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Hands-on learning is absolutely the best way to teach addition and subtraction. It allows children to learn to add and subtract in a way that's interactive, fun and memorable. By using hands-on resources, children can develop a deeper understanding of addition and subtraction and will soon memorise their number bonds! When it comes to addition and subtraction resources, there are so many different options available though. Which ones should you use? This handy guide is packed full of engaging and varied resources - there's something to suit every child! 1. Magnetic Ten-Frame Set Children solve maths problems within the ten-frame by adding or subtracting counters. Four boards are included in the set, so they're perfect for use with individuals or a small group. The board is magnetic and comes with brightly coloured magnetic foam counters. Not only that, but one side of the board has one ten-frame and the other side has a double ten-frame! 2. Sum Swamp Game This game is a fun way to develop addition and subtraction fact fluency within 12! Children race through the swamp and are encouraged to add and subtract using the numbers 1-6. They roll three dice, place the highest number first, then the operation die and then the smallest number. As one reviewer says, 'The kids have no idea they are learning whilst they play'! 3. Addition and Subtraction Snap A fun way for children to grasp early addition and subtraction facts. Children try to snap cards with matching answers, for example 6+2 with 4+4. The cards have addition and subtraction number sentences within 10. 4. Math Marks the Spot! This activity takes up quite a bit of space, so you'll need to set it up on the floor. It's great for ensuring that your children are active! The game teaches addition and subtraction to 12 and as with Sum Swamp, children roll two number dice and an operations die to make a number sentence. They then use a marker to cover the answer on the mat. There's a handy number line at the bottom for children to use to work out the answers. 5. Counting Mountain How exciting does this look! This game teaches addition facts within 10. Your child hangs their climbers onto the 3D mountain but better watch out for the yeti who can send them back down to the bottom! The aim of the game is to be the first to reach the summit, but you've got to solve sums along the way! 6. Addition Bingo Game Children practice addition facts to 20 with this bingo game. It's played like the traditional game: one player calls out the sums and the other players cover the answer. Fun for small groups! 7. Maths Dice - Mental Maths Children roll the white 12-sided target number die first. This is the number which they need to try to make. Next, they roll the other five dice (the scoring dice) and use addition and/or subtraction to make the target number. The more scoring dice children use to make the target number, the more spaces they can move forwards on the track! A great way to practise mental maths skills! 8. Pop Addition and Subtraction A fast-paced game designed to help children to learn addition and subtraction facts within 10. To play, children spin the spinner and take that many bubblegum cards. On the reverse of each of those bubblegum cards is a number sentence. If the child answers correctly, they get to keep the card, if not, it must be returned! The winner is the person with the most bubblegum cards at the end. 9. Mathswatters Addition and Subtraction A surefire 'hit' with any child! Children g rab their swatters, add or subtract, and swat the correct answer! There are multiple ways to play this game - children can swat the correct answer or the matching number sentence, plus they can play with dice or a spinner. The different ways to play and learn keeps the game fresh and exciting! 10. Maths Island Addition and Subtraction A similar concept to Sum Swamp but this game uses addition and subtraction within 20. Children roll the two number dice and the operations die, solve the number sentence and move that many spaces around the board. The game is a bit like snakes and ladders, with many obstacles along the way! *As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Addition and Subtraction: What Next? If you love the activities shown here, make sure that you check out these other hands-on learning activities too: Addition and subtraction within 5 activities Addition and subtraction within 10 activities Addition and subtraction within 20 activities Learn to add and subtract with these workbooks! The bingo dabber workbook is a fun way to master adding and subtracting within 5, 10 and 20. Meanwhile, the cut-and-stick workbook provides an engaging way to learn to add and subtract to 5 and 10. The workbooks support the National Curriculum.

