Wikki Stix Activity Ideas

What are Wikki Stix?

Wikki Stix are waxy sticks which look a bit like pipe-cleaners. They are made from a combination of a strand of acrylic, hand-knitting yarn and a microcrystalline, food-grade, non-toxic wax. Wikki Stix stick to smooth surfaces (like the Wikki Stick boards included in the Activity pack or onto white boards) and to each other. They are a colourful, tactile, sensory and engaging product that can be used in many different ways.

Who can use Wikki Stix?

Wikki Stix can be used by children and adults alike. Their non-toxic nature means that they are safe even for children who may try to eat them however their use should be supervised. Wikki Stix are also great for children with various disabilities – they are fun for children to manipulate and can be used to help children develop their fine motor skills, their clean mouldable nature makes them an ideal ‘fidget’ toy and their ability to make 3D pictures makes them a great resource for children with sight difficulties.

How to use Wikki Stix

There are endless uses for Wikki Stix so use your imagination to see what you can create however we have included some ideas here:

During pre-writing activities, Wikki Stix can be used to create patterns and mazes to draw between. They can also be used make raised edges to colouring pictures to make colouring inside the lines easier. In handwriting exercises, Wikki Stix can be used to make a raised border margin to show where to start and stop on the edges of the paper, or to make raised lines to prompt letter placement and size. Wikki Stix can also be used to create boxes to write letters / numbers within. Different colour Wikki Stix can be also used to add prompts of where to start and where to stop. Wrapping a Wikki Stix around the base of a pencil can also be used as a grip and a reminder of how to hold the pencil. Placing a Wikki Stix under the top of the paper will help prevent slippage during writing and drawing activities.

Wikki Stix are also good for kinaesthetic learning activities. Once patterns / letter and numbers have been created they can be traced with the finger to practice the formation. A fun game is to try to identify letters, numbers or shapes by touch alone.

Playing with Wikki Stix can help develop a range of creative skills. They can be moulded to form shapes, letters, numbers and pictures. As they are easy to peel up and reposition modelling with Wikki Stix is virtually ‘mistake-free’ which helps build self-esteem. Wikki Stix are a quiet and creative fidget tool, providing a calming effect which may help children better focus on classroom activities. Wikki Stix may help generate verbal interaction, as children create while using them. This may also be helpful in the development of social skills, through tactilely engaging play.

In literacy activities, Wikki Stix can be used to highlight parts of words or a sentence. A Wikki Stix cut into shorter lengths can be used to show the division of words into syllables. Different colours of Wikki Stix can be used to code types of words in a sentence for example red = adjectives, blue = nouns and green = verbs or divisions of compound words. Wikki Stix can be used to loop or underline responses for example; words that rhyme, have a certain ending or include certain sounds.

In numeracy activities, Wikki Stix can be used to teach concepts of long and short, as well as maths symbols. They can be used as counters, to demonstrate place value and also for patterning and sequencing.

Wikki Stix can also be used to improve independence and self-help skills. Wikki Stix can outline the area where an item should be placed, for example a cup on the table or toothbrush on the shelf. A Wikki Stix threaded through the hole on a zip and twisted makes it easier to pull up and down with the Wikki to hold onto improving independent dressing skills.

Buy Wikki Stix!

Wikki Stix are part of a range of Fine Motor Activities available from Littlesheep Learning.

SENDIST Tribunals

I've just had this email - so thought I'd spread the word...

Dear all,

Please sign the petition at http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/SENDISTtribunals/. It is imperative that we protect special needs children and their families' right to appeal for choice in special needs education.

Should the proposed new labour government regulations go through it will create even more distress and potential financial hardship for families who are in desperate need of help not hindrance.

Please encourage all your friends, family and colleagues to sign up too!

New Product: Wikki Stix

We've recently added the Wikki Stix Activity Set to our range of Fine Motor Activities.


The Wikki Stix Activity Set contains 48 brightly coloured Wikki Stix, a dry wipe board to use with the Wikki Stix, a reusable bag and a storybook. Wikki Stix are coated with a unique patented wax formula, they stick to almost any surface and each other with just fingertip pressure. A great resource for fine motor activities - mould them, bend them, shape them, use them to 'edge' handwriting lines / colouring sheets or for creating tactile raised pictures.


Look out for an article soon about some of the many uses of Wikki Stix.

Special Educational Needs – A Parent’s Guide

I've just received information about this great book written by two fellow Work at Home Mums (WAHMs) to help parents who have children with special educational needs so I thought I would share it with you.

As many as one in five children may at some time need extra help with their education, but does this mean they have special educational needs?

Antonia Chitty and Victoria Dawson’s new book, Special Educational Needs - A Parent’s Guide, brings together the facts on special educational needs, looking in detail at the different types of additional needs and how parents and carers can cope with them in daily life.

Find out which professionals can help, how to get through the ‘system’ and gain support, how to handle behavioural difficulties at home and school, and how to get the best education for your child’s needs. The different types of SEN are explained and accompanied by handy checklists to help you look at a child’s behaviour and start the diagnosis process. Practical issues such as family life, sleep, education, housing and finance are also an integral part of the books.

Whether you are worried about your child’s development or work with children and want to know more about the area, this book contains all the facts about the world of special educational needs including the contact details for sources of help.

