Blog Sitting

What do you do when you have a blog and are going to be without an internet access? Well here is the answer - you find a 'blog sitter'.

For the next few weeks I'm 'blog sitting' for Melitsa at Play Activites whilst she moves house.

Play-activities is a free and fun educational site which provides a daily or weekly e-mail for parents of children under 5 and a blog full of ideas. Sign up and gain access to a wide range of activities to help your child develop a balanced play life, have fun, and enjoy a good mix of the early childhood skills identified by child health professionals.

Take a look!

Eight Random Things about Littlesheep Learning

I've never been 'tagged' on my blog before but Melitsa tagged me today to share 8 random things about myself / Littlesheep Learning. I've been meaning to mention Melitsa's site Play Activities and blog for a while - both are packed full of FREE activity ideas for you to play with your children.

Anyway eight random things...

1. I like numbers / cool dates so Littlesheep Learning was launched on 05.05.05, the revamp was planned for 07.07.07 and launched on 09.08.07!
2. Littlesheep is one word - and it really annoys me when people (mainly suppliers) correct it for me - the alliteration doesn't work otherwise.
3. I'm a planner so it takes me ages to make a decision / get anything done.
4. I like bright RAINBOW colours.
5. I never thought that I would be running my own business - Littlesheep Learning is definitely mine though!
6. I studied Occupational Therapy but should done teacher training as I've spent more time teaching!
7. I have some great (and inspirational work at home mum (WAHM) friends running a huge range of different businesses.
8. My favourite products are the colour and shape bean bags

Now I just need to find some people to tag...

• Sally at TreeHugger Mums
• Chell at Chelltune
• Jane from PinkFairyCake
• Sue from Picture Dreams

Anyone else reading this who blogs feel free to be tagged too!

Media Coverage

I've been busy submitting press releases about the launch of Littlesheep Learning's new site and I'm pleased to announce that it has been published at TreeHugger Mums, see here to have a read.

Back to School

I know that the weather this summer has been less than ideal holidaying weather but like it or not the school holidays are drawing to a close.

So Littlesheep Learning has a fantastic way of helping you get ready for school...
Spend over £15* before 1st September and get a FREE Back to School Pack containing a Handhugger Pencil, Handhugger Pen and a pair of scissors**.

* after any discounts and not including P&P
** please specify if you would prefer a pair of left handed scissors

Fantastic Down Syndrome Advert

A friend just sent me a link to a really positive advert for the Down's Syndrome Association. Take a look!

It reminds me that children are generally very accepting of children with differences. To them it often doesn't matter what their friend 'can't' do they always find something that they can.

Competition

I'm pleased to announce a new competition at Littlesheep Learning. One lucky prize winner will receive a copy of Dotty Dinosaurs.

To enter please answer the following question:
How many dressing skills are in the Fabric Skills Book?

Send your answers by email including your name and address.

Competition Closes at Midnight on Friday 14th September 2007.

Full terms and conditions can be found here.

Walking to School

I saw a report published today by the Institute of European Environmental Policy which blames over-use of cars for fuelling the "twin crises" of global warming and the obesity epidemic. It suggests that banning cars around schools would instil good habits early on and call for "concerted action". In addition to the exclusion zones for schools, the report also called for the government to invest heavily in making Britain's streets more attractive to walk in.

We walk quite a bit and our three year old who was evicted from the pushchair by his baby brother a year ago!) can currently walk for about half an hour whereas others we know would still need a pushchair / buggyboard. Walking in our city isn't particularly pleasant or child friendly though as we have to walk along narrow pavements trying avoid parked cars, broken glass and dog poo - so anything to improve the attractiveness of the streets would be great.

I also found it interesting to read this report as we are currently looking for a new house and the ability to walk to school is high on our agenda. Having worked in schools I've seen the nightmare of congestion at dropping off and picking up times and I don't want to be part of that!

I wonder whether other parents feel the same? Do you walk to school? Do you think that walking to school affects child obesity?

Our New Site is Live

We have been working very hard with Alison at Daffodil Design and are pleased to announce that our NEW site is now live.

Take a look at Littlesheep Learning and let us know what you think!