What is continuous provision? Traditionally, continuous provision has been associated with early years classrooms; however, more and more key stage-one teachers are using it each year. Continuous provision refers to all of the different provision areas (e.g. small world, water, maths, art, science, construction, role-play and outdoors), learning opportunities and resources available for the children in your class to use. It should be linked to children's needs and interests and build on the learning happening in your class. It needs to be available at all times and shouldn't just be used as a time-filler, a reward or during wet playtimes! Why should I have continuous provision in key stage one? The transition from reception to year one has long been thought of as problematic. The EYFS environment is hands-on, play-based, active and fun. Conversely, the key stage one classroom is more formal, there are long periods of sitting down and children perceive there to be few or no play opportunities. Yet research has consistently shown that formal learning does not benefit children in key stage one. Countries such as Sweden and Finland perform better academically than the U.K., despite children not starting formal schooling until age 7. According to Jay Giedd, a neuroscientist at the University of California, San Diego, up to the age of 7 or 8, children learn better through active exploration than academic instruction. In a small survey on my Instagram page , I found that 53% of year one classrooms had continuous provision and just 25% of year two classrooms. Yet 86% of people who responded believed that there should be continuous provision in key stage one. Hardly surprising, as play helps to improve attention span, develops communication skills, teaches turn-taking and conflict resolution, and improves well-being. Not only does it develop a breadth of skills but if it is well planned it also helps children to meet the national curriculum attainment targets! What areas of continuous provision should I provide in key stage one? When planning your continuous provision, you should ensure that you build on the children's EYFS experiences and don't simply repeat them, whilst also meeting the requirements of the national curriculum. You need to consider the children's interests and learning outcomes to provide areas of continuous provision that are going to be beneficial to your class. Use assessment to determine which skills children need to master and think about the areas that will help them to make the most progress. If children need to work on their fine motor skills, set up a fine motor area. If they need to work on communication, you might consider a role play area. You only need to set up areas of provision which will benefit your class! How do I set up continuous provision in my classroom? Think about how you will arrange your classroom. What space do you have available? Do you have your own outdoor area or access to a shared area? Try to have a clearly defined space for each area of your continuous provision. Can you move furniture to create cosy corners and quiet spots? Can you create interactive displays? Additionally, you need to think about how you are going to resource your continuous provision. Which resources are going to be beneficial to your pupils' learning? Is there a classroom budget or will you need to use networks like Freecycle, ask parents for donations or approach local businesses? What are continuous provision challenges and enhancements? Continuous provision challenges are independent learning challenges which you set up in your continuous provision. They are usually linked to academic achievement or a specific skill like turn-taking. Enhancements are things which you add to an area of provision to promote interest and engagement. You might add resources which link to a book, the season, a celebration, a subject or a topic. Alternatively, you might add resources which develop a specific skill. How will I manage continuous provision in my classroom? Lesson structure At the beginning of each lesson, you will still probably want to do a whole class or group input. Following this, you will most likely have one or more focus groups (working with an adult). The rest of the children will work in the continuous provision (either independently or with an adult supporting, challenging and observing their learning). You might choose to rotate the groups so that you work with more than one focus group during a lesson. Teaching children how to use the continuous provision Children should already be used to using continuous provision, but you will still want to set your own rules and expectations. Introduce the different areas and explain what they are for. Have signs for each area and talk about the rules and boundaries. How will you ensure that children don't just visit one area and engage in low-level tasks? Do they need to record their learning? Can specific areas only be used by a certain number of children? Is there a time limit on how long a child can stay there? What should the noise level be like? Don't forget to explain what the continuous provision should look like when tidy. You can include photos of how you expect each area to look at the end of the lesson. Model how to use the different areas, share good work and revisit expectations regularly. Enhancements Your continuous provision should be set up for the children to explore freely. Most of the provision will stay the same pretty much all year round. Each half-term or from time to time, you might decide to enhance one or more areas of your provision. For example, at Christmas, you might make your construction area into an elves' workshop. When studying a certain book, you might add puppets or story props to your reading area. If an area is underused, you might think of resources to add to attract interest. Enhancements need to be manageable - don't try to enhance every area every week! Challenges Each week, you will also want to plan differentiated challenges for your continuous provision. To begin with, this may just be a couple of challenges. This can gradually be increased to 4-6 challenges each week, depending on what needs to be developed. Introduce the challenges to your class at the beginning of the week. Demonstrate how to do the activity and what your expectations are. You will probably need to revisit and address any misconceptions throughout the week. Think about how you would like your class to complete the challenges. You might ask them to record what they have done in a book, on an iPad or on Seesaw. They could take a photo or use recordable talking pegs. Another option is to use a challenge book. Once the child has completed a challenge, they should take it to an adult to show them. If the work is of a good standard, the adult can then sign that challenge off. Check at the end of the week that each child has completed their challenges. What next? Check out my shop , which is full of hands-on learning resources.