Discovering your child has special educational needs can leave many parents feeling unsure of where to go for help. This practical guide will spell out clearly how to deal with the problems special educational needs present.

Published by Need2Know – the imprint of People’s Publisher Forward Press that focuses on overcoming real life problems – Special Educational Needs- A Parent’s Guide is available now from the Need2Know website (www.need2knowbooks.co.uk) or by calling 01733 898103 or emailing sales@n2kbooks.com. Also available from Amazon and bookshops. Buy Special Educational Needs Now Price: £8.99.

New Products: Maths Games

We are very excited about the arrival of several new numeracy games.

First we have three different lotto based games - Fraction Action Lotto, Times Table Lotto and Tell the Time Lotto. These lotto games contain 4 boards (4 by 4 grids) and 64 cards in each set.

Players pick a card and take turns to try and match them to their board, the first to complete their board is the winner.

The games are designed to suit different levels of ability; the first level being simple matching and the second level being matching equivalent cards. The card pieces can also be used as a equivalence memory matching pairs game or as flashcards.

Secondly we have three new Snap games; Fraction Action Snap, Money Snap and Tell the Time Snap. These great snap / matching pairs game to help children learn these mathematical concepts.

The cards feature different representations of the concepts - find two that are equal to find the snap pair. The card pieces can also be used as flashcards for children learning about fractions, money and to tell the time.

'Write a Review' Competition

Do you want to win a Knickerbocker Glory Game? This is a great first dice game where you race to make a colourful, fruity knickerbocker glory by colour matching or counting.

To enter all you need to do is to write a review of one of the products sold at Littlesheep Learning. You will get one entry for the draw for each review that is accepted and the winner will be chosen at random on 11th November 2008.

To write a review of a product, log in (you may need to create an account if you don't already have one), choose the product to review, click on 'Write Review' and add your review!

Please note: We will accept reviews of products we stock even if you haven't bought them from Littlesheep Learning.

New Products: Magnetic High Frequency Words

We are pleased to announce the arrival of these Mega Magnetic Words to enhance our range of reading resources. We are stocking the key word sets for both Reception children and those in Years 1 and 2.

This set of large Reception Magnetic Words contains the first 45 High Frequency words which every child is expected to recognise by the end of their Reception school year as part of the National Literacy Strategy.

Building onto the Reception Magnetic Words pack, the Years 1 and 2 sets list the remainder of the High Frequency words which every child is expected to recognise by the end of Key Stage 1 / Year 2.

National Bookstart Day 2008

Today is National Bookstart Day and the theme is Pirates Ahoy!

Bookstart, run by the independent national charity Booktrust, encourages a love of reading for reading’s sake; helping children in the earliest stages of their development to associate books with pleasure.

Posters, bookmarks and stickers have all been illustrated by Debbie Harter and over 500,000 free copies of ‘Pirates A-Hoy’ by Debbie Harter and Oscar Seaworthy will be distributed across the country.

There will be a special launch party taking place at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, featuring pirates, stories and games, and an appearance by the Bookstart Bear Pirate and thousands of families from across the UK will be invited to take part in a range of activities in bookshops, libraries and a range of venues, to highlight the fun of book-sharing. These will include rhyme times, appearances from the Bookstart Bear, pirate-themed adventures as well as song and story-telling sessions. This year, National Bookstart Day supports the National Year of Reading, who shares their aims of encouraging a love of reading in all its forms, from a young age.

Rosemary Clarke, Head of Bookstart said “National Bookstart Day is about reminding every family to make book sharing a regular part of their daily routine. Enjoying stories, songs and rhymes is a wonderful way to encourage children to be confident communicators and eager learners and children who enjoy books every day do far better when they start school. All the family can join in, including dads, and share the fun that books can bring."

This is the seventh annual celebration of the book-gifting programme, which gives three packs of free books to every child in the UK. The website http://www.bookstart.org.uk/ enables parents to enter their postcode to look up National Bookstart Day events taking place in their area.

Bookstart works with libraries, health visitors and early years professionals to give the gift of free books to every child at around eight months, toddlers and pre-school at around three years of age, along with guidance materials for parents and carers. Bookstart seeks to promote the importance of books and the benefits sharing books with babies, such as parental bonding and promoting emotional intelligence, as well as building good communication and listening skills, and helping to lay the foundations of early literacy. Bookstart also aims to foster a love of books through a range of fun activities like Bookstart Rhymetimes and the Bookstart Book Crawl.

Book Time

New research reveals daily reading to children diminishes as pressures on parents increase Children now spending more than twice the time watching TV versus reading with parents or carers. It is widely acknowledged that one of the most important things a parent or carer can do to help their children's learning and development is to inspire a love of books and reading. But independent new research* commissioned for Booktime and Booked Up published today reveals that it is harder than ever for parents and carers to find the time to read with their children.

