Story Sacks

Yesterday I had an email from Michelle who owns Chelltune asking if I had any articles / experience about story sacks, I believe she is looking at them from a visual learning point of view with her signing books and finger puppets. I've seen them used in classroom situations when working with children with autism and then used the resources from the sacks in small groups / individual work to help the children understand the book and the surrounding topics and vocabulary. Many of the resources that we sell at Littlesheep Learning could be incorporated into story sacks and we are currently researching some new products and eventually hope to have some of our very own style of sack - "Story Sack Topic Packs" including some of our favourite resources.

Here is some information about Story Sacks, their use and their assembly to get you started!

What is a Story Sack?
A story sack is a teaching and learning resource. Typically it is a large cloth bag containing a children’s book along with supporting materials to help make sharing the book more interesting and engaging.

Why make Story Sacks?
Story sacks are a fun way for carers and children to share stories together. They were developed by Neil Griffiths as a popular, non-threatening way of encouraging carers to start to share stories with their children in a way that is positive, theatrical, special, interactive and fun.

Who Uses Story Sacks?
Originally it was mainly schools and nurseries that used story sacks, however, they are now increasing used by other groups such as childminders, libraries, health visitors, speech therapists, social workers, children’s hospitals, prisons, family centres and adult learners.

How do you make a Story Sack?
Start with a bag – it doesn’t have to be a fancy one, infact you can make a story box or basket if that is more convenient. It’s just something to contain all the resources in one place.

Next you need to choose your story. The story you pick will depend on the child or children you are making the sack for and any learning objectives you want them to gain from the sack. When making your first story sack choose a favourite story – it will make it easier to think of things to add to the sack!

Then you need to fill the sack! With some stories the possibilities for items will seem endless and with others you will need to be more creative. Here are some of the things that are often included:

• soft toys / puppets of the main characters
• costumes / props / scenery / photos to support the story
• an audio tape / CD of the story
• a video of the story or related material
• a language based game
• a related non-fiction book
• craft and activity ideas / colouring pages

When choosing items for your story sack, read and re-read your story, what are the themes, who are the main characters / where is it set / does it use colours / counting / letter sounds / listening skills. How could you use it as the basis of non-fiction work; can you incorporate first experiences, new vocabulary and other topic based activities. What art and craft ideas can you think of that link in with the book you have chosen - if you search for the title of the book you want to base your sack around you can often find example activities and colouring pages!

Here are some quick ideas I've had for some contents for story sacks based around popular books to get you started:

The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle (Puffin Books)

• Soft toy caterpillar / butterfly
• Lifecycle of a butterfly sequencing cards
• Days of the week / number sequencing cards
• Play food props
• Non-fiction book about caterpillars and butterflies
• Activity ideas / colouring sheets including suggestions for fruit printing and painting butterfly pictures
  

Peace at Last, Jill Murphy (Walker Books)

• Three bears
• Puppets for the other animals in the story, e.g owl / cat
• Environmental sounds listening game; for example Orchard Toys Crash, Bang Wallop! or Cock-a-doodle-moo! or the listening lotto game Soundtracks
• Activity ideas / colouring sheets including making paper aeroplanes / clock faces

Little Red Riding Hood, Heather Amery (Usborne Books)

• A doll dressed as Little Red Riding Hood
• Puppets for the Wolf / Grandma / Woodcutter
• A basket with pretend cakes / flowers
• Wolf mask / Red Riding Hood’s red cloak / Granny's glasses / shawl for dressing up as the characters
• Pictures of forest / grandma’s house
• Non fiction books about wolves / forest wildlife
• Activity ideas / Colouring sheets including making cakes for Grandma!

Incey Wincey Spider, Annie Kubler (Child’s Play)

• Spider finger puppet
• Length of drain pipe
• Weather pictures / symbols
• Non-fiction books about weather / spiders
• Orchard Toys Insey Winsey Spider game

If you are making your story sacks to lend to children to take out of the setting also include some learning targets, a short guide to questions to ask / discussion points to consider and other ideas to extend the activity. Finally it is worth laminating the activity idea cards to protect them and including a list of what is in the bag so that nothing gets lost!

Story sacks are also ideal for sharing popular dual language books in areas where people speak English as an additional language.

If you are still stuck for ideas feel free to ask! I'd also love to hear about your favourite story sacks and resources and how you've used them so please add your comments below!

Campaigning for Better Education

I just received an email from my husband and someone he works with has found the petitions on the Number 10 website and searched for the education ones – here’s an edited list of the ones I thought might interest you! I'm sure I've missed some - if I've missed your favourite please let me know!

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Autismtraining/ petition to Make Autism training COMPULSARY for all teachers.

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/aspergersupport/ petition to increase support services in the UK for people with Asperger’s Syndrome and other Autistic Spectrum Conditions, their families, schools and employers.

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/HomeSchool/ petition the to Keep Home Schooling Legal.

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Steiner-Waldorf/ petition to Create more state funded Steiner Waldorf Schools in the UK.

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/NEG-funding/ petition to Increase the Nursery Education Grant for children in Early Years Education.

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/SpecialEducation/ petition to Review the special needs provision across the country and provide clear rules and targets local education authorities must comply with in order to remove the local authority lottery of special education provision across the country.

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/aspergers/ petition to Abolish the concept of Inclusive Education.

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/FitForPurposeSEN/ petition to Undertake a major review of the Special Educational Needs policy as recommended by the House of Commons Education and Skills Committee and make provision for a system of special educational needs that is fit for purpose.

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Education3-6/ petition to Implement successful European models of the teaching of pupils aged 3-6 years into mainstream nursery, pre-school, and early years education.

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/langedu/ petition to Teach languages in schools from the age of 5.

Although my personal favourite is…

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Cbeebies/ petition to put forward Cbeebies Presenter Justin Fletcher for a OBE.