Have you ever thought about making extra money through a teacher side hustle? Imagine having an additional income each month or even earning enough to eventually leave teaching. If you want to discover more, then here are 5 ways to get started: 1. TPT (Teachers Pay Teachers) This is a fab teacher side hustle! It can take a while to gain traction, but you can earn serious money by selling on TPT. I’m in the top 2% of TPT sellers, with over 1,500 followers, 1,400+ positive reviews and even a resource featured in the TPT newsletter! Don't just take my word for it, take a look at the Hands-On Printables TPT store! Teachers worldwide sell their lesson plans, worksheets and digital resources through this popular marketplace. You'll need to polish your products, create covers and write a description, but why not make some money from your tried and tested resources? Visit The Ultimate Guide to Starting Your TPT Store for more information about setting up your store. 2. Amazon KDP Have you always wanted to write a book but worry that it will never get published? Self-publish it then and become an author today! Check out my Amazon author page to see my collection of books - I've now sold over 2000 copies! With no initial outlay, you can sell eBooks and paperbacks through Amazon KDP and the process is relatively easy. Whether it's a novel, a children's book or a workbook, just upload your work and it will be printed on demand when someone buys it! Printing costs will be subtracted from your royalties, meaning there are no upfront costs for you. What's more, you'll earn up to 70% royalty on sales and can set the price of your book yourself. Visit KDP Help Centre to learn more and to decide if this is the side hustle for you. 3. Etsy Teacher Side Hustle Etsy is a well-known marketplace where you can sell your handmade goods, vintage items, craft supplies and digital downloads. If you've got a hobby that you think you could earn some money from, then Etsy has a huge audience of buyers just waiting to snap up your goods! Digital downloads, in particular, are a great way to make money from home and have few upfront costs or inventory issues. 4. Tutoring Tutoring is an obvious way for teachers to make some extra money. Did you know you can either tutor in person, or you can tutor online from the comfort of your own home? If you choose the former option, you can join a company or set up on your own. To tutor online, there are several different routes. For example, MyTutor offers one-to-one online tuition from KS2 to GCSE and A-Level. All you'll need is a laptop and Wi-Fi. You could also work around your busy schedule by providing courses for adults. If you like to be flexible and want to share your knowledge of travel, fitness, IT, make-up, etc. (the list is endless!), then Teachable or Udemy might be the perfect way for you to earn passive income. Simply plan your curriculum, record and upload your video, and then launch your course! 5. Second-Hand Items Why not sell your unwanted stuff online? Clothes, books, furniture and games are always popular choices with buyers and it's a great way to off-load your clutter! There are many second-hand online selling platforms, for example, eBay and Vinted . When selling second-hand items, you'll need to write an honest detailed description, research the right price to sell your item and take clear photos with close-ups. Hopefully, you've learnt some useful ways to start earning extra money. Whether you choose to start today or wait until the summer holidays is up to you! Let me know how you plan to spend your extra cash and make sure that you add your ideas in the comments below! Buy The Teacher’s Guide to Selling on TPT (book) Buy the TPT Seller’s Guide (printable download)

Are you tearing your hair out because your child is struggling to learn to blend sounds? Do you feel like they aren't moving forwards with their phonics? Are you struggling to keep your patience when they sound out b-i-g, yet say 'cat'? This is more common than you might think, and I can guarantee that your child isn't the only one struggling to blend! Here we take a look at how to blast off with blending! What is blending? Blending is when children say the sounds which make up a word and then merge them together until they can hear what the word is, e.g. s-u-n = sun. Blending is really important in learning to read. My child knows their sounds but still can't blend If your child can confidently look at a written letter and say its sound but is unable to then blend to read words, we need to do a bit more work on oral blending. In other words, develop their ability to hear the sounds in spoken words. Give these