Findings include:

• Daily reading aloud with children has decreased over the last two years. In 2006, 43% of parents of young children read to them daily but this figure has now dropped to one in three in 2008.
• 23% of parents never or rarely read aloud with their children. For those who do, just one third of parents read with their offspring on a daily basis.
• Mum takes the lead reading role: Mum is still the chief reader (64% of mums of 4-5 year olds say that they are the principle ‘reader' with their child compared to just 12% of dads). Among parents of 11-12 year olds, mums still dominate, with 46% stating that they are the principle reader compared to just one in 20 dads.
• Time and tiredness stopping parents reading more: Top three reasons why parents/carers do not read more with children include: too much else to do (35%), tiredness (30%) and busy cooking dinner (25%).
• Age of parent determines who reads the most with children: The older the mum, the less likely they are to read most with their child. Conversely, the older the father, the more likely they are to read most with their offspring.
• Poetry reading not popular with the Scots but a hit with Londoners: 47% of Glasgow parents state that they never read poetry with their offspring. However, poetry is still a much loved genre among many Brits including London parents who claim the highest rate of weekly (or more) poetry reading with their children.
• Poetry classics stand the test of time: The research also reveals the nation's favourite poet in 2008 is First World War soldier Wilfred Owen, narrowly ahead of late comic Spike Milligan and English Romantic poet William Wordsworth. ‘If' by Rudyard Kipling is the UK's favourite poem of all time.
• Book time loses out to TV: The average four to five year old spends twice as long watching TV compared to reading with parents (and six times more than reading and looking at books by themselves). There has been a decrease in the amount of time spent sharing book time (a 10% decrease year on year from 3hrs 25mins in 2007 to 3hrs 4mins in 2008).
• One in five of all children say that they don't read enough with their family and friends. This rises to 40% of 7-8 year olds and is highest regionally in Bristol and Newcastle (30% each respectively).
• Time spent on household chores overtakes time spent reading for older children: The average 11-12 year old spends 4hrs 14mins surfing the internet compared to just 41 minutes reading with their parent/s. In 2008 Britain, they actually spend more time doing household chores than reading with mum or dad!
• More poetry reading wanted: One third of all children said they would like to read more poetry or have more poetry read with them.

It's not all bad news though. While some parents unfortunately struggle to find time to read to their children, others don't: Sheffield and Liverpool have the highest rates of ‘daily parental reading' where four out of ten (mostly mums) read aloud with their child everyday. Plus, the research uncovered an additional benefit for parents in reading with their offspring, with 78% agreeing or strongly agreeing with the statement that ‘reading with my child(ren) is a good way for me to get away from everyday worries'.

* Booktime and Booked Up 2008 research: 1,507 UK parents of primary school aged children (representative of UK population) took part in the independent research between 12 Aug 2008 and 8 Sept 2008, conducted by Tickbox.net via an online and telephone survey.

The research also explored parents' views on reading poetry with their children:

• Poetry reading with children strong in major cities: Poetry is still a much loved genre amongst many Brits. London (17%), Birmingham (14%), Sheffield (14%) and Liverpool (13%) have the highest rates of weekly (or more) poetry reading
• Children's enjoyment: Parents and carers stated that the main benefits of reading poetry is that children enjoy the ‘rhythm and rhyming' (62%), humour (36%) and that the repetition and sounds of the poem aids a child's memory (34%).
• Poetry saves on story time for some parents: 9% of parents (rising to 12% of dads) say reading poetry with their children saves them time.
• The benefits of reading poetry were also explored as part of the research: 39% of parents say reading poetry sparks the imagination; 26% like doing it as it's enjoyable/fun; 25% say reading poetry reminds them of happy memories and childhood days; 22% believe it expands their language and vocabulary; 22% of parents say reading poetry represents the perfect escape from the stress of modern life; 18% say it helps them feel better; 7% say it helps them to understand life and the world more.

To help encourage a lifelong love of reading - both stories and poetry - over two million free books will be given to schoolchildren across the UK. These will be given to every reception-aged pupil and Year 7 pupil in England this term through two programmes from independent charity Booktrust, supported by the Department for Children, Schools and Families and education and publishing company Pearson.

The Booktime programme will give children aged 4-5 years across the UK a copy of Harry and the Dinosaurs go to School by Ian Whybrow, illustrated by Adrian Reynolds (both of whom have waived fees and royalties). The packs will also contain a guidance booklet for parents and carers to encourage sharing books with children. The Booked Up programme will give children aged 11-12 a book from a list of 12 carefully selected titles, encouraging independent reading. Both programmes promote reading for pleasure at important transition stages in children's learning and development. Plus, for the first time, free poetry anthologies will be given to both age groups in England. Reception-aged pupils will get a special Booktime edition of The Puffin Book of Fantastic First Poems, while Year 7 pupils will be able to choose a copy of Read Me and Laugh: A Funny Poem for Every Day of the Year (Macmillan) as part of the Booked Up programme.

Model and TV presenter Nancy Sorrell, herself a mum of two children and this year's Booktime and Booked Up Celebrity Ambassador, comments: "It's such a joy to snuggle down with the girls and a book to share in fantastic adventures, faraway worlds and meet exciting new friends. I'm proud to be supporting these two reading initiatives that provide free books for five year olds and 11-year-olds to enjoy. It's a brilliant way to keep children interested in books as they make the move from nursery to ‘big school' and from primary to secondary. Plus, the fact that it's free and available to everyone makes it even more appealing!"

Viv Bird, Director of Booktrust, says: "These wonderful quality books that children will be receiving through Booktime and Booked up will provide many hours of fun for them to share with families and friends. Booktrust is very grateful to Pearson and the DCSF for their generous support."