The petition's organisers say

"Apart from Derek Griffiths in the 70s, i cant think of another children presenter since who has brought Sign Language / Makaton to mainstream childrens televison. Justin Fletcher is a communication genius!! Justin both entertains and educates our children and does this with just intelligence and panache without patronising. My 3 year old daughter has no learning / hearing. disabiliies to speak of, yet she signs words she has learnt, to me sometimes, and she is so proud of herself for doing it. Although at my daughters age now she is not yet aware of people with disability and special needs, i cant help thinking that programmes like 'Something Special' can only help bridge the gap that sometimes sadly appears between able and not so able bodied people in our society and help banish the unkindness that disabled people sometimes face due to ignorance. I have a feeling our children may be the generation to banish this ignorance, and this is helped by such positive role models as Justin, helping us show our children the way. I think it would be fitting to recognise Justin Fletcher in this way and be honoured for his services to childrens broadcasting and communication in general."

Get signing these petitions and make a difference to the education of children in our country!

Travelling with Children

Sorry for disappearing for a while - we've just been on our holidays. With the imminent start of the school holidays a post on travelling seemed about right!

Long car journeys, waits at airports, flights, ferry trips and train rides are not the easiest parts of a holiday with excited children who just want to be there and doing. This article gives some of our top tips for the journeys and some activities to keep them entertained on the way.

Firstly, try and plan your journey time around your childs routine, so either leave at bedtime and travel with them asleep or travel during the day so that you travel for a bit, stop and have lunch, then have a bit of awake time in the car, nap time and then another awake bit of journeying before a dinner stop / arrival. Try and find places to stop where the children can run around and get some fresh air.

Whilst travelling there are plenty of games and activities that can keep your children amused.

A top tip is to make sure you are prepared for the journey. Take lots of small toys / books and snacks so that during awake periods your child has new items to look at to relieve boredom. You could wrap small items for a ‘lucky dip’ to increase interest (and the length of time spent on each thing!). Older children who can tell the time could have a series of ‘packages’ to open at designated times, or points on the trip.

The classic car games are guessing games – the most common of which is ‘I spy’! This can be adapted for younger children by spying objects that are a certain colour. Another one is the more abstract ‘Guess?’ where someone thinks of something and everyone else asks yes / no questions until someone can guess what it is.

Popular word games include word association, alphabet games and variations of ‘I went to market and bought…’. To play word association – start with a word e.g. holiday, the next person could say aeroplane (you travel by plane), the next fire-engine (both vehicles) and the next red (as fire-engines are red) and so on – how long can you go on without repitition? To play an Alphabet games pick a theme and see if you can find something for every letter of the alphabet – for example – vehicles; aeroplane, bike, car, dustbin lorry, etc. Variations of ‘I went to market…’ are good for memory skills – try ‘I went on holiday and packed…’ each person has to recite the previous items and add theirs on the end.

Observation games are also good for keeping children enthusastic at looking out of car windows. Play ‘Spot’ where everyone has to see if they can find things on a list during the journey, for example a Royal Mail lorry, a sheep, a police car. This can be adapted for younger children by making them picture pages. Either give each item to be found a score and then total up who’s seen what to find a winner or make lists in different orders and you can’t move onto the next item until you’ve spotted the first one, the winner being the person to finish their list first.

Don't forget if you are travelling by plane the Usborne First Experiences: Going on a Plane book is a handy little story outlining what will happen!

Overall, enjoy your holiday, and have a safe and relaxing journey. Happy Holidays!

Summer Madness!

I've just added a new discount code at Littlesheep Learning - when entering SummerMadness07 at checkout you will save 10% (and yes that's on top of the sale prices!)

Take a look and get yourself a bargain - hurry though as the code expires on 30th June 2007

Planning for Starting School / Class Transitions

I had an email from a friend who has a child with ASD about how to prepare him for the changes in work from play based learning in Reception to the more formal learning in Year 1. Replying to her email reminded me of some of the transition support work I have done in preparing children for school / new classes and I thought I would share some ideas to help ensure that the move anxiety free.

Firstly, preparation is the key to smooth transitions. Some children will need more preparation than others so work out your own plan in conjunction with your school and other professionals working with your child (as appropriate).

One of the best ways to prepare a child for the new term is to visit the school and meet the teacher and other children, this is usually organised by the school at the end of the summer term or first thing in September as part of a gradual transition to full time schooling. If formal visits are not possible, taking the child to see the school (even just to drive past it!) will help make it a ‘real’ place.

If possible take photos the building, the classroom, the toilets, the library, the dining hall, the teachers / teaching assistants and anything else of interest. These can be made into a personalised 'starting school' / 'moving to year 1 (etc)' book. This personalised book can also include 'rules' as appropriate, for example, we have to be quiet in the library, we hang our coats on our peg, class x can play on the climbing frame on Wednesdays and we take turns on the computer.

It is important that the adults (teachers, parents, carers and other family members) connected to the child starting school are positive about the prospects of the experience, however it is also important to allow the child to express their fears and concerns. Books, for example, the Usborne First Experiences: Starting School or role playing school with favourite toys / puppets may help a child understand the process.

Another task that might help your child prepare for school is taking them ‘school shopping’, being taken to get their new school clothes, shoes and bags it can help build excitement about the experience and being able to chose items will add empowerment.

In the period before starting school, other skills that might be worth practicing include self-help skills - dressing, toileting and feeding, following routines and playing with similar toys to those used in school.

To prepare children who are already have specialist support in school, find out whether their support workers will be staying the same or changing next term. Evaluate the strategies used this year and look at how they can be implemented in the new classroom setting, for example, if the child was allowed to have quiet time out in a side room is there the space for this to occur in the new room? If the child sat for carpet time on a specific cushion / space - can this be transferred to the new class? Don't forget to ensure that angled writing boards and other specialist equipment is moved into the new class before the start of term.

Scope Communication Aids Survey

I've just received an email about the Scope Communication Aids Survey which is available here.

