Category Archives: 2020

#TechTuesday

I really enjoy using iPad apps to help the children explore the world around them. In particular, the TinyBop apps (available on ios, android and google play) are excellent for unravelling layers of understanding. Although these apps are not free, they do come in bundles which reduce the overall price of each app. TinyBop haveContinue reading “#TechTuesday”

#MondayMotivation

Education must not simply teach work – it must teach Life. W. E. B. Du Bois I have always believed that the purpose of school is to produce young people who have experienced a broad and balanced curriculum which has prepared them to enter the real world and become useful citizens. Education should never beContinue reading “#MondayMotivation”

#SundaySelfCare

It’s very easy to think that self care is inherently selfish. It isn’t. You can’t care for others if you aren’t caring for yourself. That said, self care shouldn’t be an excuse for continuing unhealthy behaviours or spending excess money you don’t have; creating debt is not an act of self care. One of myContinue reading “#SundaySelfCare”

Audible – Resource Review

Audible is normally a subscription service which requires you to have an account (which happens to be something I have had for years now), but for the duration of the COVID-19 lock downs, audible have made a collection of hundreds of children’s audio-books available for free without needing to sign up to a monthly paymentContinue reading “Audible – Resource Review”

#FridayReflection

As the first week of lock down comes to an end (because, let’s be honest, the weekends don’t really count if you’ve been socially distancing properly!), I think it’s time to reflect a little on the changes and challenges it has brought. This week, I started delivering lessons online using my school’s Virtual Learning EnvironmentContinue reading “#FridayReflection”

Thursday #ThoughtOfTheDay

There should be no pressure to formally “home school” during this time of crisis. This isn’t home schooling. This wasn’t a choice to take a child out of formal education. This is an unprecedented event which no one could prepare for, and it is as scary and unsettling for children as it is for parents,Continue reading “Thursday #ThoughtOfTheDay”

#TechTuesday

One of my favourite websites and apps for sharing information with my students, particularly those with poor concentration or issues with working memory, is join.me. Available both as a free and ‘pro’ edition, join.me allows screen sharing between PCs, tablets and mobile phones. I have used it in class – sharing the information from myContinue reading “#TechTuesday”

#MondayMotivation

I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. Maya Angelou In times of crisis and fear, it is easy to forget that children are emotional sponges. Whatever we feel, they feel. When we’re happy, they’re ecstatic. When we’reContinue reading “#MondayMotivation”

#SundaySelfcare

Mindfulness seems to be everywhere at the moment, but what is mindfulness? Really, it’s taking a short while to just be in the present in the current moment. For some people this can look like meditation, but meditation doesn’t need to be intimidating or scary. I enjoy using the Headspace app to take just 10Continue reading “#SundaySelfcare”