In the week that the government announced the go-ahead for schools to welcome a few extra children through their doors in the forthcoming weeks, parents across the country are making one of the hardest choices of their lives to date. For us, going back to school simply isn’t on the cards due to my health, so I am having to take on the position of teacher for the foreseeable.
With schools re-opening, it’s understandable that teachers are having to shift their focus from overseeing homeschooling to the good old classroom teaching. There’s no skepticism that parents are starting to get flustered at the thought of being handed the reins.
For me, I am looking forward to being able to teach Shaniah in a way that I know she prefers to learn. Shaniah is what is known as a kinaesthetic learner, implying that she learns best when participating in physical activities rather than listening to a lecture or watching demonstrations. Whilst I’m looking forward to teaching her in the way she learns best, I can’t help but feel terrified regarding the responsibility of educating her. Thankfully, we are not alone, there are a fair few resources online, such as Learning Resources, who have a great assortment of FREE printable activities and worksheets for children aged 2 to 11, which can also be used alongside the products that they sell.
Learning resources generously sent us Coding Critters Ranger and Zip and Sight Word Swat. Please continue reading to find out how they, along with Learning resources worksheets, are helping Shaniah on her home learning journey.
A helping hand from Learning Resources.
If you got to the learning resources website, you can find activities ranging from Literacy to Math, and from STEM to coding. There are worksheets for learning to tell the time, right through to addition and subtraction. Some of the activities are made to go alongside their learning resources products, however many of the activities require no previous purchase. I love how the worksheets are bright and encouraging, and most importantly FREE!
Introducing coding with Coding Critters
Shaniah has always shown an interest in code, and I know there are many online games to introduce code. However, as I mentioned, Shaniah is a more physical learner, so when we were offered to review this, we couldn’t wait. The Coding Critters range comes in a selection of four. Shaniah loves dogs so obviously we had to have Ranger and little pup Zip! These are completely screen-free programming. Ranger and Pup come with props to bring your coding journey to life. The kit also comes with a storybook with code prompts so you can act out the story using the items within the kit.
Shaniah was able to quickly learn to code ‘fetch’ and play hide and seek between Ranger and Zip. I love how this little set teaches coding, but with a fun and hands-on approach.
Improving vocabulary with Sight Word Swat.
Ever since Shaniah started school we’ve had weekly word strips, some featuring words that can be spelt out, and some with words which can’t, therefore, need to be memorized. I tried to think of a fun and engaging way to make sight words more memorable, sometimes hiding them around the house, other times getting her to write them out on her whiteboard. These ideas worked for a short while, then the novelty wore off and it became, dare I say it, boring. This is when we decided to try out Sight Word Swat.
The pack comes with 4 plastic swatters and 150 double-sided fly cards featuring 300 high-frequency words. More still, the sight word flies are colour-coded by phase from the Letters & Sounds program, and tricky words are highlighted in bold and yellow, for easy identification and to remind children that they can’t sound out these words phonetically, what a brilliant idea!
Shaniah has had this pack for a little over two months now, and honestly, I have seen a massive change in her ability to read. the concept of the game seems so simple, yet you can switch it up so many ways. depending on whether you want a quick and slow-paced game or a long and quick one. We’ve played this game as a lesson, and we’ve played it as a wind-down end of day game, the possibility is endless. Shaniah also loves the idea of the ‘swats’ I mean, what child wouldn’t? You could use the flies as flashcards too!
Sure, homeschooling is going to be challenging, but Learning Resources has shown that we are not doing this alone, companies are willing to lend a hand when you need it the most.
Should you be interested in grabbing one of these learning aids or maybe even just fancy browsing the products Learning Resources have to offer, you can find them all on their website here.