Scope believes that everyone should have the right to communicate. Lots of people with communication impairments have told them that they find it difficult to get the right equipment and support to speak for themselves. So they are conducting some research into the issues. The survey is for people with a communication impairment, who use, or would like to use, a communication aid. They would also like to hear from parents and family members or people that work with people with communication impairments. The survey ends on 1st July 2007.

Chelltune

Here is my second featured 'WAHM'

We went to Twycross Zoo yesterday and whilst following the sign language trail I remembered Michelle's site! Michelle holds a level three qualification in British Sign Language (BSL) and is a communicator for Deaf people and enjoyed signing with her own (hearing) children but struggled to find the resources to help teach them. Chelltune is the UK's first specialist signing store containing all the materials you need to get you babies and children signing. The shop contains items from the BSL - Let's Sign and WOW! ranges, products to support baby signing classes (including Tinytalk, Sing & Sign and Sign with your Baby), Makaton compatible resources as well as fun signing puppets. As well as the shop there is also a forum to discuss signing and ask any questions - it's well worth a look!

Birthdays

We are celebrating a birthday in our house today and it made me think about how children learn about birthdays and how we can help children with special needs experience the excitement / prepare them for their big day.

Some ideas:

• share books about birthdays / parties (including the Usborne First Experiences: Going to a Party)
• use a calendar to count down the days until the birthday / party
• practice unwrapping presents to teach both the anticipation of 'what is in the present' and the skills needed to tear the paper
• practice blowing out candles and singing happy birthday
• think about your child's needs and difficulties when planning a birthday treat, you want them to enjoy it!
• let your child 'help' with the preparations

Learning Number Names

I was talking to my eldest son yesterday and he pointed out a number 9 - I had no idea he knew the number names (we haven't sat down with the flashcards although he does have a set to play with!). I realised he must have learn them from all the incidental talking about numbers that we do so I thought I'd share some ideas with you - feel free to use the comments function to add yours too.

1. Look for house numbers
2. Complete number jigsaws
3. Play with number bean bags
4. Play number matching games like number lotto
5. Identify numbers on car number plates
6. Ask what number the hands on a clock are pointing to
7. Look at books with numbers in the story
8. Colour or decorate number outlines (see our resources page for FREE number colouring books)
9. Get your child to press the buttons for you in the lift
10. Identify the numbers on the scales when cooking

Littlesheep Learning has a full range of products to help your children learn numbers, including Rol 'n' Write Numbers, Tactile Sandpaper Numbers, Number Bean Bags and Number Fans

Autism Forum

As you may or may not know Littlesheep Learning came about as a result of our work with children with autism and that supporting parents of children with special needs is an area of importance to us. Whilst networking on MySpace we came across this new autism forum which will be well worth a visit if you are the parent or carer of someone with autism - take a look!

Down's Syndrome Awareness Week

This week (4th-10th June) is Down's Syndrome Awareness Week. A campaign week that aims to raise awareness of the condition, dispel myths and allay the fears surrounding Down Syndrome. It is a national initiative organised by the Down's Syndrome Association. This year the main focus of the week this year will be improving employment prospects for adults with Down’s syndrome.

So bearing in mind it's Down Syndrome Awareness Week I thought I'd help raise awareness of Down Syndrome by a post about it!

Down syndrome is a genetic condition which is caused by the presence of an extra chromosome. The name ‘Down’ comes from the English doctor, John Langdon Down, who first described the syndrome in 1866 and ‘syndrome’ comes from the description of a collection of signs or characteristics.

Everyday in the UK, an average of one or two babies are born with Down syndrome, which means that one baby in 1000 has the condition. People with Down syndrome have a certain degree of learning disability however the degree of disability varies from person to person and it is impossible to tell at birth what that degree will be, most children with Down syndrome do learn to walk, talk, read and write just that their development is usually delayed.

There are certain physical characteristics that are shared by people with Down syndrome though not every child with the condition has every characteristic. Common characteristics are:

• Low muscle tone (although this improves with age)
• Lower than average birth weight and a slower pace of weight gain
• Eyes that slant upward and outward, the eyelids often have an extra fold of skin (epicanthic fold) which appears to exaggerate the slant
• A flatter than average back of the head
• A single crease which runs right across the palm of the hand

About forty per cent of children with Down syndrome have an associated heart defect. These heart conditions vary from small holes in the heart to more complex problems which may require major open heart surgery. The majority of these defects can be corrected and the prognosis is very good.

All babies are different from each other and the same is true of babies with Down syndrome, this means that in some babies the characteristic signs of Down syndrome are fairly easy to recognise soon after birth, however others need a blood test to check the chromosomes.

Lastly, I'd like to add a little picture of the daughter of a friend of mine, I'm sure you'll agree that she is gorgeous! Her mummy is a great advocate for Down Syndrome and wants the world know that having a baby with Down Syndrome is NOT the end of the world.

Please feel free to add your comments about your experiences of children with Down Syndrome (and send me any photos you want me to add).

For more information:

Competition Winner

Congratulations to Karen from Worthing, who is the lucky person who found the birthday cake and won a copy of The Usborne Book of Playtime Activities.

We hope you enjoy your book. Look out for more competitions coming soon.

IdentifyMe®

Here is my first 'featured' WAHM - we sell Reward ID Bands™ so it seemed logical to start with IdentifyMe®, especially as they sent me a newsletter yesterday launching their latest research survey.



IdentifyMe® is the place for all your I.C.E (in case of emergency) identification needs. Their fantastic lightweight and secure IdentiKids® children's ID wristbands and older children's WickID® give you peace of mind when you are out and about military style dog tags. They also have stunning and unique medical ID bracelets ideal for allergy sufferers, diabetics and those in need of medical ID with a great range of co-ordinating fashion jewellery! And if that wasn't enough they are also a leading supplier of custom printed wristbands, ideal for event management, admissions or for schools, nurseries and SureStarts - with very low minimum orders!