Marjorie Scardino, CEO, Pearson, adds: "We started Booktime because we wanted every child in the UK to have a book of their own as they started school, and we're proud to be working with Booktrust, DCSF and a group of very talented authors to make that possible again this year. We hope Ian Whybrow's story of Harry's first day at school plus a first taste of poetry through Puffin's fantastic poems will be the start of a lifelong love of reading."

For more information on see http://www.booktime.org.uk for more information and if your child has just started school look out for their special pack.

New Products: People Who Help Us Puppets

These lovely People Who Help Us Glove Puppets are a fantastic resource for both role play and teaching about occupations / jobs people do. They are simple flat hand puppets which can be used by adults or children. Doctor, Fireman, Lollipop Man, Nurse and Policeman available now!

New Products: Fantastic Fairy Tale Puppets

We have now added four new sets of story puppets - Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk and The Three Billy Goats Gruff to our range of puppets.

These fantastic puppet sets are come with a detailed story card to help you tell the story of the fairy tale and contains the main characters you would expect to find in the enchanting favourite story.



These puppet sets are great for children learning traditional tales, beginning role play activities and are ideal for giving as a gift coming in it's very own see-through PVC handy bag / carry case. They are also a great for inclusion in story sacks.

We also now have all of the other story sets: Three Little Pigs, Goldilocks and the Three Bears and Little Red Riding Hood back in stock.

The Communication Cookbook

BT and the children's communication charity I CAN have developed The Communication Cookbook, a resource book of activities to support children’s language and communication development.

The Communication Cookbook it focuses on 5 essential ingredients that support children’s communication skills, and contains simple recipes to help parents and teachers to develop these in skills in children.

These five essential ingredients are:

• Attention and Listening
• Vocabulary
• Building Sentences
• Story Telling
• Conversations

Download your copy of The Communication Cookbook here and find out how to help your child learn to communicate.

New Product: Magnetic Fractions Set

The second featured new product is this set of Fraction Magnets.

These colourful Magnetic Fractions are a fantastic resource to help children learn about simple fractions.

Children can play with the magnets on stuck on the fridge (or a special magnetic whiteboard) dividing up the red whole unit stick into halves, thirds, quarters, fifths, sixths, eighths, tenths and twelfths and visually see the equivelant values.

New Product: Magnetic Money Chart

We've just taken delivery of the first of our new products ordered at the Autumn Fair - this includes the Magnetic Money Chart.

The Magnetic Money Chart is a fantastic resource to help children learn about money. The set contains a printed chart, 20 coin magnets, 6 note magnets and 1 wipe clean pen.

You can use the wipe clean pen to write a sum of money in the small blank box and ask your child to use the money magnets to get to this amount. See if they can make the same amount in different ways! Or do the reverse activity - you put out the money magnets and ask your child to work out how much money is there.

For children just starting to learn about money the coin and note magnets can also be used for basic money recognition as well as matching to the value space.

Check out Littlesheep Learning for this and other Money teaching resources.

Playdough

Another term, another town, another 'Stay and Play' group! We went to a new toddler group today and the 'take home idea' was play dough.

Playdough is great for children to play with and learn new skills at the same time. Play dough is:

• good practice for sharing / turn-taking
• soothing / calming
• good for releasing tension
• good for strengthening muscles / developing motor skills
• good for developing language
• creative
• multi-sensory
• fun!

Recipes

Cooked Play-Dough

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
2 tablespoons cream of tartar
1 tablespoon oil
1 cup water
food colouring

Mix dry ingredients and mix wet ingredients and then stir together.
Stir constantly over a medium heat until the ingredients change from a lump paste into a more rubbery blob.
Turn out onto a working surface and knead the dough.
Store in an airtight container.

Cooked Play-Dough

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup water
food colouring

Mix flour and salt, add water and food colouring.
Turn out onto a working surgace and knead the dough to make a clay consistency.
Store in an airtight container (doesn't keep as long as the cooked version though).

Other ideas:

Add:

• glitter
• spices
• mint
• herbs
• cocoa powder
• yeast (makes a stretchier dough)
• raisins
• pasta
• ginger
• lemon juice
• curry

Use a variety of tools to play with the dough, for example;

• lolly sticks
• fir cones
• toy cars
• cutters
• rolling pins
• paper cases
• straws

Play dough is suitable for children over a year old. Make sure that you supervise the play and use protective coverings for the floor, clothes and surfaces. Some children may try to eat the play dough but because it is so salty after a few tastes children will discover that it is much more fun to play with than eat!

Please feel free to share more playdough recipes / activity ideas.

Autumn Fair

We've just got back from an exciting day at the Autumn Fair at the NEC. We had fun meeting up and networking with other WAHMs (the people behind Delicate Dreams, Stork Gifts, Knot Just Jigs, Funky Dory Party Bags, Kiddymania and Perfect Presents - shout if I've left you out?) and have placed orders for some great new lines. Keep reading this blog to find out about the new products and ranges at Littlesheep Learning!

EYFS - Early Years Foundation Stage

From the BBC News website:

Under-fives get 'learning goals'

New welfare guidelines including 69 "learning goals" for the under-fives have come into force in England.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) sets out expected standards of care in registered childcare settings.