blending ideas a go: When you're out for a walk or in the car, you should sound out things which you can see. Say the sounds and then say the word, so that your child can hear you modelling how to blend. When they start to gain confidence with oral blending, you could then play a game of I Spy , for example, I spy a sh-o-p. Alternatively, you could play a game at home: place 3 objects out at a time and then sound out one of the words. Ask your child if they can work out which word you're blending to say. Another idea is to go on a scavenger hunt . Hide objects such as a pen, sock and hat around the room and then sound out one of the words. Can your little one blend the sounds and hunt for the correct item? Sound out things which you see on a car journey My child can't blend to read written words If your child can already orally blend, that's fantastic - they're already well on their way to blending to read words! Here are three handy tips for you to follow next: Start by asking your child to blend to read 2-letter words : use vowel-consonant words such as 'it' and 'on'. When they can confidently do this, move on to blending words which contain 3 sounds. Encourage your child to say the first sound the loudest : sometimes children sound a word out, blend it together and then miss off the first sound in the word. An example would be sounding out t-i-n but then saying 'in'. By saying the first sound louder, children usually start blending with it. Ask your child to say the sounds faster : say each sound in the word slowly to start with and then get faster each time. Eventually, the sounds will be so close together that your child will hear the word which they make! How can I make blending fun? As you know, I'm a huge fan of making learning fun! Here are some simple ideas for you to try, using items which you hopefully already have to hand: Puppet problems Use magnetic letters to make a word. Place pom-pom sound buttons underneath the word. Make the puppet press the sound buttons and say the sounds. Blend to read the word, making deliberate mistakes. Can your child correct the puppet and blend to read the word? Train Tracks Write sounds on stickers. Stick the sounds onto the train track to make a word. Move a toy train along the track and say each sound aloud. Blend to read the word. Blending slides Draw a slide on a piece of paper or whiteboard. Write sounds or add magnetic letters to make a word. Send a toy down the slide and say each sound aloud. Blend to read the word. Download Your Free Phonics Launch Pack: Kickstart Blending Success! This pack is a sneak peek into my book, 'Blast Off with Blending' - and it works wonders! If you’re a parent or educator of a child aged 4-7, you (and they!) are going to love these activities! Simply adapt them for the stage your child is at. What’s Inside: Blending Tips Dinosaur Decoding Shake and Read Blending Slides Phonics Flipbook Bouncy Blending Beanbag Toss

Here we take a look at early phonics skills, the meaning of segmenting and some fun and easy-to-set-up ideas and activities. Phonics games and activities to download and use straight away can be found here! What is Segmenting? Segmenting teaches children to recognise the segments that form a word. It is when children ‘stretch’ out a word and then break it up into sounds, e.g. dog = d-o-g. This enables them to spell words. Segmenting is the opposite of blending . Oral Segmenting Tips •Your child should begin with oral segmenting , i.e. saying the sounds in a word out loud. They don’t even need to know what the written letters and sounds (graphemes) look like at this stage. •Begin by segmenting words made up of two phonemes, such as in (i-n), then three phonemes, such as cat (c-a-t) or shop (sh-o-p), before moving on to longer words. Teach your child to listen for the sounds in words by asking them to stretch or chop up the word. They can use their fingers to count the number of sounds which they can hear. •You should frequently model how to segment a word and encourage your child to look carefully at your mouth. This will help them to see the sounds being articulated clearly. •To orally segment, children need to: say the word several times > stretch the word out > say the sounds > put the word back together (blend) to check that they have used the right sounds. Segmenting to Spell Tips •Once your child can confidently ‘sound out’ (orally segment), they can begin to represent the sounds with letters (graphemes). •The simplest way for children to see the written word is by using magnetic letters. Initially, you can just give them the letters they need to make the word. •Start with the letters s,a,t,p,i,n and they