Our top tips for helping your child get used to their busy new school routine.
Settling in at primary school
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Blog posts for: Age 4-5
Top 8 books about starting school
Starting school is a big milestone in a child’s life – not to mention a parent/carer’s too! Here are eight engaging stories and picture books about starting school to share with your child, to gently prepare them for their first day.
Learning at home during lockdown: Almost over the finish line
If, like us, finding the enthusiasm to keep going with home learning is tricky, here are a few ideas for making it over the finish line.
Teaching number bonds (without any screens)
Lots of schoolwork is being set online at the moment. Here is one example from education expert James Clements of teaching maths skills without a screen.
Boosting early maths skills with number facts
Louise Pennington shows us her top five maths games, including ‘Bunny rabbit ears’ and ‘What’s in the bag?’, to help your child practise their number facts.
Start calculating with Numicon
It can be hard making the jump from counting numbers to calculating. Sheila O’Reilly shares activities to introduce your child to addition and subtraction.
Learning at home: Reading to learn
Education expert James Clements talks about how children who are already confident readers can get the most out of their reading.
Ordering and counting with Numicon
Early Years teacher and mother Sheila O’Reilly shows us how to use Numicon shapes to help your child learn to count and order numbers.
How Numicon can help develop maths skills at home
Early Years teacher and mother Sheila O’Reilly shows us how the 1st Steps with Numicon at Home kit can support your child’s early maths development.
Five ways to improve maths home-learning
Maths expert Andrew Jeffrey shares five easy-to-implement strategies that can make a positive difference to our children’s maths learning at home.
Learning at home: What can we learn from teachers?
Education expert James Clements talks about the lessons we can learn from teachers about helping your child to learn at home.
Learning at home: Learning to read
Education expert James Clements runs through everything you need to keep your child’s reading skills developing during the school lockdown.
Author videos: Storytelling, draw-alongs, and challenges
Over the coming weeks, we are bringing you exciting new challenges, drawalongs and storytimes direct from the very best authors and illustrators. Find out more.
Learning at home: Buying yourself some time
Education expert James Clements shares his ideas for keeping the children busy – in a constructive way – when you need to be getting on with something.
Learning at home: How to prioritise sharing a book
Education expert and writer James Clements talks about the importance of reading to your child to boost their educational success in all sorts of ways.
Learning at home: What would they be learning at school?
Education expert and writer James Clements explains what your child would be learning at school, and how we can use (or not use) the curriculum at home.
Learning at home: Things to get ready for next week
Education expert and writer James Clements suggests 6 practical things you get get ready over the weekend for next week’s learning at home.
Learning at home: Organising the day
Education expert and writer James Clements offers up 4 different approaches to structuring your child’s day learning at home.
Learning at home: Making a start
Educational expert and writer James Clements gives his 3 top tips of how to get started with teaching your child at home.
World Book Day costume ideas
Make this year’s celebration of books and reading extra special with our no-sew World Book Day costume ideas, inlcluding Winnie the Witch and Isadora Moon.
How to help your child with mental arithmetic
Building confidence in maths early on will pay back many times over. Get tips for developing your child’s mental arithmetic skills.
Learning to read in Reception
Find out what sort of books to expect to come home in your child’s book bag, and get top tips on how best to support your child.
Building a strong vocabulary: How to help at home
Headteacher Tracey Smith shares her ideas for fun and easy games you can play to build your child’s vocabulary and boost their confidence with words.
Fractions, decimals and percentages
Flummoxed by fractions? Dismayed by decimals? Perplexed by percentages? Get tips for exploring these tricky concepts at home.
Great books to get boys reading
John Dougherty shares his top picks for books to encourage and inspire your son to read.
Four top tips for getting the most out of non-fiction
There are lots of great reasons to share factual books with your child. Here are our top four tips for getting the most out of reading non-fiction.
Overcoming maths anxiety and being #PositiveAboutNumbers
Derry Richardson talks about combating maths anxiety and becoming #PositiveAboutNumbers, with helpful practical tips for parents.
Language unlocks reading – easy ways to support your child’s early language skills
A recent report highlights the link between children’s early language skills and their life chances. We look at simple everyday activities to boost your child’s communication, language and reading skills.
Brilliant picture books: 22 beautiful books for children under 5
Wendy Cooling MBE has selected her favourite illustrated books to help you introduce your child to the wonders of stories and storytelling.