The "toddler curriculum" includes being able to count to 10, spell their names, understand stories, know right from wrong and be able to dress and undress.

Ministers say the EYFS will help stop disadvantaged children falling behind in educational attainment.

The guidelines have provoked a worried reaction from some childcare workers who believe increasing levels of associated paperwork could put them out of business.

'Best start'
Others fear children will be required to start formal learning too early and that it could set some of them up for failure at a tender age.

So England's Children's Minister Beverley Hughes announced that learning goals requiring children to be able to write their own names and begin using simple sentences by the age of five, sometimes with punctuation, would be reviewed to see if they were suitable.

But in a joint letter to the managers of England's 3,000 children's centres Schools Secretary Ed Balls and Ms Hughes said their guidelines would help make sure that all young children had the chance to engage in stimulating play.

Children's centre staff would be able to use it to engage mothers and fathers, to make sure these experiences are built on at home, they said.

Mr Balls added: "I am driven by a determination to make sure that the most disadvantaged children get the very best start in life.

"We want to give all children a level playing field and help all parents get the best care and support for their children.

"I believe that every child in this country is entitled to the benefits of learning through play as set out in the EYFS and that their parents are entitled to the reassurance that their children will be well supported and cared for by high quality childminders and nursery workers."

Developmental milestones
Research shows that gaps between advantaged and disadvantaged children can affect them from the age of 22 months and are likely to get bigger as they age.

By the time they take GCSES, children from poorer backgrounds are half as likely to get five good grades as their wealthier peers.

The EYFS applies to all formal childcare settings for children under five and is based on the idea that children need to learn through play as they begin to understand the world around them.

Childcare providers are required to keep parents up to date with their children's progress and will be encouraged to be involved with their early education.

Profiles of each child will be completed by nurseries and childminders, recording the developmental milestones the reach.

These are intended to provide an accurate picture of a child's development for parents and primary schools when they reach them.

However, ministers are keen to stress that the youngsters will not be tested on the goals included in the guidelines.

They also argue that as the framework is a combination of two existing sets of guidelines they should not place extra burdens on those working in childcare.

In Scotland, what and how children learn in pre-school nurseries is set out in the Curriculum for Excellence which is currently being rolled out. It does not apply to childminders.

In Wales, a new Scandinavian-style Learn through Play nursery and infant curriculum is being introduced for three to seven-year-olds, which moves away from the more formal classroom based lessons.

For more information on the contents of the EYFS, please see our article.

Happy Customers

Like all businesses, at Littlesheep Learning we love hearing from satisfied customers; here is an excerpt of an email we received this week:

"Just a quick email to thank you for sending my order so quickly - I noticed the message about you moving premises and thought it might delay new orders (especially if you had a backlog to clear) but my books and pencil grips have arrived already! My son has been a little reluctant to put pen(cil) to paper but after I had a go with one, he was very keen to try his new 'toy' and has written quite a few words today. Here's hoping he's still as happy tomorrow.... Thank you for selling these singly and not making me buy a 'class tub' too!!"

If you have a reluctant write - check out the full range of triangular pens, pencils and pencil grips available at Littlesheep Learning - all available individually!

Catching Up

Just to let everyone know that normal service is resuming at Littlesheep Learning following our relocation. We still need to completely restock but orders are now being despatched normally.

Look out for new products, offers and competitions coming soon.

Learning whilst Playing

With all the lovely hot and sunny weather the chances are that your children are busy playing outside and you may be thinking that there is no time for learning.

At Littlesheep Learning, we have the solution for children learning colours, shapes, numbers and letters with our range of learning beanbags. These can be used in the garden and children can learn whilst they are playing and probably not even realise it! Take a look here for lots of bean bag learning ideas and have fun.

Order your colour, shape, number or letter beanie bags today and save 10% in our special relocation sale (offer ends 31st July 2008).

Moving Sale

At the end of the month Littlesheep Learning is relocating, therefore we have a special sale to reduce the amount of stock we need to move! Items are available whilst stocks last and offers include lots of educational games which are great for keeping your children entertained during wet days in the school holidays and getting them to learn and practice skills without realising it.

Offers end on 30th June and no orders will be despatched from 1st-10th August whilst we settle in and complete a stock take. Unfortunately this move means that some items will be out of stock for longer than usual, please contact us if you need something that is out of stock and we will try and let you know an expected restocking date.

Building Self-Esteem

I have a friend who has a little boy with autism and she has had a great idea for building self-confidence. For the last few months she has been taking photos of him doing things, things he found difficult, was worried about or things he's just good at and enjoyed. We've stuck them in a book called 'I Can Do It' book. There is so much in every day life he finds hard, so many things we take for granted that he struggles with, makes him anxious or has to learn from scratch so thought it would be a nice idea to celebrate all the things he can do. He is a technophile so she has also made this photo montage of the photos in his book and set it to music. Shine is his favourite Take That track though the lyrics are quite appropriate too! Here it is:



If you like this idea and make your own books - please share them with us here - we'd love to see them.