Don't forget our special offers:

Monthly Special
Telling the Time

Sale Items
Crash, Bang, Wallop and Cock-a-doodle Moo (tape versions)

Plus
Anyone ordering before 15th August gets a FREE Handhugger pencil Handhugger Pencil

AND
For this weekend only to celebrate our relaunch quote specialday at the checkout to save 5%

Customer Feedback

It's always nice to receive feedback from satisfied customers, here is an email I received this morning:

"Just a quick note to say how impressed I am with your service. I ordered the Roll n' Write Letters on a Friday afternoon, via the internet, and they turned up Monday morning, via Parcelforce.I have used the product at a previous school, and was so impressed, I have ordered these from my own pocket for my class. It was lovely to also receive a free little book within the package.Thank you again for your superb service."

Test Results

It's that time of year again when the exam and test results are published and there is the argument about whether standards are improving or failing.

The primary school national test results in England have shown a slight improvement in English, maths and science. Overall in this years 'SATS' taken by 11 year olds, there was a rise of one percentage point.

80% of pupils who reached the expected standard in English; 77% in maths and 88% in science. Again girls have achieved much better results than boys in English - with four in 10 boys still failing to meet the expected level for writing.

The results, based on tests taken by 600,000 pupils, continue the picture of gradual improvement - with little change in the past three years and the targets set for 2006 for English and maths, have still not been reached.

Schools Minister Andrew Adonis welcomed the "best set of Key Stage 2 results we have ever seen", but added "We won't be satisfied until we get all children up to the expected level in literacy and numeracy." With the 85% target missed for two years in a row, he said discussions were on-going about where the government "went next with targets". From September, there will be a renewed emphasis on using phonics to teach reading and more mental arithmetic "to accelerate the pace of learning".

Harry Potter Magical Activities

With the release of both the Harry Potter book and film in the last few weeks children everywhere have gone Harry Potter crazy. As it’s the school holidays, children may be reluctant to practice ‘school’ skills so here are some magical activity ideas that help your children practice the important skills of writing, spelling, and reading without realising it.

Write out your Potions Spells
Have you been paying attention in potions - does making up fancy potions appeal to you? Roll paper into scrolls and write out spells using ink pens, some children may like use quills / fountain pens to practice calligraphy, for others just starting to write use a beginners ink pen.

Mix up Potions
Make your very own potion cocktails by mixing up your favourite fruit juices - our favourite is orange and pineapple. You can use measuring cups to practice measuring and counting skills.

Or practice colour mixing by making potions using water coloured with food colourings.

Magical Secret Writing
Put some lemon juice into a cup and write a secret message by painting with the juice onto paper. When the writing is dry it will vanish until it is gently warmed over a radiator, by a lamp or with a hair drier.

Or write your secret message with a white wax crayon / candle. To discover the message paint over with water based ink and the message will appear.

Secret Codes
You don't need to study ancient runes like Hermione to be able to write in codes, make up your own secret codes.

The easiest secret codes are replacing letters with numbers so a=1, b=2, c=3 etc or moving the whole alphabet on a letter so that a=b, b=c, c=d etc or you could reverse the alphabet so a=z, b=y, c=x etc.

Or you could make up your own 'rune' symbols for each letter.

Magical Creatures
Invent your own magical creatures; take a strip of paper and fold it into three segments. Draw a head on the first segment and fold it over so that it is hidden, swap it with a friend and then draw a body, swap again and add legs. Can you think of some names for your new creatures.

Magical Model Making
Use old cardboard boxes to make a model of Hogwarts Castle or the Hogwarts Express.

Being a Hogwart's Student
Lastly, don't forget to dress up as a witch or wizard.

Go for a walk and find a wand that 'chooses' you, will you find a stick from an oak tree, a willow tree or something else. Have fun identifying the trees on your walk. Practice your 'swish and flick' techniques for good gross motor movement.

Things to do on a Sunny Day

In order to balance the rainy day post from the other day I thought I'd post some of our favourite sunny day activities as we've now had some nice sunny days.