How gardening can cultivate your child’s maths skills
Science writer Isabel Thomas shares her top five tips for cultivating maths skills in the garden, no matter how big or small your green space and green fingers.
Get messy with measuring
Fiona Lazenby tells us her four top tips for learning about volume, area and capacity at home, and having messy fun in the process!
Why does your child need a dictionary?
Dictionaries are great for developing your child’s vocabulary, but not just any will do. Publisher Sam Armstrong explains how Oxford Children’s Dictionaries can support your child.
The wonder of words: How learning new words can help your child
A rich vocabulary allows a child to enjoy their reading, to express themselves and to learn about the world. James Clements offers tips on how to help your child’s vocabulary develop.
Cerrie Burnell’s top tips for reading bedtime stories
Sharing a book at bedtime helps develop your child’s vocabulary, gets them used to the idea of regular reading, and gives you both a great opportunity to bond. Children’s author Cerrie Burnell gives us her top tips for getting the most out of bedtime reading.
How to choose a book for ages 3–7
Children’s librarian Greta Paterson shares her 5 top tips for choosing books for 3–7 year olds.
Harriet Muncaster’s creative writing challenge
Harriet Muncaster gives her top tips on how to write a story, from developing the characters to designing the plot.
10 top tips to help your toddler go to sleep
Discover how to help your child get a good night’s sleep with these tips inspired by our new book for toddlers, Goodnight, Sleep Tight.
Choosing a primary school
Education expert James Clements gives his advice on how to choose the right school for your child.
Books to inspire young scientists
Science and engineering provide fantastic career opportunities, but science is not just for scientists – it’s a huge part of everyday life. A good grounding in science will help every child to navigate their world and make good decisions. Isabel Thomas recommends books for ages 3–11 to inspire your young scientist.
The word gap: How to build your child’s vocabulary at home
Oxford University Press surveyed over 1,300 teachers who reported that the word gap is not only affecting children’s achievement at school but also that it can have a damaging impact on self-esteem and children’s ability to make friends. Find out what you can do to encourage language development at home.
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Everyday activities to practise subtraction
Subtraction is a key concept in the primary maths curriculum. Here are some easy activities you can try at home to build your child’s skills and confidence.
Matty Long’s top 10 fantasy books for under 5s
Matty Long, author of Super Magic Happy Forest, chooses his favourite fantasy picture books for children under five years old.
Cooking with kids – developing early maths skills
Cooking with your child makes for a fun opportunity to talk about maths together. Author Isabel Thomas shares her tips for using maths while cooking.
The gender gap: how to encourage boys to learn
An important factor in boys’ success at school is what they learn at home. Here are 6 simple ways you can help your child do well in reading and writing.
Ideas to develop problem-solving skills
Isabel Thomas shares her fun, simple ways to explore maths and problem-solving while you’re out and about with the family.
What are reading schemes and why do they matter?
Educational publishing expert Andrea Quincey explains why reading schemes are important, and what the different colours, bands and levels actually mean.
Building reading dens
Isabel Thomas explains how making reading dens with your child can turn reading a book into a special shared adventure with these simple ideas.
Back to school BINGO
Frustrated by single-word answers from your child about the first few weeks at school? Get the conversation started with our Back to school BINGO card.
Children’s dictionaries – how to find the right dictionary for your child
Find the right dictionary for your child with these four useful tips.
Car journey games
Isabel Thomas suggests simple games to keep your child occupied on long car journeys – and to squeeze in a bit of learning on the way!
How to build a girl – books to inspire, encourage, or just reassure your daughter
Books to inspire, encourage, or just reassure your daughter, selected by the award-winning children’s author Joanna Nadin.
Your local library – a forgotten treasure trove
Guest blogger and primary school librarian Clare Turner gives her top five reasons why you should visit the library with your child.
Ideas to sneak learning into everyday activities
Here are education expert James Clements’ favourite ways to teach your child on the sly, supporting their learning while having fun!
How can I support my child with phonics?
There are so many easy things you can do to help support your child’s phonics learning. Here are a few ideas from phonics expert Laura Sharp.
What is phonics?
Education expert Laura Sharp breaks down what phonics is, how phonics is taught in schools, and why phonics is important and useful.
Using storytelling to develop reading and writing skills
Early reading specialist Emily Guille-Marrett talks about how oral storytelling can lay the foundations for literacy skills – as well as being great fun.
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