The Queen's Birthday Honours (Part 2)

Ever since browsing the Queen's Birthday Honours recipients after seeing that Mr Tumble (Justin Fletcher) was given an award I've been meaning to post about the awarding of an OBE to Virginia Bovell. I like most others who have been involved in ABA will have heard of / met / been supported by Virginia - she is a truly inspirational woman and this award is very well deserved.

Virginia Bovell, is one of the Advisers and a member TreeHouse school’s governing body, and she has received an OBE for “voluntary services to autistic children”. TreeHouse is the national charity for autism education.

She said: “The OBE is a real honour but I feel that anything I’ve done is because of team work with a brilliant group of colleagues – not just TreeHouse and the National Autistic Society but hundreds of parents, some very dedicated MPs and professionals, and of course the inspiration offered by the children themselves. I see the OBE as recognition of the importance of children with autism, an incredibly marginalized group.”

Virginia’s work as an autism activist began when Danny, her son who is now 15, was diagnosed with autism just before his third birthday. Having been told that early educational intervention was the best way Danny could unlock his potential, Virginia found that there were no such services on offer. Together with three other parents in similar situations, TreeHouse was founded. Over the past ten years it has grown from a special school for four founding pupils in a room in the Royal Free Hospital, into the national charity for autism education. TreeHouse’s school in North London now has 62 children and the charity actively campaigns for better services and provides training and consultancy in the field of autism on a national scale.

But the story does not end there. Virginia has been involved full-time in the autism movement, helping parents to campaign across the UK; writing and speaking about autism; and also being involved in a range of academic and Government autism initiatives.

Virginia went on to say: “In the past 10 years the recognised prevalence of autism has risen to 1%, so autism will touch most people directly or indirectly – every school, every street, is likely to have a child with autism. Awareness has improved but there is still so much to be done. Nearly a third of children with autism are excluded from school at some point in their youth, largely because autism is still very much a misunderstood condition and most teachers are still not getting anything like the necessary training. My hope is that one day everyone with autism, children and adults, will access the support they need without having to fight for it, as valued and fulfilled participants in society.”

Congratulations Virginia

Speech Testing

I've just been reading sbout the government-commissioned Bercow review of speech and language services which says improving communication skills is key to raising educational standards. The report suggests that all children should be assessed for speech problems at the start of primary and secondary school.

Up to half the children in some areas of England have significant problems, but many have to fight for support. Ministers accepted the points raised by the review and announced a £40m package for the training of early years staff and a further £12m will be spent on implementation and a plan would be published in the autumn, says the government's response.

Conservative MP John Bercow's review of services for children and young people with speech, language and communication needs suggests about 40,000 children, or 7%, are starting primary school in England each year with significant difficulties with speech and or language, but the rates are much higher in areas of social deprivation, with up to 50% having speech and language skills lower than expected for their age, the report says. Without the help they need these children will do worse at school, could develop emotional and behavioural problems and may descend into criminality, it argues. Mr Bercow said families faced a "postcode lottery" of provision and shortages of speech experts in most areas of the country. He said communication skills that were essential to life were not being prioritised in schools, especially in the early years. "This is severely hampering children's ability to develop the necessary life skills to participate in and contribute to society when they get older," he added. Experts argue, however, that with early intervention and the right support most communication problems can be overcome. Ministers accepted that more surveillance and monitoring of children's language skills were needed, but suggested extra training of early years staff would enable them to better pick up language problems.

The report also suggested that Sir Jim Rose should be asked to see how a speech and language focus could be put into primary schools as part of his review of the primary curriculum.
Children's secretary Ed Balls said it was clear that local services needed to improve and that he was convinced improvements could now be made.

The report also makes recommendations on how services best be provided. It finds that there is a lack of strategic planning and oversight of what is needed in many local areas, this should be better organised, so it suggests a named person should have the responsibility for commissioning communication provision in each local area. It also calls for a communication champion or tsar, charged with driving things forward, to be appointed and a communication council be established to develop over-arching policy and ensure the implementation of the review. There should be a significant national campaign on the issue building up to a national year of speech, language and communication.

Special Educational Needs Tribunals

I've just had an email about the changes in regulations relating to the Tribunal Service...

This is what it says...

"Some parents will be aware that the regulations relating to The Tribunal Service are being 'rationalised' in order to have a more consistent policy right across the range of tribunals. Discussions concerning the new regulations have been kept strictly between the Government and the legal profession but several lawyers have highlighted their concerns as the proposed changes are far from parent helpful. In fact they are definitely unfair to parents. and, if put into action, will make parental appeals to the Tribunal far more complex and pro Local Authorities. If you wish to access the new draft rules up for 'discussion' you should try the following:

The draft rules are at http://www.tribunals.gov.uk/Documents/Draft_HESC_ChamberRules_290508.pdf with the rules for the new upper tier tribunal (for appeals) at http://www.tribunals.gov.uk/Documents/Draft_Upper_Tribunal_Rules_02_06_08.pdf and also for the the transition rules - http://opsi.gov.uk/si/si2008/draft/plain/ukdsi_9780110817828_en

Basically what happens now (unless persuaded otherwise) is that SENDIST is abolished from 3rd November and everything becomes subject to the new rules, including appeals which have already been begun. Although there is provision for the tribunal to give directions disapplying this in relation to individual cases, they are not going to be able to do that in practical terms for appeals listed for hearing during the week of 3rd November. Theoretically at least we could all turn up for cases listed that week with 10 witnesses if the rules stay as they are! If any one thinks that there will be real consultation going on they may like to know that, according to the staff of SENDIST, in London their jobs end in October and the Darlington office closes shortly after end April 2009. There is talk of a kind of 'call centre' in Loughborough! The new system is scheduled to come into effect in November! If allowed to happen it will make appeals to SENDIST much more difficult for parents. 'Consultation' must be in by 11th July but for the new regulations to become law they must have Parliamentary approval and so be tabled in the House. Unless, however, we warn our MPs it is very likely that the new regulations will end up in Parliament and, if left unchallenged, will go the way of most delegated legislation and become law without debate."