Two years ago IdentifyMe® conducted a national survey on parental attitudes towards "tagging" children. The results last time showed some very interesting statistics and now they are trying to find out whether they are providing solutions that help other parents give peace of mind. They also want to know if there is anything else we can do to help educate children who may become lost and also educate people who may find a lost child on what to do in this ever changing society that we live in. To take the survey Click Here.

Do you have a business?

I've been 'networking' with increasing verocity over the last few years with increasing numbers of small businesses (many of the fellow WAHMs - work at home mums) and I thought I'd start to feature some of their news here too and hopefully introduce them a customer or two! If you are interested in being features let me know what you are up to and I'll do my best!

Many of the people I'll feature are also friends on myspace - feel free to add me as your friend - http://www.myspace.com/littlesheeplearning if you want to network there!

Dressing Skills

Does your child need help with dressing themselves? Are they struggling with zips, laces, buttons, poppers velcro, snappers, buckles? If so this is the book for them.

This lovely fabric Skills Book is great for practicing independent dressing skills. Tie up the shoelace, unzip and zip up the sleepsuit, undo and do up the poppers on the blouse, buckle and unbuckle the belt on the shorts,button and unbutton the shirt, practice pulling apart and sticking together the velcro on the glove and pressing and pulling apart the snapper on the purse.

Bean Bags

We have some more new products at Littlesheep Learning we received the box late yesterday and it is very exciting unpacking them and finding that they really are even better than they look in the pictures. We are pleased to announce the arrival of colour, shape and number bean bags. We'll add some teaching ideas for these products shortly - so do add your ideas!

The colour beanie bags set of 10 coloured bean bags (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black, white, grey and brown) have the name of each colour stitched onto one side and are ideal for early colour recognition. Each bean bag measures approximately 10cm and can be stored conveniently in the drawstring cloth bag.


The shape beanie bags are a set of 8 shaped bean bags (circle, square, rectangle, triangle, star, oval, pentagon and hexagon) with the name of each shape stitched onto one side and are ideal for early shape recognition. Each bean bag measures approximately 10cm and can be stored conveniently in the drawstring cloth bag.


The number beanie bags set contains 20 bean bags with the name and number stitched on either side - ideal for a wide range of counting and number games. Each bean bag measures approximately 7cm and can be stored conveniently in the drawstring cloth bag.

We hope to be adding alphabet beanie bags in the future so do keep checking back for updates.

Do you like my blog?

I've just been listing my blog in various directories and the like to try and get more people reading it and commenting (I feel like I'm talking to myself a lot!). Anyway I've just listed it on Technorati and you can add it to your favourites if you want by clicking on the little button below (please!).

NAS - Thomas and Friends Suvey

I was just browsing the National Autistic Society (NAS) website and came across information about their Thomas and Friends Survey.

In 2002, The National Autistic Society (NAS) commissioned a small research project to better understand the special relationship between children with autism and Thomas & Friends. The research showed that for many children, Thomas has been a vital point of entry to the world of communication and play.

Since then, the NAS has worked closely with the Thomas & Friends brand and we are delighted to announce that donations raised through the partnership have just reached over £780,000!

To celebrate, they have launched a new research study on a larger scale to further explore the special connection between children with autism and Thomas.
To get involved, please complete the online questionnaire or call 020 7903 3648 for a telephone interview before Friday 8 June. As a thank you, all participants will be entered into a prize draw to win one of five family tickets for a 'Day out with Thomas'.

Socially Speaking

Now stocked at Littlesheep Learning, Socially Speaking is a fantastic communication programme aimed at children in Key Stages 1 and 2. It consists of a book and a game to help teach and reinforce social skills in a fun way.

The Socially Speaking book will help you to introduce and practice the skills children need to develop and maintain relationships and to lead independent lives. It is a unique social skills programme which lasts a whole year and is divided into three units: let's communicate, let's be friends and let's practise. As children progress through the carefully structure programme, their self-esteem will increase, their listening skills and expressive language abilities will improve, and everyone will benefit from enhanced social interaction with the class. Socially Speaking contains teaching notes, photocopiable A4 illustrated worksheets, assessment and evaluation forms.

The Socially Speaking Game is designed to complement the Socially Speaking book, and focuses on social interaction in 3 key areas: home, school and the wider community. Through a variety of role-play and problem-solving activities, children are given the opportunity to practise vital skills such as listening, turn taking, giving compliments, asking questions, making telephone calls and conveying emotions. Contains game board, 100 question cards, playing pieces and teacher's notes. Ideal for 3-6 players at Key Stage 1 & 2, plus older children with special needs.

Today's picture

Today I've been busy networking! As well as the blog here Littlesheep Learning also has a prescence on MySpace. So today I designed a nice little message to send to my friends.



Want to be my friend on MySpace? Feel free to ask! I'm particularly interested in networking with other Work at Home Mums (WAHM), parents, parents of children with special educational needs and parents who home educate.

Every Disabled Child Matters (again!)

A key part of the EDCM campaign is raising the profile of disabled children's issues locally. They need your help to make disabled children matter in your local area. They have prepared a new online action that allows you to email a letter to the editor of the local newspapers in your area. This letter highlights their Local Authority Charter, and calls on every local authority to sign up to it.

They need everyone who lives in a local authority that has not yet signed up to take part in this action. The following local authorities HAVE already signed up: Cornwall; Devon; Dudley; Ealing; East Riding of Yorkshire; East Sussex; Enfield; Halton; Hertfordshire; Hull; Islington; Kingston upon Thames; Lambeth, Lincolnshire; Luton; Nottinghamshire; Solihull; Somerset; Southwark; Stockport; Sunderland; Telford and Wrekin; Tower Hamlets; Wokingham. PLEASE TAKE ACTION!