can build words such as in, it, is, sit, etc. •Once your child is getting to grips with handwriting they can begin to write the words. •Make learning hands-on and engaging! •To segment to spell, children need to: say the word several times > stretch the word out > say the sounds > write the sounds down (graphemes) > put the word back together (blend) to check that they have used the right sounds. For a handy reminder, download your free phonics segmenting checklist now! Phonics Segmenting Ideas STRETCHY SEGMENTING •Cut a rubber band so that you have one long piece. •Cut squares of card and write a grapheme on each to make a word. •Tape the squares of card onto your rubber band. •Stretch the word to see which sounds it is made from. PEG A WORD •The child says the word in the picture, e.g. sheep. •Say the word again but stretch it out. •Clip a peg for each sound onto the picture, e.g. sh-ee-p. •Segment to spell: make the word using magnetic letters. SLINKY SEGMENTING •Show the children an object or picture, e.g. a block. •Use the slinky toy to stretch the word out slowly so that you can hear all of the sounds, b-l-o-ck. •Repeat with different words. •Segment to spell: write the words in damp sand. HAMMERING WORDS •Make 3 or 4 holes in the cardboard box, with small slits so that a polystyrene ball can be pushed through. •Say a word to the children, e.g. hat. •Hammer and say each sound in the word, h-a-t. •Segment to spell: write graphemes on each ball. Can the children select and hammer the correct balls to spell the word? Tricky Word Spelling Tips •TRICKY WORDS are also known as common exception or irregular words. Check out 'Tricky Words, Simple Activities' . •They are used often in reading and writing. • Tricky words contain letter-sound correspondences that the children have yet to learn, for example, ‘was’. The ‘a’ corresponds to the phoneme /o/ which is unusual for children who are just beginning to learn to spell. •With tricky words, focus on the sounds that children know first and then look carefully at the tricky part. •Highlight the tricky part of the word using a different coloured pen or a highlighter. Alternatively, you could underline the tricky part. •If there are other words with the same tricky pattern, then it makes sense to teach these at the same time, e.g. he, she, we, be or would, should, could. •You could encourage the child to draw a picture in the tricky part of the word, to make it easier to remember. •The tricky words and order in which they are taught will vary from school to school. Refer to the scheme used in your (child’s) school and then use the following activities to supplement your spelling work. Tricky Word Spelling Activities TRICKY WORD MAKING Use a tactile approach to build tricky words: •By rolling playdough to form the letters •By arranging small blocks to make each of the letters •By arranging loose parts such as shells, beads, buttons, etc. over each of the letters in the tricky word TRICKY WORD ART Make tricky word art by: •Doing rainbow writing – use felt pens or crayons to write over the word in lots of different colours •Writing the tricky word in white crayon and then using watercolour paints to reveal it •Writing the tricky word on a big piece of paper and decorating with feathers, felt and other collage materials TRICKY WORD WRITING Practice spelling tricky words on a variety of different writing surfaces, such as: •Using chalk on the ground •Using a feather, paintbrush or finger in sand/glitter/oats •Using a stick to write the words in mud TRICKY WORD ACTIVITIES Spy Spellings •Ask the children to write their tricky words using an invisible ink pen •Can they use the UV light in the pen to reveal the words? •Shine the light on the easy parts and then the tricky part The ideas outlined above are taken from 'Soar with Segmenting and Early Spelling', a collection of   over 60 engaging, yet easy-to-set-up segmenting and early spelling activities. With a 4-star rating on Amazon, you're sure to love it! Learn to read and write phase 2 high-frequency words with this fun phonics activity book ! Reception-aged children will enjoy cutting and sticking to complete the phonics activities, whilst also developing their fine motor skills at the same time! This phonics workbook is perfect for helping young children to learn phase 2 phonics high-frequency words. They will enjoy using a bingo dabber to complete the fun word recognition activities, whilst developing their fine motor skills at the same time! Perfect for 4 to 5-year-olds in their Reception year at school. For a handy reminder to share with your team or parents, download your free phonics segmenting checklist  now!