I have also received a letter drafted by lead counsel regarding these new proposals / regulations for SENDIST which will impact on parents' right of access and appeal against their children's statements and creates an unfairness to many low income families ofdisabled children. Asking for it to be circulated to familiy and friends and sent to MP's and copy into SENDIST at Mowden Hall, Darlington - consultation finishes on the 11th July 2008.

SAMPLE LETTER

Dear

Re: Children with Disabilities, changes to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal Regulations

I write to you as my member of parliament, because of proposed changes to therules involving the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal. I amextremely concerned that these changes are being produced as a result of a general legal reform which pays no regard to the special role of the Tribunal, and its jurisdiction, which outside of the Family Court, is unique.

The current reforms are providing for an upper / lower tier of tribunals, and are convenient to lawyers, and to the legal administration. They have the following detrimental effect on families of children with disabilities, and special educational needs, and particularly are unfair and handicap the parents. The problems are as follows:

Firstly, the system favours local authorities, by abolishing a restriction on witnesses, and by getting rid of the substantial written elementof the case, which means that the Tribunal is a short cost effective and highly expert body.· Introducing directions hearings, and other administration orders,which will increase the costs.· If the restrictions on witnesses are abolished, plus the introduction of directions will mean that hearings which are generally one day or less, willbe much longer and much more expensive. The current system was brought in because local authorities had a substantial advantage and could call a large number of witnesses. Parents had limited budgets, and were concerned by their children's needs and disabilities, not by the budget. The new system helps local authorities unfairly.·

There is also a proposal that the Tribunal can order a child examined. The Family Court, which has jurisdiction in this area, only does so in certainset circumstances. Special needs appeals take place in circumstances where the authority is bound by statute and regulation as to how far and in whatcircumstances it can examine a child. The current proposals would seek to abolish parental rights, and in addition, create greater power for a local authority to examine a child in tribunal proceedings, than it is given bystatute.

Overall, I am extremely concerned by these changes in rules, and the fact thatthe consultation is really one for lawyers. It is unfair to parents and is only convenient to the Legal Administration. I would be grateful if you take this matter up, not only with the Department for Children and Families, but the Department of Justice. It would seem the bestway to deal with this is to call for these regulations to be actually debated inparliament.

Yours sincerely

Product Fault: Key Words Flashcards

It has come to our attention that some of sets of Reception Key Word Flashcards; are missing two of the high frequency words - 'we' and 'went'. If you have recently purchased this item please can you check that you have these cards.

We are trying to contact customers who may have been affected. If your set of flashcards is affected please let us know and we will send you these additional two words to add to your pack.

We are sorry for any inconvenience caused.

The Queen's Birthday Honours (Part 1)

About a year ago I posted about a petition to get Justin Fletcher made an OBE. This years Queen's Birthday Honours have now been announced and I'm pleased to report that Justin has been awarded an MBE for Services to Children's Broadcasting and to the Voluntary Sector.

So what has Justin done? Justin is the presenter of 'Something Special' which has raised awareness of signing (using Makaton) and put children with special needs onto mainstream children's television (Something Special is shown on CBeebies). Each programme focuses on aspects of the children's world about them (for example, shopping, food, pets and toys) and the format is simple, fun and informative with the language used throughout each programme being supported by Makaton signs and symbols.

Well done Justin.

The New Baby - Preparing for a new sibling

Any parent with more than one child has had to help that child through the transition of being an only child to having a sibling or more siblings and help prepare them for the new baby's arrival. The arrival of a new baby can cause lots of sudden change in a family and before the baby is born, parents typically spend a lot of time on preparations and then after the baby arrives a lot of attention involves meeting the newborn's basic needs. This change can be difficult for older siblings to handle and it is not uncommon for an older sibling to resent the newborn for getting the attention and to react by displaying negative behaviours.

To try and minimise the upset to your existing child(ren) there are steps you can take to prepare your child for all the change, by discussing the pregnancy in terms that make sense to them, by carelful planning and including your child in the care of the newborn, you can make the transition a little easier for the entire family. This post will hopefully give you some good ideas to help your toddler / pre-schooler understand what is happening and help them to look forward to the new baby as much as you are.

To start with, at some point you need to tell your child that you are having a baby, when you do this is up to you. If it is important to you that you tell them rather than them finding out from someone else this may need to be sooner rather than later, we told our four year old after the 12-week scan, mainly because we didn't want him telling people before we did! Young children find it hard to understand the length of a pregnancy so it is a good idea to frame the baby's expected arrival time around fixed events - luckily for us we had our eldest's birthday, then our youngest's birthday and then the baby is going to be born; our four and two year old both seem to have accepted this and are now aware the baby could be born 'any day'. Talk to your children about the new baby by calling him "your little brother or sister" / "our baby" instead of "mummy's new baby" or even "the new baby" so that they know that they are not being replaced but that the baby is someone special to them.