If your own local authority is NOT listed above:

1. Please take part in our new action, by sending an email to the editor of your local newspapers.
2. If you have not yet done so, you can also send an email direct to the Councillor with responsibility for children's services, who we want to sign the Charter.

If your own local authority IS listed above and has already signed up:

1. Download our new supporter briefing which gives ideas on how to help make sure that the Charter commitments are delivered. All of these actions can be taken forward at http://www.edcm.org.uk/la_charter

If you have any questions about this action, or anything about the campaign, get in touch with the campaign team on 020 7843 6318 or at info@edcm.org.uk

For more information see: http://www.edcm.org.uk

Time to Talk with Ginger Bear

We are delighted to announce that Littlesheep Learning are now stocking the Time to Talk communication programme in association with Ginger Bear. The Time to Talk programme consists of a book, a game and a friendly Ginger Bear Puppet.


The Time to Talk book contains activities to help Foundation Stage (Reception) and Key Stage 1 children gain access to the curriculum and develop friendships. School can be a frustrating and confusing experience for children who have not developed their communication skills and access to the curriculum may be difficult, as will developing co-operative skills and friendships. Written by the author of the best-selling Socially Speaking, Time to Talk has been developed to teach and develop oral language and social interaction skills to children aged 4-6. It contains 40 activity sessions, designed to take place 2 or 3 times a week, Time to Talk will help you teach and develop the 'rules' of interaction with the help of Ginger Bear who features in all the activities. The skills taught include: eye contact, turn taking, sharing, greetings, awareness of feelings, giving / following instructions, listening, attention and play skills.


The Time to Talk game is a fantastic board game that will teach and develop essential language and social skills to Foundation Stage (Reception) and Key Stage 1 children. The game is centred around Ginger Bear and is designed to complement the Time to Talk book. It is a fun and accessible way of helping younger children improve their communication skills and social interactions. Children have the opportunity to perform a variety of role-play activities, practice everyday actions and provide information about themselves. Through these enjoyable tasks they learn vital social skills including: listening, turn-taking, asking and answering questions, engaging in basic conversations, non-verbal communication, eye-contact and understanding feelings. Contains game board, 96 question cards, Ginger Bear toy, 4 Ginger Bear jigsaws, 4 playing pieces, die and teacher's notes

Finally the very cute and friendly Ginger Bear Puppet, will be an invaluable resource for all social, emotional and behavioural work with your child. It is ideal for use either on its own, or to accompany and enhance use of the Time to Talk book or game. Ginger Bear will encourage and develop a variety of social, communication and language skills such as turn-taking, active listening, role play and building friendships, and would be a popular addition to any classroom.

LEA / SEN Tribunal Blog Comments

Following an interview with Lord Adonis on BBC Radio 4's PM programme, discussing the LEA/SEN tribunal system, there was a huge public response on their blog. Lord Adonis insisted that there is no conflict of interest in the fact that LEA's are responsible for both assessing and funding provision for children with special needs. He also applauded the Tribunal system, which he said was completely free for parents, adding that the majority of parents are very happy with the system. The reporter Yvonne Murray did a great job and is keen to follow up. The blog is still running, so feel free to post your own views at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/pm/2007/05/children_with_special_needs.shtml

Tying Shoelaces

I've just found this Ian's Shoelace Site which contains everything you ever wanted to know about shoelaces including step by step instructions for tying shoelaces. It has lovely clear illustrations drawn as though looking down at your own shoes whilst tying, and are colour-coded to make it easier to follow where the lace runs. The standard way can be foud here and the other popular two-loop "bunny ears" version here.

If you are looking for a practice shoe don't forget that we have them here at Littlesheep Learning.

Write from the Start

We are pleased to announce that we are now stocking the Write from the Start handwriting programme. This writing programme is based on holistic principles and offers a different approach to learning to write, by developing the muscles of the hand - so that children gain the necessary control to produce letter forms - alongside the perceptual skills required to orientate and organize letter and words.

The programme is effective for mainstream children aged 4-6 years, children with developmental co-ordination disorders and older children with mild to moderate learning difficulties. It contains over 400 carefuly graded exercises and activities develop hand-eye co-ordination, form constancy, spatial organization, figure-ground discrimination, orientation and laterality. The package consists of two workbooks and a handbook.

Guest Writing!

Just a little post to tell you where you can read more educational / activity ideas written I've written.

Firstly - Treehugger Mums which is an online magazine, updated monthly with loads of articles on all aspects of pregnancy, parenting, green living - you name it! They also run an online shop which sells baby slings, cloth nappies, natural toiletries, eco-menstrual products. I write for them monthly generally providing seasonal craft ideas. My next article (currently in work progress) is on messy and not so messy Fathers Day Card ideas. So check back there and see what's new each month.

Secondly - Play Activities which provide a daily fun educational email for parents of under 5s and have a blog with practical and everyday play ideas and comment for under 5s. I'm still thinking about what to write there and not sure when it'll be up but in the meantime there are lots of activities there to keep your little ones out of mischief!

Deaf Awareness Week - Signing

I forgot to mention yestersday this great website full of resources for helping your children learn to sign.

Chelltune is the UK's first specialist baby signing store containing all the materials you need to get you babies and children signing. Owned by Michelle who holds a level three qualification in British Sign Language and is a communicator for Deaf people signing came naturally with her own (hearing) children. As well as the shop there is also a forum to discuss signing and ask any questions.

Red Cross / Red Crescent Day

This week is Red Cross / Red Crescent Week and today (8th May) is World Red Cross / Red Crescent Day. On this day we are asked to remember the efforts that all National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies do worldwide to advocate for the relief of human suffering, whether from disease, famine, disaster or war.

Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies provide relief as the world's largest humanitarian network, with activities and presence in more than 170 countries. The National Societies of the Red Cross and Red Crescent comprise more than 97 million members and volunteers - the world's largest volunteer force - assisting some 233 million beneficiaries each year. The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement was born of a desire to bring assistance without discrimination to the wounded on the battlefield and to prevent and alleviate human suffering wherever it may be found.