With the end of the school year fast approaching, it's a good excuse to break away from the usual routine and to shake things up a bit. After the past year though, no doubt your teacher brain is completely frazzled and you're probably struggling for inspiration. If you're looking for some low-prep ideas, here's a list of 10 fun end-of-school-year activities for you to choose from... 1. End of Year Countdown Blow up balloons and write a number 0-5/10 on each one. Hang the balloons from the board or on a piece of string in your classroom. At the end of each day, choose someone who has behaved amazingly well to pop a balloon! You could even add a slip of paper detailing a surprise for the following day inside each balloon - just roll the paper up and slide it into the balloon before blowing it up. 2. Classroom Camp Out First of all, you need to set up your camp by making tents with the tables, blankets and sheets. If you have any of the small kids pop-up tents, they'll be perfect too! You might want to display a campsite scene on your whiteboard. Dim the lights and read books by torchlight. The children could play games or work in their tents. Perhaps you'd like to create a class campfire using sticks and orange/yellow tissue paper, ask everyone to sit around it and then sing songs or learn poems. At the end of the day, the children can pretend to roast marshmallows and drink hot chocolate as a delicious treat! 3. Forest Schools Day Keep your class busy and tire them out with a day in the great outdoors! They could identify wildlife and flowers in the school grounds, do den building, play cooperative games, paint outdoors, build a bug hotel, make flower crowns and much, much more. Go to the Wildlife Trust for additional amazing wild activities ! 4. Film Day Ahh, an old favourite! This one gives you the chance to tackle that store cupboard, label some drawers and back those display boards ready for next year! First of all, ask the children to create a ticket for their trip to the movies. They'll also need to design and make a paper popcorn cone for that all important snack! Next, arrange the chairs in front of your whiteboard and let the film commence! Follow up activities could include creating a poster, doing a character description, writing a new ending or drawing a comic strip of the plot. 5. Book Party Gather together books from different genres and lay them out on the tables at the beginning of the day. Alternatively, ask each child to bring their favourite book to school. Throughout the day, encourage your class to read the books - they might want to use finger torches, read to a teddy or sit under a tree outside to make this extra exciting! The children can also complete various activities to keep them on task. These might include a book review, using a magnifying glass to search through the books for high frequency words, painting a favourite setting, using a dictionary to find the meaning of unknown words, making masks or puppets or designing a bookmark. Here are some great ways to encourage reluctant readers. 6. Memory Books A memory book is a lovely way to look back at the past year, plus it makes a great keepsake. Children fill in details about their favourite lessons, school trips, plans for the summer and more. You could create your own or grab a ready-to-go memory book by clicking on the image below! UK End of Year Memory Book 7. Talent Show Hold a class talent show! Ask each child to prepare by practising their talent at home (sending a quick note home would be useful here) - ideas include singing, dancing, telling jokes, sharing artwork, showing some karate moves or creating a gymnastics routine. Some children may prefer to work with a partner rather than on their own. Before the show, you could do some opinion writing. Children should describe their special talent and explain why they think they are good at it. If you're inviting guests, ask the class to make invites, a program and posters ready for the big day. Finally, on the day of the talent show, create a stage area, put out seating for the audience, have microphones at the ready and provide some refreshments! 8. Mini Topic Day Set aside a day where children can research and share information about their hobby or interest. You may need access to the library and learning pads/laptops so that they can do some additional research. Your class could choose how they share the information - they may want to create a leaflet, a book, a presentation or a short film about their hobby. Allow time at the end of the day for children to move around the classroom and look at each other's work. 9. Thank You Notes A nice calming activity next for when the end of school excitement is reaching fever pitch! Think about all of the people that have helped during the school year: crossing lady/man, kitchen staff, teaching assistants, parent helpers, site supervisor, head teacher and many more. Ask each child to choose somebody to write a thank you note or card to. They could draw a picture or make a craft to give them too. 10. Award Ceremony Host an awards ceremony for your class! Ask them to come to school in their party clothes, lay out some red fabric for your red carpet and give out certificates (and trophies) to each child. This is a lovely way to make your pupils feel special and valued. Awards could focus on character traits such as ambition, kindness, courage, creativity, patience, enthusiasm, imagination and perseverance. You could also hand out academic awards such as super speller, marvellous musician, good reader, super scientist, etc. If you are in need of more inspiration, click now for some quick and free activities that don't require much preparation! Don't forget to add your own ideas in the comments section below! Images from Pixabay

