Category: Home Schooling
-
#9 Happy News!
Now, more than ever, the endless stream of negative news can really have an impact on our state of mind. While the current challenges facing the world are undeniable, they aren’t the only stories out there. Whether it’s a local school donating equipment to hospitals, children painting rainbows of hope in their windows or your…
-
#8 Guess Who? (inference skills)
This is a really fun task that allows children of all ages to practise their inference skills. However, it does require a little preparation by the adult first. You may need to find some props from around the home (or school!) and either put these in a special sack, or brown envelopes before you begin…
-
#7 Amazon Book Reviews
I’m pinching this brilliant idea from Twitter – so huge thanks to Mr. Booth for the inspiration, please do keep the ideas coming! Writing Amazon book reviews is an authentic, engaging way to motivate your children/your class to write book reviews. It’s a lovely way to share our pleasure in books and reading (which can…
-
#6 Using Keys to Generate Ideas
Sometimes, the best writing starts with just a little inspiration. Today, that little bit of inspiration is going to be a key. Yes, a key! A key that could unlock the door to somewhere magical, special or even somewhere scary… Activities 1) Explore visual stimulus Have a look at some online visuals related to doors…
-
#5 Using AR to Inspire Writing
I saw this incredible AR tool on Facebook and I just had to share it! It’s a fun, creative, clever way to inspire creative writing that children (and adults) of all ages would enjoy! Which animals will be on the loose in your house? Activities 1) Google an animal on your iPhone or iPad. Log…
-
#4 Word Detectives!
Kids love secret codes. They love playing detective and investigating things for themselves. In order to encourage children to become logophiles (word lovers), we’re going to unlock the meanings of words using a very special secret code – etymology! Etymology is the study of the true meaning of words. From personal experience, I think it’s…
-
#3 Playing with Words (Poetry!)
This activity is inspired by Peter H Reynolds’ brilliant book The Word Collector. It’s a fun, creative poetry activity all about collecting and playing around with words! 1) Be inspired Watch this short Scholastic video* about The Word Collector by Peter H Reynolds. You can also read the story online here. *be mindful of adverts…
-
#2 Create your own Imaginary Map
I have always loved maps within books. Much like novels themselves, maps can tell stories too. They often bring the real and the imaginary together. Maps are a brilliant way to explore imaginary lands inside our imaginations, providing a potential gateway to creative writing. Spending time creating illustrations gives us a starting point for bringing…
-
#1 Meditation & Calm
It seemed only right to begin with an activity to help create calm. Who knows, meditation may even become a regular practice in your household as most of us are forced to ‘hit the pause button’ for a while… This first activity will explore the practice of meditation – a practice which is at the…
-
Daily English Activities for Homeschooling
As we all try to do our bit to help children who will be learning from home for the foreseeable future, I would like to announce that I will be posting a daily English activity online from Monday to Friday, starting today. I am an experienced primary school teacher (KS2) with a specialism in English.…
-
Online English Tools for Home Learning
In times like these, sharing teaching resources with each other is more important than ever! Below is a list of 10 useful (and FREE) online resources for teaching English, which may prove useful in the coming weeks during school closures. Please do feel free to share with teachers, colleagues and parents… 1) CLPE’s PoetryLine is…
Literacy with Miss P 