World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day was born in 1922, just after World War I, when the Red Cross National Society in the Czech Republic proclaimed a three-day truce at Easter to promote peace. The idea behind the truce was to recognize one day every year during which the Red Cross would advocate for the relief of human suffering from disease and the humanity of seeing a world free from suffering due to war. 8th May, the anniversary of the birth of Henry Dunant, the founder of the Red Cross, was chosen to be that day and was called World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day.

See here for more information about the work of the British Red Cross

Deaf Awareness Week

This week - 7th - 13th May 2007, is Deaf Awareness Week. The theme for this years week is 'Look At Me, which aims to improve understanding of the different types of deafness by highlighting the many different methods of communication used by deaf, deafened, deafblind and hard of hearing people, such as sign language and lipreading. Deaf Awareness week is supported by over one hundred deaf charities and organisations under the umbrella of the UK Council on Deafness and it involves a UK wide series of national and local events.

The RNID are inviting you to take one simple step a day to help change the world. The steps include learning to fingerspell, improving your communication skills or taking part in our big sound check - check their website each day for the next step.

Activity Ideas for Children:

• Experiment with lip-reading: Some deaf people can watch your lips and understand what you are saying from the shapes your mouth makes. Try this with a friend, say a word without making a sound and see if your friend can guess what it was. Some words look the same, which ones?
• Practice Sign-Language: Some deaf people do not speak, instead they use British Sign Language (BSL). The words are made by making shapes with their hands. See if you can learn some simple signs or the fingerspelling alphabet.

If you are trying to communicate with a deaf person, remember the following things:

• Face the person while you are speaking, don't turn away.
• Speak clearly without shouting.
• If the person can not understand you, don't give up! Write it down or draw a picture.

Lag B'Omar

This year, (5767-2007), Lag B'Omer, the thirty-third day of the Omer, the 18th day of Iyar, is on Sunday 6th May 2007. The festival gets it's name from it's description as Lag B'Omer as 'Lag' means the number 33 in Hebrew.

The Omer period lasts for 49 days from Pesach to Shavout and through the years, the period has become identified with sad memories for Jews. Massacres occurred during the period of the Romans and later still during the Crusades, in the days of the Roman Emperor Hadrian, the Jews - led by Bar Kochba - attemped to drive out the foreign oppressors from Judea. The revolt was unsuccessful and during the fighting thousands of Jews lost their lives. According to the Talmud, (Tractate Yevamot 62b), 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva died in one short period, because "they did not show proper respect to one another!" as a result of a mysterious God-sent plague that raged during the days of the Omer counting. However on one day only, Lag B'Omer - Rabbi Akiva's pupils did not die. It was made into a festival in the middle of days of mourning that precede and follow it.

Lag B'Omer is celebrated with a day of outings and spending time outdoors. Weddings often take place as they are not permitted during the Omer.

Buddha Day

Wesak (often called Buddha Day) is the most important of the Buddhist festivals and is celebrated on the full moon in May. It celebrates the Buddha's birthday, and, for some Buddhists, also marks his birth and death. Buddha literally means 'one who is awake' and has become enlightened. It is a term that denotes a person who has attained the supreme wisdom and compassion of Enlightenment. To Buddhists Enlightenment is a blessed state in which the individual attains Nirvana - the transcendence of desire and suffering. Many of Buddha's disciples have attained Enlightenment, and there have been many other Enlightened teachers. The celebration of Wesak is a chance to remember the story of how the Buddha gained Enlightenment, and to reflect on what it might mean for individual Buddhists to move towards Enlightenment themselves.

The festival is celebrated with much colour and fun. Homes may be cleaned and decorated. In Thailand, for example, special Wesak lanterns are made of paper and wood, and often there a large ceremonial releases of caged birds. In many countries during the festival, Buddhists will visit their local temple for services and teaching, and will give offerings to the monks of food, candles and flowers. Chanting and praying are an important part of Wesak. The 'Bathing the Buddha' ceremony is also often included. Water is poured over the shoulders of the Buddha and serves as a reminder to purify the mind from greed, hatred and ignorance. Gifts are taken to an altar to be offered to the Buddha statues. This shows respect and gratitude to the Buddha for his life and teachings. If there is food it is usually vegetarian as Buddhists try not to harm animals.

May Dates!

Sorry I was so busy sorting out our birthday celebrations I forgot to write the list of festivals / awareness days / weeks for May - so here they are:

1 - May Day
1 - World Asthma Day
2 - Buddha Day / Wesak / Visakha Puja / Vaisakha May (full moon day)
4 - Birthday of Buddha
6 - Lag B'Omer (Jewish)
7 - May Day Bank Holiday
7 - International Dawn Chorus Day
7-13 Deaf Awareness Week
7-13 Red Cross Week (8 - World Red Cross Red Crescent Day)
9 - Europe Day
12 - World Fair Trade Day 2007
14 - 20 - National Allergy Week
17 - Acension Day (Christian)
21 - World Cultural Diversity Day
21 -25 - National Summer Walk to School Week
21 - 26 - Noise Action Week
21 - 27 - National Vegetarian Week
22/23 - Shavout (Jewish)
23 - World Turtle Day 2006
24 - European Day of Parks
27 - Pentencost / Whit Sunday
28 - Spring Bank Holiday
31 - World No Tobacco Day

Competition

To celebrate our birthday we are also running a free prize draw throughout May – find the birthday cake on our site, add it to your basket and check out (no other purchase necessary) and you will be entered into the competition to win a copy of the Usborne Book of Playtime Activities.

