Easter Gift Ideas

I love Easter. It is always around the time of my birthday so growing up there was always lots of family celebrations and plenty of chocolate treats around. It is also seen to be good luck to wear new clothes at Easter so we have carried on the tradition of giving clothes at Easter as well as a few other gifts which are alternatives to chocolate. However a sweet treat always makes its way in too! 

You may be looking for some alternatives to chocolate gifts this Easter. I have put together some ideas which I hope will be useful. 

Developing Spelling Skills

Written by Sheila O’Reilly
Www.instagram.com/rascals_and_rainbows

Following on from my previous phonics blog, I thought it would be helpful to explore how to  develop your child’s spelling skills. Early phonics is the first crucial step in improving your child’s spelling ability, and in turn develop their word attack and reading skills.

In order for children to become good spellers, they need to develop a range of strategies and know when to apply them.

Making Maths Fun

Written by Sheila O’Reilly
Www.instagram.com/rascals_and_rainbows

I’m sure we are all pros at this homeschooling business at this stage right?!😅 Well I thought it might be helpful to share some ways to make Maths more fun, whether you are following home learning set out by school or making additional resources and activities to reinforce Maths concepts at home. 

As we all know, young children learn best when they are playing and we need to make our maths activities practical and fun too. Children grasp concepts much more easily when they are meaningful and hands-on. Maths is all around us every day, when we check the time on our watch, pay for groceries, weigh fruit and veg etc. Therefore, we can introduce maths concepts to children at a young age. Real life experiences are by far the most meaningful for children and they, in turn, can imitate these situations in their play.

Keeping fit and healthy in 2021-Part 2: Children’s physical health.

Written by Sheila O’Reilly
Www.instagram.com/rascals_and_rainbows

In my previous blog, I explored a variety of ways to look after our children’s mental health. Of course their physical health also needs our attention, particularly at the moment during lockdown. Even prior to this lockdown, my little girl hadn’t returned to swimming, tennis or dance lessons as most activities weren’t happening or I was too anxious to send her. So I’ve been trying to ‘think outside the box’ to be more creative in getting my girls moving every day.

We get outdoors for a spell every day unless it’s really pouring down! We all need the fresh air for our mental health, as well as our physical health. To make walks more entertaining, I will usually have a focus for their attention such as a scavenger hunt, looking for nature clues, a colour hunt, bird spotting etc. They are much more enthusiastic when there’s a challenge involved (and will walk a lot further too!!)

Make a Bird Feeder

Over the Christmas Break I saw quite a few ideas of ways to make bird feeders at home. Thought it would be fun to do with the kids and thought I would share here. Having bird feed availiable will hopefully attract more birds to your garden and hopefully you will see more birds for the RSPB big bird watch.

Keeping fit and healthy
Part 1: Children’s mental health.

Written by Sheila O’Reilly
Www.instagram.com/rascals_and_rainbows

Well it may be a new year but here we are back in another lockdown! Working from home, juggling parenting and homeschooling our children is quite a tall order for us all and no doubt the pandemic is taking its toll on our stress levels and mental health. We must remember too that this time is so challenging for our little people. They are missing their usual school routines, extra-curricular activities, mixing with their friends and getting out and about as a family. My own girls have accepted the changes in routine surprisingly well, but there have been tears and frustrations at times too when birthday celebrations have been cancelled, trips to the play park aren’t possible and swimming lessons or trips to the cinema are missed.