Uncategorized

All children love to draw and paint, but why do they do it and what can their creations tell us about them? Dr Helen Jones explores the meaning behind the art and explains how to help your child’s creativity flourish: Table of contents: Art is personal At the very earliest stages of evolution our forebears […]

Dr. Helen Jones joins us to explore the Montessori Method, one of the earliest and most influential approaches to early years education. Table of contents: What is the Montessori approach? Why is the Montessori approach important? What are the five principles of the Montessori method? What are some typical Montessori Activities? Final word The Montessori

What are your childhood memories of Christmas? Do you remember the toys you got? Or do you remember the experiences you had? There’s only one toy I remember getting and that’s because it wasn’t the one I’d spent all year hoping for. 🙁 But that toy aside, when I think of childhood Christmases I think of sitting

“Every child is an artist. The problem is to remain one when we grow up.” Pablo Picasso Do you cheat when you do craft activities with your child? Do you ‘fix’ mistakes and tidy up the messy bits? How does your child feel about that? When we embark on a festive, creative activity with our

Have you ever said, “I’m rubbish at maths”, or “I can’t draw to save my life”. These negative beliefs affect your ability to overcome challenges. As Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can, or think you can’t – you’re right.” Psychologists call this self-efficacy. In this guide, Dr. Helen Jones shows us how to help our children

“In play, a child is always above his average age, above his daily behaviour; in play it is as though he were a head taller than himself” Lev Vygotsky, child psychologist  When you watch your child attempting a task that is beyond their current capabilities (the nail biting moment your baby decides to cross the concrete patio for the first time or your toddler scales the kitchen cupboard)

What is private speech? Do you remember talking to yourself as a child? You spoke as you played, narrating the action but also guiding yourself and talking through problems. This is private speech. It can take the form of dialogue between characters or commentary upon the action. As we’ve seen elsewhere on the blog, social

How do children learn? How does your child learn? Like circles in a Venn diagram the answers to these questions overlap, but not entirely. Every child is unique and though what you’ll read below applies in general, it’s vital that you take the time to observe your child’s play and see what works for them.

Are you finding it hard to devote enough time to your children during lockdown? Sarah Thompson, our copywriter, shares her experience of a positive parenting course where she learnt some helpful techniques. Being a self-employed writer who works from home, going full lockdown hasn’t been too much of a leap for me. But having both

Can you tell the difference between a good wine and a bad one? What is it that marks one from the other? Have you ever tried tasting two wines side by side to see which was best? Did you have the skill to notice and the vocabulary to label what you discovered? When you taste-test