1. Water painting - fill a bucket with water, provide your children with large paint brushes and get them to paint the outside of the house / the garden wall or fence.
2. Make ice lollies - put some fruit juice into lolly molds and freeze - make rainbow lollies by using different colour juices (for example cranberry and orange) pouring in a small amount and freezing before topping up with the next colour or pop some fruit pieces in with your juice to make a 'spotty' lolly.
3. Play with shadows - what shapes can your hands make? can you run away from your shadow? or even make your shadow hide in other shadows?
4. Go for a nature walk - what can you spot? Can you find dandelions, daisies, butterflies or ladybirds?
5. Have a picnic - you don't have to go far, a nearby park or even the garden is just as exciting for children.
6. Go to the park - children love climbing, sliding and swinging, ask around to find out the best ones. In the past we've had fun at Diana Princess of Wales' Memorial Playground and more recently we spent a fantastic day at Bewilderwood - Please let us know of your favourite play areas.
7. Do some 'gardening' - dig for worms, make mud pies or even plant some seeds!
8. Spend time doing inside activities but outside! Share a book or a jigsaw under the shade of a tree for some quiet time.
9. Painting - put big sheets of paper on the ground outside and have lots of fun - it doesn't matter how much mess is made as you can always wash your children off outside!
10. Splash around in a paddling pool

Don't forget when spending time outside - to keep covered up, use suncream, wear sunhats and sunglasses, take care in or near water and make sure you have plenty to drink.

August's Monthly Special

This month's special offer is Telling the Time - reduced to £3.34 (a saving of 33%). Hurry and get your copy now as the offer is only available whilst stocks last.

Customers who have reviewed this book have given it the maximum of 5 stars and left these comments:

"Lovely and visual book for teaching the time. This book is good as the clock is interactive allowing the child to turn the clock to the time stated in the story. The story is lovely about a life on a farm - bliss!"

"Great book for starting to learn to tell the time and to see the different times things happen during the day. Especially that bedtime is at 7pm even if it is still light outside!"

Creative Cards

We've had a few birthdays amongst our family, being known for 'doing stuff' with the children it's come to be expected that I'll (sorry our children will) produce a handmade card. I've learnt from experience that simple is generally the most effective as Mr I Can Do It (aged 3) wants to do it himself and has the concentration of a typical three year old and Mr I Want To Do It Too (aged 1) thinks he can join in.

These two cards have been made using a similar theme.

A piece of white A4 card folded in half and 'coloured' with a base colour by Mr 'I Can Do It' with a few doodles from Mr 'I Want to Do It Too'. We discussed the colour needed and sorted the crayons so only the correct colour ones were on the table (incidental learning of colours / matching and sorting!).

For the windsurfing card we did a google image search for sailing but then Mr 'I Can Do It' explained he wanted "a boat the man falls off" so we found a windsurfing picture and printed it off, cut it out and glued it on. I did the cutting but if you are card making with an older child / or have a simpler shape picture they could cut it out themself.

For the flower card, I cut out six 'flower' shapes and we cut out the three contrasting circles together. We assembled two flower shapes and topped off the flowers with the circle inners. The bumble bee was coloured and striped by Mr 'I Can Do It' and he stuck on the star glitter.

There are some more easy card making ideas in my article Father's Day Cards at Treehugger Mums. Have a go and create some home made treasurers for your friends and family whilst practicing the important fine motor skills of writing and drawing and cutting.

Things to do on a Rainy Day

The school summer holidays are here but the weather is being far from summery, here are our top 10 things to do on a not so sunny summers day.

1. Build a den – use dining chairs / clothes airer and blankets to make a cosy tent, add cushions or duvet to snuggle inside.
2. Play with playdoh – roll it, squash it, cut it, shape it; you are only limited by your imagination!
3. Have a treasure hunt – hide some treasure and make up some clues to it’s location; younger children can follow picture clues (either of the location or something you find there) and older children can have fun guessing the answer to cryptic clues, questions or solving anagrams.
4. Turn your living room into a cinema – make some popcorn, pull the curtains and put on a favourite video or DVD; if you want to really get into the role play make yourselves some tickets too!
5. Do some cooking – check out Pinkfairycake’s blog for information about cooking with children.
6. Go on a puddle jumping walk – make the most of the rain! Dress up in waterproofs and wellies, take your umbrella and have a splashy walk; who can find the biggest puddle?
7. Play turn taking games – our favourites are Shopping List and Cock-a-doodle Moo.
8. Get out the craft box – cutting, sticking, drawing and colouring are great for developing fine motor skills.
9. Have a disco - put on your favourite music and dance!
10. Share a book - we like spotting things in our copy of Everyday Words.

Let us know what you are up to, so we can all fill these wet days.

Summer Holidays - Free gift with every order!

To celebrate the start of the school holidays we are offering a copy of the Usborne First Experiences Going on a Plane book with every order until 1st August.

Plus we still have some great bargains so hurry and take a look.

Our new look website will be coming soon so don't forget to keep checking back!

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