Are you looking for a new and exciting way to teach children their letters, numbers and shapes? Have you ever considered using bingo dabbers as an alternative to crayons, pens and paints? Whether you call them bingo dabbers, bingo daubers, dot markers or bingo stamps - children's eyes will light up when they see them! Younger (and older!) children love using bingo dabbers for hands-on activities. The sponge-tipped bottles allow children to get creative without the mess of traditional paint. Simply grab the bottles and go! If you're in a rush and just here for the freebies, here's a shape bingo dabber download ! BENEFITS There are many benefits to using bingo dabbers. From an adult's perspective, they are far less messy than paint! There's no need to pour paints and find brushes and no need to clean up afterwards. Plus, they last a long time. Using bingo dabbers is fun and will also benefit children who have difficulty using traditional colouring tools. In addition, they will: Develop an understanding of one-to-one correspondence. Develop fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination, as they direct the dabber to the dot and push down on the paper. Develop postural control, which is essential for good handwriting. Alphabet Workbook BINGO DABBER TIPS There are many different brands of bingo dabber. Here's a popular example from Amazon : There are a few rules that you will want to teach children before they use bingo dabbers for the first time: Only dab on the paper/workbook Press down quite firmly but not too hard! Don’t squeeze the bingo dabber Replace the lid after use It’s important that children dab and then bring the pen straight back up. If they push down for too long, the paper will become soggy and rip. It's a good idea to model how to use bingo dabbers correctly, just like you would if you were showing them felt pens, scissors, or glue for the first time. Number Workbook BINGO DABBER ACTIVITIES By clicking on the images/links above, you will find my bingo dabber alphabet and number workbooks. If you'd rather have a free resource, here's a shape bingo dabber download ! The following workbooks are also available: *As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. You may also enjoy the following blog post: DIY fine motor activities for EYFS

Love small world play but not the cost of the resources? Want to see 5 easy and engaging small world set ups? Read on for some low cost, high interest ideas... What is Small World Play? Small world play is literally playing with small versions of things which are found (or imagined!) in the world. For example, it could be a miniature representation of a zoo, a building site, a fairy world or a woodland - the possibilities are endless! Small world play is a wonderful way to develop your child’s imagination, creativity and story telling skills. Here are some examples of how you can create your own small world set ups. You can use toys which you already have or easily create your own with a little imagination. Junk materials, loose parts , fabric and paper/card are all that you will need! If you have books which link to your theme, it's also a great idea to add these. Small World Play Ideas Zoo Zoo Small World You can make animals for a zoo, using this helpful page from Hobbycraft . All that you'll need are some toilet rolls, card, paints and glue! If you don't have a zoo set like this one from Argos, you can create your own enclosures from junk materials. Paint boxes to make shelters for your animals and use blocks to create zoo enclosure fencing. Digger World Digger World Digger world is sure to be a hit with little ones! Brown parcel paper makes an ideal base. Cut and stick on some self-adhesive felt shapes to create grass, water and sand areas. Add an assortment of rocks, gems, pom poms and blocks to keep your team busy! I've also added some Duplo items which complement the set-up. Jumbo tweezers and scoops will help to develop children's fine motor skills . Under the Sea Under the Sea An under-the-sea scene doesn't need to be expensive. Use blue fabric to create the sea. You can add some yellow self-adhesive fabric to create an island. Rocks, pebbles and shells will make the scene even more authentic! Cheap and cheerful bath or soft toys can be used if you don't have a set of plastic under the sea figures . You may want to add some pirate- themed toys to this set up if you have some! Space Space World Space is another popular small world set-up. Use a large