Earlier this year I named my favourite books for the first half of 2019…so here I am, back again with my picks from the past six months! If you’re looking for Christmas gifts, I’ve made it easy by saying what it is about each of these books that makes it so fabulous. Happy shopping, and happy reading!
For the past couple of years, I have published a blog post around Christmas time, listing my top ten books of the year…And let me tell you, it’s been a nightmare!! It’s so hard to look at a whole year’s worth of fabulous picture books and narrow it down to just ten favourites. This year, I thought I’d make it a bit easier on myself, and break the year in half – clever me! So without further ado, here are ten of my favourite picture books from the first half of 2019. Happy reading!
When I first became a teacher (almost 15 years ago!), I began to hear the terms “gross motor” and “fine motor” discussed in planning sessions and staff meetings. They were concepts with which I was only vaguely familiar – I suspect many parents feel the same way. So I thought it may be useful to demystify gross and fine motor skills here, and suggest some resources and activities you can use at home to help your child develop them!
With a constant supply of new and exciting children’s books being released each week, it’s easy to overlook traditional fairy tales when choosing a bedtime story. However, there are many excellent reasons to continue sharing traditional fairy tales with your children, and some fantastic newer editions of these classic tales that can help to make them appealing to a young audience! Read on.
It’s never too early to start familiarising your children with numbers and counting, and books can be a great way to spark their interest. Together with drawing their attention to numbers in the world around them, sharing counting books with kids is a logical way to help them engage with numbers and begin to learn to count.
So your kids have mastered the alphabet song (sort of…) and you want to feed their newfound fascination with letters by reading some awesome alphabet books? You may have realised that there are more than a few to choose from! Here’s a list of some of my favourite alphabet titles that are both enjoyable and educational, including some lesser-known books that you may not have come across before – happy reading!
I must admit to being somewhat of a social media newbie – I only joined Facebook and Instagram in late 2016. Since then, I’ve come across many slightly creepy accounts, which are sadly draining the confidence of new mums…but I’ve also come across some fantastic websites and social media accounts, filled with great ideas for activities to try at home with young kids! Here are some of my favourites.
Since writing my Screentime vs Storytime blog last month I’ve been on a journey. I’ve continued researching the topic, and while some findings are alarming, they’re also thought provoking. However, simply worrying about the evils of technology won’t help us to raise kids who are prepared for a world dominated by screens… I decided I needed action.