May

It’s the 1st May and it’s hard to imagine that two years ago we were preparing to launch our website. In some ways it seems a lot longer and others it seems like it was only a few months ago. So we’d like to say ‘Happy Birthday’ to us and thank all our past, present and future customers. To celebrate our birthday we are having a month of Special Offers. Each day we will have a new offer so keep checking back to take advantage of these before the end of the day! These offers could be a free gift, a saving off your order, a special offer price on a product (whilst stocks last) or free postage – we hope that you will find an offer to tempt you!

Reward Bands

Reward Bands are now available from Littlesheep Learning.


IdentiKids Reward ID Bands™ are brightly coloured, funky wristbands that young children simply adore! Reward your child with a star shaped sticker from the sheets included - there are lots of different designs to choose from including fairies, hearts, trains, footballs, clowns and ice creams so there is something for everyone! The IdentiKids Reward Bands also double as an ID band - simply write your contact details on the inside with any ballpoint pen!

Libraries

Do you use libraries with your children?

A recent survey of children in Wales (see report here) has shown that many children do not know how public libraries work or what they are for. The National Marketing Strategy survey for libraries in Wales found many children believed they had to pay to borrow books and when asked how they would sell libraries many primary and secondary pupils told researchers they would try a "buy one get one free" offer! Maybe these children are more used to spending time renting videos / DVDs and computer games from commercial stores and have never been inside a public library?

Libraries offer books on a whole host of subjects, including books on tape, in large print and in community languages. Mobile library services even bring the service to your doorstep. Libraries also provide music libraries, newspapers, magazines, reading groups, children's activities and other community information and events. Many libraries also offer CDs, DVDs and other items are also available for loan (sometimes for a small charge) and free computer / internet access. Joining public libraries is free and easy to do - in most cases you just need proof of name and address. You may even be able to collect your Bookstart packs from your library too.

So get using our public libraries and explain to children in your care how they work.

ABA and Autism in the News

Before I started Littlesheep Learning, I worked as an ABA (Applied Behaviour Analysis) tutor with children with autism. One of the big criticisms about approaches for autism is the lack of research so I am really pleased to see that there has been some UK research into its effectiveness - see the report here.

Further press coverage:
http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/families/article1706510.ece
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2065476,00.html#article_continue

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/04/26/nedu126.xml

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6593185.stm

http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/1100education/tm_headline=tutored-autistic-children-in-iq-leap%26method=full%26objectid=18967746%26siteid=50082-name_page.html

Balloons

We've had fun today playing with some balloons, so I thought I'd share some activity / learning ideas!

• practice throwing, catching and kicking
• pat the ball into the air and count how long it takes to float down to the ground
• tie a string to the balloon and take it for a walk
• blow up balloons of different colours to help your child learn their colours - can they catch the red one, find the blue one etc
• play peek-a-boo behind the balloon
• draw faces on a balloon and practice different emotions

Have fun! Be careful with balloons as uninflated balloons are a choking hazard. Don't blow up the balloon completely - if it isn't over inflated it is harder to burst.

Encouraging Writing

One thing I am often asked is how to practice writing with a child who isn't very keen? The answer is to keep it FUN!

So here are some of my favourite ways to get children practicing writing / drawing skills without using a pencil and paper!

• use a chalk board
• use a whiteboard
• paint with water onto a wall / path
• chalk onto a wall / path
• finger painting
• use an Aquadraw
• use a Magna Doodle
• writing in 'gloop' (cornflour and water)
• writing in playdough
• writing in sand / mud using fingers or a stick

Let me know any other fun ways you persuade your children to write!

St George's Day

The 23rd April is St George's Day. Saint George is the patron saint of England. His emblem, a red cross on a white background, is the flag of England, and part of the British flag.

St George was a brave Roman soldier who protested against the Romans' torture of Christians and died for his beliefs. The popularity of St George in England stems from the time of the early Crusades when it is said that the Normans saw him in a vision and were victorious. One of the best-known stories about Saint George is his fight with a dragon. But it is highly unlikely that he ever fought a dragon, and even more unlikely that he ever actually visited England. Despite this, St George is known throughout the world as the dragon-slaying patron saint of England. St George is always depicted as a knight carrying a shield with a red cross (or a banner with a red cross), generally sitting upon a horse and always killing a dragon.


Saint George is popularly identified with England and English ideals of honour, bravery and gallantry, but actually he wasn’t English at all. Very little is known about the man who became St George. It is thought that he was born in Turkey (in Cappadocia) in the in the year A.D. 270 (3rd century) and had Christian parents. At the age of seventeen he joined the Roman army and soon became renowned for his bravery. He served under a pagan Emperor but never forgot his Christian faith. The Emperor Diocletian gave him many important missions, and it is thought that on one of these he came to England. It was while he was in England that he heard the Emperor was putting all Christians to death and so he returned to Rome to help his brother Christians. He pleaded with the Emperor to spare their lives. He imprisoned and tortured, but stayed true to his faith and eventually was beheaded at Lydda in Palestine on 23 April, 303.

In 1222, the Council of Oxford declared April 23 to be St George’s Day and he replaced Edward the Confessor as England’s patron saint in the 14th century. In 1415, April 23 was made a national feast day .

St George is patron saint not only of England but also of Aragon, Catalonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Palestine and Portugal amongst others, although he is celebrated on different days. St George is also patron saint of soldiers, archers, cavalry and chivalry, farmers and field workers, riders and saddlers, and he helps those suffering from leprosy, plague and syphilis.