piece of black fabric to create your miniature planet and then add some loose parts. Items such as pine cones, gems, conkers, star sequins and balled up pieces of tin foil will be great additions! Decorate a cardboard tube to create a telescope. If you don't have a spaceship, your child will enjoy creating one using junk materials. Bear Hunt The Bear Hunt The Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen is a great story to turn into a small world. To make the long wavy grass, fold two thirds of a strip of green paper back and snip it. Stick the third which hasn't been snipped, onto green card. A stream can be made using a piece of card covered in blue tissue paper. Brown parcel packaging makes your squelchy mud. To create trees, cut tree shapes from card, fold the bases under and stick them to a rectangular piece of card. Snow is simply cotton wool balls and a cave can be made by bending a piece of brown card. The character puppets shown in the picture were from twinkl. A free set can be found at Early Learning HQ . For a great selection of hands-on learning games and activities, don't forget to visit the Hands-On Printables shop . Take a look at my Amazon shop for some fun tried and tested educational resources . As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Try using a finger torch to engage your child in reading. Over the years, I've had many chats with parents about engaging reluctant readers. Initially, this was as a teacher and then as a mum of three boys of my own. There seems to be more than a sprinkling of reluctant readers out there and it’s probably fair to say that many of us have torn our hair out at times trying to get a child to sit down to read! Often, we issue consequences - No playtime if you don't read! You can only go on the Xbox if you read your book! According to the author James Patterson, 'There's no such thing as a kid who hates reading. There are kids who love reading, and kids who are reading the wrong books.' So, how can you inspire children to read books? How can you instil a love of reading? Trying to engage reluctant readers can be tricky! Engaging Reluctant Readers Here are a few proven ideas for you to try. Try to create an incentive for your child to read: Find books which relate to their interests . Shops and libraries are full of books which appeal to all tastes and hobbies; be it Pokémon, football, unicorns or dinosaurs! Try non-fiction books: quite often, these appeal more to reluctant readers, as they can easily dip in and out of them. Let your child use a finger torch /head torch/normal torch to read. Build a den or set up a small tent for them to read in. Create a reading nook . Find a quiet corner and add cushions, a beanbag and a cosy blanket. Allow them to read ‘late’ in bed as a treat- what child doesn't love being able to stay up late?! Find a comfortable place to read. Give them topics to research on the iPad/tablet . Incorporate reading into school homework by finding the answers or information using child-friendly websites. Try audiobooks : listening to books still exposes children to the language of books such as similes and adjectives. Not a cheap choice but you could try an e-reader. This can be a good option for older children as they can control the type of font, print size and brightness of the background. Try comic-style books- when my middle son was younger, he couldn't stand books that only contained text. However, he loved comic-style books and devoured them in a matter of days! Buy a comic as a treat (when did they become so expensive!!) during the half-term break or when you go away on holiday. Sit and read your own books to show that YOU enjoy reading . Share your excitement for the new book you've just got, talk about how you can't wait to read your book when you've finished work, etc. Your child could try an e-reader. Read to your child - it doesn’t matter how old they are, they'll still love to cuddle up and listen to a story! Try paired reading where you read the book together or take turns to read a page. Don't leave your child guessing at a word for too long, to keep the flow going. Leave books, comics and leaflets lying around everywhere, in the hope that they might pick one up and read it! If you are getting a pet or your child wants to take up a new hobby - buy or borrow a book about it first. Encourage them to read the book and explain why the pet/hobby is a great idea! Finally, don’t give up ! It’s only in the past few years that my now twelve-year-old has discovered books which he likes. Try to make a range of reading materials available. As Roald Dahl said, 'If you are going to get anywhere in life you have to read a lot of books.' With that in mind, I’ve created a list of recommended books for 7-11-year-old boys . They are all books which my boys have (shock horror) LOVED. These early reader books are perfect for early or struggling readers. Click on the images to take a closer look on Amazon: 🔗 Contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you have any recommendations for girls' books or tips to engage reluctant readers, share them in the comments below!