Some activities for during your pregnancy that can help your child prepare for their new sibling are:

• showing them their baby pictures and how they've grown
• reading books about new babies; for example - The New Baby
• visiting friends who have babies
• letting them sort out baby things
• asking their advice about potential baby names
• letting them come to antenatal appointments and involving them in measuring the bump / listening to the baby's heartbeat
• making a scrapbook of baby pictures from magazines, showing nappy changing, baby feeding, sleeping, crying etc
• making a 'birth' day cake

You may find it helpful to involve your child in the decisions about what is going to happen to them during the time you are having your baby. Explain to them what will happen if/when you go to hospital, who is going to look after them and when they will be able to see you. Also discuss the fact that the midwives and doctors will look after you and the baby so you will be ok, in talking to our four year old we found he needed reassuring that these people worked at night so it was ok if the baby was born at night time.

Try to keep your older child(ren)'s routine as regular as possible in the days and weeks surrounding the baby's arrival. If you plan to make any room shifts to accommodate the baby, do it a few weeks before the baby's expected due date. If your older child is approaching any major milestones, like potty training or moving from a cot to a bed, you may want to make those changes well in advance of your due date, or put them off until after the baby has been at home for some time. Some children regress after a younger sibling is born, the best way to deal with this is to give your son more attention for positive big brother / sister acts, than for the baby acts - even negative attention can be motivation for acting "like a baby," so make sure you only reward the behaviours you want to continue. It is important to encourage your older child to talk about feelings they may be having about the new baby. If your child cannot articulate his or her feelings, don't be surprised if he or she acts out by knowingly breaking the rules or reverting to whining or speaking in baby talk. If your child misbehaves, don't bend the rules, but understand what feelings may be motivating that behaviour. It may be a sign that your child needs more one-on-one time with you. Let your child know that although his or her feelings are important, they have to be expressed in appropriate ways.

You might want to plan for your child(ren) to visit you in the hospital as soon as possible after the baby is born and to 'bring their baby' home to show other visitors. The first introduction of the new baby is very important, you might want to have your son choose a present to give to his new sibling and have presents from the baby for the big siblings to exchange the first time they meet. When you introduce the new baby, plan for his new little brother or sister to be in the crib and not in mummy's or daddy's arms so that you can cuddle your older child.

Once the baby is born there are some things you can do to help your older child to adjust to all of the changes. First, it's a good idea to include your child as much as possible in the daily activities surrounding the baby, so that they doesn't feel left out. Your child may be willing to help take care of the baby or they might enjoy role playing with a doll. There will be occasions, for example during breastfeeding, that your older child can't be involved with the baby, and you may find it useful to have toys on hand (last time we had a special box of books and toys that were just for feeding times) so that you can feed the baby without being interrupted or worrying about your older child feeling neglected.

Also remember to try and take advantage of any opportunities for one-on-one time with your older child(ren). Spend some time together while the baby is sleeping and if possible, set aside some time each day for your older children to get one parent's undivided attention. If your child knows that there is special time exclusively for him or her, it may help reduce any resentment or anger about the new baby. You may also want to remind relatives and friends that your older child might want to talk about something other than the new baby!

Have you got any other ideas to share? Please let us know!

Changes / Transitions

Things are constantly changing and there are lots of changes that children experience during their lifetime. Either positively or negatively our four year old is going to have several changes over the next few months; first he's going to gain a new sibling, then he is going to move house and then he is going to start school.

Over the next few weeks there will be a series of posts on this blog about these transitions and how to prepare children for the changes they will experience - do let me know if you have any experiences / information to share!

The changes will also be affecting us here at Littlesheep Learning due to the maternity leave and relocating, your orders maybe slightly delayed from our usually quick despatch. We will also be having a Sale over the next month or so to reduce stock for our move. Unfortunately this move means that some items will be out of stock for longer than usual, please contact us if you need something that is out of stock and we will try and let you know an expected restocking date.

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Down Syndrome Awareness Week

This week (2nd-8th June 2008) is Down's Syndrome Awareness Week, organised by the Down's Syndrome Association.

Awareness Week this year will focus on empowering families and carers of people with Down's syndrome by providing them with knowledge about their rights so that they may demand appropriate services and treatment. The Down's Syndrome Association are producing an easy-to-read guide about the Human Rights Act and how to use it. We will also be asking our members to find out whether their local authority is paying sufficient attention to the Disability Equality Duty and the Human Rights Act.

Every year Awareness Week gives all our wonderful members and supporters the opportunity to stand-up and shout-out about Down’s syndrome and the Association. It is the perfect chance to raise awareness of the work of the DSA and to champion the rights of people with Down’s syndrome.

This video clip was put together especially for this week by Stepping Stones Down Syndrome Support Group, I'm sure you will agree the children are all gorgeous.

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

To celebrate this week the code DSAW08 will save you 10% at Littlesheep Learning (offer ends 9th June).