The Story of St George and the Dragon
St. George journeyed for many months by land and sea until he came to Libya. Here he met a poor hermit who told him that everyone in that land was in great distress, for a dragon had long ravaged the country. 'Every day,' said the old man, 'he demands the sacrifice of a beautiful maiden and now all the young girls have been killed. The King's daughter alone remains, and unless we can find a knight who can slay the dragon she will be sacrificed tomorrow. The king of Egypt will give his daughter in marriage to the champion who overcomes this terrible monster.' When St. George heard this story, he was determined to try and save the princess, so he rested that night in the hermit's hut, and at daybreak set out to the valley where the dragon lived. When he drew near he saw a little procession of women, headed by a beautiful girl dressed in pure Arabian silk. The princess Sabra was being led by her attendants to the place of death. The knight spurred his horse and overtook the ladies. He comforted them with brave words and persuaded the princess to return to the palace. Then he entered the valley.
As soon as the dragon saw him it rushed from its cave, roaring with a sound louder than thunder. Its head was immense and its tail fifty feet long. But St. George was not afraid. He struck the monster with his spear, hoping he would wound it. The dragon's scales were so hard that the spear broke into a thousand pieces. and St. George fell from his horse. Fortunately he rolled under and enchanted orange tree against which not poison could prevail, so that the venomous dragon was unable to hurt him. Within a few minutes he had recovered his strength and was able to fight again. He smote the beast with his sword but the dragon poured poison on him and his armour split in two. Once more he refreshed himself from the orange tree and then, with his sword in his hand, he rushed at the dragon and pierced it under the wing where there were no scales, so that it fell dead at his feet.

How does England celebrate St George's Day?
By tradition, April 23rd is the day for a red rose in the button hole, the national flower. However, unlike other countries, England does not really celebrate its national day and for most people in England St George's Day is just another ordinary day. Special parades and celebrations of St George's Day are gradually becoming more frequent in England.

Activities for St George's Day

• make England flags by painting or colouring a red cross onto paper
• have a traditional English cream tea - scones, jam and clotted cream

Hook and Loop Dots

We have added some new products and Littlesheep Learning - hook and loop dots in our Extras category. These dots are great for making your own resources including PECS cards, reading and writing boards, matching activities and many other teaching and learning items. Look out for more items to help you make your own resources here too.

Incidental Learning

Oh dear, I haven't written a blog post for ages - we had the Easter holidays and the weather has been so good we've been out and about enjoying the sunshine. New things at Littlesheep Learning are few and far between too as we've been so busy having fun!

As we've been out and about our children have been learning so I thought I would post some of the incidental learning that we've had going on.

• looking at street name signs when out for walks - an excellent resource for learning capital letters
• painting with water on the wall - great for upper body gross motor development / practicing writing / science of wet and dry
• playing with objects in water - which ones sink and which ones float
• playing making shadows - great for fun fine motor imitation practice
• making and melting ice cubes - the science of water properties
• growing beans
• cooking - measuring good for maths, stirring / rolling / shaping good for fine motor development
• labelling colours of cars when out for walks - easy method of checking colours
• looking for minibeasts - we found ladybirds, spiders, beetles, snails, slugs, ants and worms

Let me know your incidental learning activities and I'll add them to the list!

Easter Nests

Here's our favourite Easter Nests receipe - we're off to make them later so no pictures yet!

Ingredients
50 g butter / margerine
50g syrup
25g drinking chocolate
Cornflakes
Mini eggs

Method
Melt the butter and syrup in a large saucepan.
Stir in the chocolate powder.
Add the cornflakes to the mixture, stir well using a wooden spoon.
Place the paper cases in a bun tin.
Carefully spoon the mixture into the cases and shape into 'nests'
When cool, top with a few mini eggs.
Store in an air tight container.

Egg Decorating

Decorating your own Easter eggs is a fun way to celebrate Easter. You can decorate your eggs with as simple or fancy designs as you want! If you are decorating blown eggs you can keep them from year to year and build a collection. Younger children may find decorating blown eggs too fragile so it's also fine to decorate hardboiled eggs but be sure to dispose of them after Easter!
How to 'blow' an egg
To blow an egg you need eggs, a needle and a bowl. Using the needle, poke a small hole in the narrow end of the egg, and a slightly larger hole in the other end. Move the pin around to make sure you tear the membrane around the yolk. Now, holding the egg over the bowl, blow through the small hole. The egg will be forced out the larger hole and into the bowl. Then rinse the egg well with water.

Decorating your eggs
Your imagination is your only limitation on how you can decorate your eggs. Use paints, ribbons, sequins, glitter, lace, coloured foil, felt tip pens, fabric scraps, dyes and wax. You can make your egg into people, animals and even vehicles or foods by adding decorations, or draw and paint intricate pictures or patterns onto your egg itself.

Wax Patterns
Use candles to drip wax onto eggs - be careful it is very hot (or use a white candle or wax crayon and draw on the egg). Then dip the egg into some dye, take it out and let it drain.

Dying Eggs

To dye the eggs the put the eggs in a single layer in a saucepan, cover with water. Add about a teaspoon of vinegar. Add the dye and bring water to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes, then remove the eggs and leave them to dry. If you want your eggs to be a darker shade, cover them with the dye and leave them overnight.

Why not colour your eggs using natural dyes? It's possible to come up with a great number of colors using natural ingredients that can easily be found in almost any kitchen.

Red: Fresh beets or cranberries, frozen raspberries
Orange: Yellow onion skins Light yellow: Orange or lemon peels, carrot tops, celery seed or ground cumin
Yellow: Ground turmeric
Green: Spinach leaves
Blue / purple: Canned blueberries or red cabbage leaves
Brown: Strong brewed coffee

April Fool's Day

I'm not clever enough to think about setting up an April fool 's joke today but I've seen some one from Rightmove about an "x-ray fly through" facility they are introducing from today whereby their satellites have taken photos of the interiors of everyone's house (if you weren't decent at the time of the photo they'll be blanking you out!) and by BMW about using RUSE particles embedde in the windscreen to allow instant messaging to drivers ahead. Let us know about the jokes you've seen or heard (or played on others!) by adding your comment's.

Unfortunately one thing that isn't an April fools joke is that Royal Mail prices are increasing again from tomorrow so we've had to change the postage rates at Littlesheep Learning we now have a special lower rate of £1.95 for orders under £5, with bigger orders now being charged at £3.95.