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Sparkle Box


Introduction


As a parent at this time it is extremely hard for many to keep children on track with their education and access the numerous resources that have been literally pulled together to support children of all ages. But if you have navigated this then great and follow the Education Secretary’s guidance as a priority alongside any work your child may have already received from their school. However, have you considered the actual ‘learning environment’ so that you can reinforce your children’s capacity to access a broader curriculum of knowledge and attainment levels. If not then this blog will give you some great tips to get you going!


Home Schooling - Creating a Positive Learning Environment


Struggling with home schooling? Need some help and guidance? Unsure how to re-create an ‘educational’ learning space for your children? As a qualified primary school teacher you are always looking for new and fresh ideas and resources to help your class to learn and excel in an environment that is bright, cheerful, inviting and challenging. As a parent there’s a lot to get your head around. Especially right now when we seem to be bombarded with teaching resources for children of all ages.


As announced by Education Secretary there are now school lessons available for your children and hopefully you can access them to take some weight off your own shoulders. There are numerous providers steaming in with fantastic resources that you and your children can utilise. Initially when I began this blog it was going to be about the direction you could take to access actual lessons. However, this launch of structured support that is appropriately differentiated for all ages and has allowed me to consider a slightly different perspective that will support your children with their learning beyond the video link lessons and workbooks they may be completing.


At school, primary in particular the learning environment and atmosphere that children work in is VERY different to what they are used to now they are learning from home.


Within school days they work in classrooms which are covered in brightly coloured displays and posters and banners that reinforce the work the learning objectives they are working towards. They have their own space to work in, their own tray to keep books and worksheets safe. This helps to reinforce the learning that takes place without them realising it.


So why not replicate this at home? The basic theory is simple in terms of creating a learning environment for children so that they have a special learning space to go when they are working online or off but, is bright, colourful and full of posters or banners to compliment the work they are doing. Below I have arranged some links to a website called ‘Sparkle Box’, used very widely by primary school teachers as it allows you to download posters, charts, activity ideas and more all for free. I have also included some links to Pinterest which are great as well. Using these links will help you to browse through what you want.


At school the children are used to starting lessons at the same time everyday and having assemblies, playtimes, lunch breaks etc and ideally that’s what they need to incorporate.


Being at home you have another great way of reinforcing learning that isn’t always possible at school. It’s important to show them how the skills that they are learning relate to the ‘real world’. So for example - numeracy lessons can be followed up by using recipes and cooking together, or teaching time throughout the day using both digital and analogue clocks. The value of shopping orders and comparing prices, there are so many opportunities available. You never know, if they love their working environment they may revisit it for additional work as they gain an understanding for what they do.


Top Tips


  • Anything that your child’s school has sent for you needs to be utilised as priority, followed by the Governments specially produced lessons.


  • Structure of the day is important, so if you haven’t already, then set up a timetable so that your children know when they are expected to sit down and learn! Work at the appropriate level for your child giving them breaks. Doing some exercise between sessions will really help them stay on track. Ensure that breaks are the relevant length for your child. There are so many resources available and you could even have family ‘PE lessons’ in your timetable!


  • Make the environment a safe and cheery one! You don’t have to use the links below and print everything. Just pick out what you think is necessary. Posters can be made yourself and some children may prefer this. This way they will approach and execute their learning to a higher level and look forward to their special space.Allow your children to help you in the creation it needs their input to work as best it can. Bring in compromises and guidance where and if you can.


  • If you don’t have the space then try to have a box where your child can store all their work and posters and encourage them to look at it regularly. Just remember to still have an allocated place for them to actually complete their lessons with all their resources around them. Try and put things up on walls around the home if you can or utilise the fridge or freezer.


  • At school good work is recognised in the classroom, on the walls, in assemblies and by sending things home to show. Don’t forget to to this. Find the time to look at their work and if you normally stick it up on the fridge then continue to do so.


  • Grandparents and other family members who normally get shown work could be linked over the FaceTime calls. But why not use your daily exercise to put a copy in an envelope and have a stroll out to the nearest post box and send to them. If they are on their own it’s sure to make them smile.

  • If you have more than one child then you will need a ‘Unique’ learning environment for each child. Some will need it simple and others will want it full of posters! It doesn’t matter how big or small as long as they have what is appropriate to them.


  • Continue to reinforce lessons as explained above. Health and well being are especially important and you can take this opportunity to ensure they are eating well, exercising, learning and have good mental health.


  • Set them an example by scheduling your ‘work at home’ by having everything you need in one space and taking regular breaks.


  • Remember to check in to see how they are getting on with their work. Make sure they understand what they are being asked to do.


Sparkle Box is a fantastic resource and provide loads of brightly coloured teaching resources and display materials that are perfect to decorate any learning space that you might have.


Link - Lots of signs and labels that are bright and colourful.



Maths Posters



Literacy Aids



Foot Movement Activities



Other supportive Links


Pinterest

Pinterest is also a great place to begin. Just log on and enter workspace, children’s learning space etc and you’ll come up with loads of different and creative ideas to help you get set up and started. Just be sure to know that when you visit this site the search ideas that you get are not there from a ‘learning and teaching’ perspective.



As an example this link below shows some children’s yoga which is a fantastic way to find exercises that you can do between education slots that will help fuel the brain and always remember these would be great for the whole family, so if you are working from home then take breaks at the same time and come together. You’ll be much more productive.



I love this one below as well! 87 games to burn energy and very simple to do even in a small space.



We hope this blog has given you some support in developing a positive work space that you and your children can access and create together. Right from the initial thought of creating, to actually getting it into place. Even when ‘proper’ school is back in, you may still need to work from home and children will need a space to do their homework. So it’s worth taking the time to put these plans in place and carry on with something that will be consistent for them, as changing their schedules again will be yet another learning curve.


So whatever you do right now is preparing them for the type of ‘environment’ they will have once back at school making it easier for them to adjust to the surroundings again. So have fun with it and see what happens.


Also, visit us at Time to Heal for some more information and activities, including a Children’s Corner, downloadable resources and parental guidance.



Coming soon are 2 blogs that may be of interest to you.


An introduction to Undefeatables - Exercise For All

So this is where ‘We are Undefeatables’ comes into play and would be a really good place to get started. It’s been running now since August 2019 as a national campaign, lead by Sport England and funded through The National Lottery. It highlights the fact that there are 1 on 4 people in this country who are trying to manage at least one long term health problem and are working alongside 15 health and social care charities. Make physical activity part of your life and especially during the lock down. Find some inspirational stories through the link below and join us on our adventure.



Learning As we Battle


It’s very easy at the moment to see and think in a negative and unhealthy manner when the world is at war to conquer the battle against COVID-19, businesses are going under, the streets are empty and people are forced to stay inside. However, this does give us an opportunity to learn. That could be on a personal level by completing a course online that you like the look of, there

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