Thursday 27 July 2023
Hens and Flowers
Sunday 23 July 2023
Meet Luna
Recently we decided that we wouldn't add any more animals to the house, three cats, six chickens, one dog, and a fish seemed like plenty.
That was until Noah went off to work experience with Jon, and one of the houses they visited last week (Jon audits other gas engineers' work) had six kittens and didn't want any of them.
Noah got straight onto the phone to me and asked if he could have one as we didn't have one in this colour so made sense to say yes.
I left the decision with Jon and when they returned home they'd brought back this little bundle of fluff, Luna.
Wednesday 19 July 2023
5 Unique Hobbies for Children
Looking for some new and exciting hobbies for your child to try out?
Here are 5 that we suggest.
It might not be the first hobby that springs to mind for you, but it does give your child a huge boost in their development of all kinds of skills. A lot of volunteering opportunities will come up for children through many different channels. In fact, a lot of schools offer this, just like at this Sixth Form in Gloucestershire. If your child loves the feeling they get from helping other people, this might be the route for them.
A lot of board games are fun and a learning curve for children. Explore a range of them with your child to see which ones are the most interesting to them. It could be chess, Monopoly, or Jenga, to name but a few. A lot of these games are great for helping children solve problems and act quickly to make key decisions.
Often seen as something the older generation might do, children can also see a lot of the benefits to this as well. Identifying different birds and species can bring a lot more confidence in a child’s understanding of the world, as well as key ways to identify new birds.
Not only does this test a child’s fine motor skills, but it’s incredibly rewarding to see the results of plants growing. Start in the springtime with a few seeds to lay out and watch them grow well into the summer months. Your child will soon be jumping for joy as they see the progress.
Making fun creations with your child will help them discover their creative side. It should feel like an exciting activity for your child to get involved in, which will allow them to discover themselves. Art is a great outlet for many children who will explore other areas of this vast subject.
So when it comes to hobbies and new interests there really is something for everyone.
Many of them will naturally appear to your child, but there’s always something your child can learn from finding lots of new interests.
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Monday 17 July 2023
Teaching Your Child to Use Social Media Responsibly
The internet is a vast place and will have a wealth of opportunities waiting for your child from the click of a button. But there are of course drawbacks to using these features in the wrong ways. Social media also plays into this, with a whole world to explore out there among friends and even strangers.
Your child should be careful online regardless. Privacy can be easily compromised and thieves can find information quickly if not protected; cyberbullying can always occur, or your child is the bully themselves; inappropriate content can be found.
Many other problems can unravel if they’re not controlled, and your child will become aware of them through school and in real-life situations. This private school in Clapham has some key advice to help your child use social media responsibly and with care for those around them.
Ask your child what sites they are using
If your child has a particular pattern of behaviour it will normally come from the social media sites they already access. While some of the platforms can be used on a PC, your child will also be following them through other means, especially if they have a smartphone. The social media accounts vary for different generations so it’s worth keeping on top of what your child actively uses in comparison to yourself.
Talk about personal information
This is important because your child will have a duty of care to protect their key information. These will be your home address, telephone numbers, emails, and even credit card or similar sensitive pieces of information that can cause harm. This is why talking openly about the purpose of keeping this information protected will ensure they’re safe when using different social platforms.
You’re not here to berate your child’s choices, even when they make a mistake. Sometimes making a mistake on social media can be the start of that meaningful conversation. It can be a lot for children to handle - it’s important to comfort them and remind them that you will always be there for them.
What’s important is that you view these moments as opportunities for your child to grow and understand your point of view. Social media can be very useful and exciting, as long as they are aware of the risks and use the platforms in positive ways.
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Wednesday 12 July 2023
How to Raise a Polite Child
Politeness will help your child make a lot of key decisions in their life.
It’s important to help children with their behaviour so that they can learn what is right from wrong. Helping your child with learning to be kind will ensure they know their place, and how best to engage with others, make friends and many more aspects of life.
Here are some ways you can help your child to be more polite, as well as helping them with their behavioural skills.
Help your child understand what bad behaviour causes
Curbing out bad behaviour when it happens is a good approach when it comes to your child’s social development, but it’s also a good idea to talk about the repercussions of poor behaviour. Acting out, becoming angry, shouting, or being rude to somebody can cause upset, rule-breaking and further disruption. In many cases you will find that behaving badly causes more issues than before, so show your child what that can do to them.
A school will be able to share with you what they do when a child is being disrespectful or unkind in the classroom or out on the playground. This is where you can use what they have recommended to you back at home so that the rules are continually reinforced. Another outlet that many schools offer, like at this nursery in Surrey, is pastoral care. This is where a child’s needs are addressed on a more emotional level to figure out the best ways to support their individual growth.
Being your child’s biggest role model will also be key to their growing success. Have a good talk with your child about how you view kindness and what they can learn from you. It’s something that your child will learn to develop during nursery school and in big school as well, so ensure they know where they get it from. At the same time, you should also show how happy you are with their progress - praise them when they are being kind to others in public.
Kindness should always shine through when your child is learning new skills. Help them pick up the many ways to be kind and respectful, and they will soon become valued members of society.
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Tuesday 11 July 2023
Top Tips for Teaching Your Child to Read
Reading is a fun activity, but it’s also an educational one that your child should feel encouraged with when they get older.
Having the skills in place to pick up new areas of writing, and develop their confidence and their intelligence will all come a part of learning to read. Helping your child to pick up a book each week will give them a wealth of benefits.
Here are some top tips to help your child learn to read and to do it on a regular basis.
Heading to a much more complex story only worries children.
Ideally, they should be starting from the first reading books they will use to develop their vocabulary and spelling. As they get used to different words and phrases you can slowly advance their reading material. Ensure the stories they read are fun and exciting for children, as they should be finding ways to naturally pick up a book for themselves.
A lot of children are pigeonholed into reading the same sorts of stories when there are so many genres out there waiting to be explored. The better your child’s sense of different interests, the more they will be willing to try out new stories and learn to enjoy them. Your child might really enjoy superhero stories, in which case a comic book might be better suited to them.
Vocab development will be important at many different stages in a child’s school life, especially when they’re in their first years of school. Make time to work on this particular area of their studies by playing word games, using sing-along songs, or even using fridge magnets to spell out words.
It’s actually very important to see your child do well in their reading as they will need to use it for the rest of their lives. Should you be struggling to find the best approach to support your child, we recommend talking to this prep school in Oxfordshire for further advice.
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Monday 10 July 2023
A weekend of falling in love with the Peak District
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