYFS

While there are many resources available to teach phonics, hands-on resources can be particularly effective. One major advantage is that they engage multiple senses, making learning to blend and segment much more fun and memorable. When children can see, touch, and hear the sounds they are learning, they are more likely to remember them. Additionally, hands-on phonics resources are great for children with SEN. So, what are some examples of hands-on phonics resources? Here are a few ideas: 1. Colour-coded phonics magnetic letters These magnetic letters can be used to create words, allowing children to see and manipulate the sounds and letters in a tactile way. The fact the resource is colour-coded, helps children to identify the different graphemes (letters or groups of letters which represent a sound) in a word. 2. Lowercase lacing alphabet By segmenting and spelling words with this alphabet lacing activity , your child also gets the opportunity to improve their fine motor skills while practising phonics. The resource is useful for reluctant writers or hands-on learners, as they can actually feel the shape of each letter. This particular set is great, as the letters are all lowercarse, whereas some sets only inlcude upper case letters. 3. Sight word bingo This phonics game supports words from phases two and three of the Letters & Sounds framework, making it ideal for children of Reception age. Tricky words are highlighted to remind them that they can’t sound out these words phonetically. There are two levels of play - one helps children recognise sight words and the other helps to identify sight words in a caption. 4. Word building blocks These twisty letter blocks can be used to create words, again allowing your child to see and manipulate sounds and letters in a hands-on way. New readers will learn how to read and rhyme with these CVC word builder blocks. This phonics resource is perfect for 4-5 year olds, who are just learning to blend and segment. There are differentiated flashcards included with the product too, with just a picture on one side, and a picture and word on the other side. 5. Phonics word building rods A great phonics resource that helps children build advanced word segmenting and blending skills. Your child will use the colour-coded blocks featuring upper and lowercase consonants, vowels, digraphs and affixes to build words as they practise their phonics skills. This resource is suited to 5-7 year olds, or older children who need some extra phonics practice. 6. Slinky A slinky is a fun and affordable phonics resource! It's ideal for helping children to learn to segment to spell words. As they stretch the slinky, they should also stretch the word that they want to spell, saying each of the sounds out loud. A slinky is a useful resource for helping those children struggling to isolate sounds in words. 7. Spy pens What better way to practise spelling regular or irregular phonics words, than with a spy pen ! Far more engaging than writing words with a pencil! Children write the word with invisible ink and then they or a friend can check it with the magic UV light. If you don't have the money for spy pens, use a white crayon and some watercolour paints instead! 8. Phonics flip charts This phonics flip chart resource is useful as you can differentiate your teaching accordingly. One side has short vowel sounds (a, e, i, o, u) and the other has long vowel sounds, plus consonant digraphs (two letters to make one sound). You could use a 3-ring binder and some card to make your own flip chart! 9. Fly swatters You can use fly swatters to create games to include phonics concepts, making learning fun for your child. How about Splat the Sound or Swat the Tricky Word? All you need are some flashcards and a set of fly swatters! Call out a sound or a word and ask your child to spot and splat! You might even decide to make your own fly-shaped phonics flashcards! 10. LCD writing tablet Using a writing tablet is another engaging way to practise writing graphemes, words and sentences during phonics lessons at home. It saves on paper and children can quickly delete any mistakes. If you don't have a writing tablet, children can type on an old keyboard or write on a whiteboard or chalk board instead. As you can see, incorporating hands-on phonics resources into your learning doesn't have to be complicated. With a little creativity, you can create engaging and effective learning experiences. By making phonics interactive and fun, you'll be helping to build a strong foundation for reading and writing success! *As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. What next? Take a look at the following blog posts: Help, my child can't blend sounds! Tricky words, simple activities Phonics continuous provision: 10 activities