Cymru ALN - HE & EOTAS : KS2

Showing posts with label KS2. Show all posts

Monday, 13 February 2017

How to bake a cake - by Dawn Baxendale.

I've been home educating for over 10 years and 3 out of 4 of my children have never been to a school for one single day of their lives. Over the years one repeated theme crops up asked by many in the same way....How do I teach them everything - English maths, science, art, etc. They are flabbergasted and astonished when I simply reply "Bake a cake" - "What" and then I show them this picture. I explain that baking a cake is very pleasurable for most people and is a delightful activity to be shared with all the family....but when I explain, do it for the love of doing it then strip out the subjects that you can from the activity rather than trying to cram in many seemingly unrelated activities in to you day, your week or even your year. This is a philosophy through all activities as a home educator and perhaps where we differ most from the school model - we teach and support in harmony each element of living rather than teach them in isolation and hope we can join them up as adults.
Let your imagination run wild - this is just the starter for ten.
I even managed at cooking club to become on first name terms with the local fire brigade...a lesson in itself and the uses of a stone floor

Dawn Baxendale.

#RAK2017 #CyrmuALN.

Saturday, 17 September 2016

Roald Dahl Resources

Roald Dahl was born in Cardiff 100 years ago.

Our Capital is being transformed 'by Roald Dahl' this weekend!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-37387440

Links to useful learning resources

100 teaching ideas on Roald Dahl

Age Appropriate Book List (US grade 2 is UK grade 1)

Activity Worksheets Primary level

Lesson plans to help you teach the stories of his best known titles.

Fantastic Mr Fox Education pack. (pdf file that includes lesson plans)

The Enormous Crocodile - teaching ideas

The BFG - lesson plans for ages 5-11. HUGE workbook

On demand viewing of the Roald Dahl Party hosted by Puffin (34 min video).

Guided reading and discussion resource for Charlie and the Chocolate factory

Bumper Charlie and the Chocolate Factory resource

The Witches - Activity booklet

The Witches - another resource pack here!

Revolting Rhyming Cartoons - I love these :) Video resource.

Matilda - Penguin teachers notes , and another learning resource for you here

James and the Giant Peach - Comprehension Guide and; Schloastic Learning Pack and Film Education Guide

Little Red Riding Hood - Poetry and active listening exercise

November 2016 - Into Film Festival.

There are FREE cinema screenings across the UK for Home Educators. Please note that if you book and are a no show without following the correct cancellation procedures there WILL be a charge made! This is to stop abuse of a wonderful opportunity for Home Educators. Autsim friendly screenings are available, as are venues with disability access but it's a good idea to book in good time for these.

A wonderful FREE opportunity to go see a Roald Dahl Film on the big screen in order to help visual and multi-sensory learners bring his stories to life. Learning resources are provided on the website for you to download and use.

Link to take you to all Dahl Film Events and Resources

"Matilda" is our top pick. This film covers the topic of bullying, which is sadly why some children become home educated. What better way to help a child heal than a nice trip to the pictures together?

Link to downloadable learning resource from the IntoFilm team for Matilda so you can see for yourself if you think it may be helpful for your child in advance.

We've also spotted Dahl films on amazon prime, if you are an existing subscriber, and audio books on sale at the Book People this month. Both film and audio can be very help for encouraging literacy for our reluctant/struggling readers.

Do please add to the comments section of this blog if you stumble across any more Dahl resources you think other families may enjoy using!

Sunday, 24 July 2016

Life skills learning resources.

Ability Levels are intended as an approximate guide only - use your child as your guide!

Life Skills Grades 1-3/Years 2-4

Grade 1 http://www.mml.co.za/docs/FP_Resources/English-Life-Skills-Grade-1-Workbook.pdf

Grade 2 http://www.mml.co.za/docs/FP_Resources/English-Life-Skills-Grade-2-Workbook.pdf
Grade 3 http://www.mml.co.za/docs/FP_Resources/English-Life-Skills-Grade-3-Workbook.pdf

Grade 3/4 Safety & Hazards
http://www.youthsafenb.ca/en/smartchoices/pdf/smart%20choices%20grade%203.pdf

Age Appropriate cyber safety learning resources.
https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/

Teens - ASC money management online course. A free online learning module from the National Autistic Society.
http://www.autismonlinetraining.com/mod/page/view.php?id=229

Key Stage 4 - older teens. Money Management workbook from Barclays.
Social Stories - A free guide to social stories on almost every topic from visiting the dentist& haircuts to dealing with family celebrations. A great one stop shop this! http://www.oneplaceforspecialneeds.com/main/library_social_stories.html

Everyday life
Life is filled with chaos, and we have to learn how to work and solve problems in the midst of it every day. These interactive lessons give you the opportunity to experience these daily challenges without real-world consequences. I really like these for teens with anxiety. http://www.gcflearnfree.org/topics/everydaylife/

Do2learn. In order for communication to take place, a person needs to understand his environment and know what is expected of him. It can be very frustrating to not know what is happening or what to do. Frustration can breed inappropriate behavior. This site is incredibly useful for finding ways to teach what is expected around everyday activities from getting dressed to social emotional skills. Includes help with schedules, story strips, emotional skills training, fine motor skills development etc. One to save to your favourites for sure!

Life skills for parents & carers - Keeping our young digital natives safe.

Parents! Do take a look at these cyber safety sites. Being clued up yourself is the best way to ensure our children and young people stay safe online. Our young digital natives are depending on us!

Sources of help for adults with using the internet in the community. Type your postcode into the database for your nearest source of face to face help in the community. (Lots of Grandparents we know, who help with home education have upskilled themselves to help keep their loved ones safe this way).
https://www.ukonlinecentres.com/

Once again many thanks to Lynne Wilkinson for her help in sourcing some of these links.

Monday, 27 June 2016

KS2+ - FREE Structured core curriculum workbooks etc.

Back in the autumn we came up with a simple, mostly free core curriculum for folks new to Home Education in KS3. Now we've had a look around the web and tried to come up with a similar "starter pack" for new Home Educators of children aged 7+. Where possible we've given an indicative age range but please remember this really is a rough guide only - our children are so individual!

This selection is only designed to give you a flavour for what's out there - and there really is so much to choose from. Hopefully if we achieve one thing it's in helping you see that Home Education does not have to cost a fortune as nowadays there are so very many free resources.

In our Face Book group we take a closer look at more specialised learning resources for children with special needs. It's a great place to find out what works and what doesn't from other parents. We also include discounts for home educators when available on some specialist learning software packages etc. Do join us!

Many thanks to Lynne Wilkinson for helping us compile such a useful selection of FREE resources!