Sunday, 22 September 2013
Saturday, 10 August 2013
The Little Soccer Fan
With more and more people liking Little
Football fan,
I would like to reassure you that the iPad and Kindle HD
versions
are currently in the process of being loaded...it shouldn't be
too long now.
Meanwhile, the version for the US market is now done,
the
Little Soccer fan,
and subject to approval by our publisher over there,
will be up and running soon
for the enjoyment of the American children!
for the enjoyment of the American children!
Friday, 2 August 2013
Tuesday, 11 June 2013
Happy Cat!
A dancing cat, a happy cat,
Splashing in the lane,
He'd been to see Fred Astaire,
'Dancing in rain'.
Fab illustration by
Tuesday, 14 May 2013
Schools sign up to charter
On Thursday 9th May I was asked to present a very worthy
Young Carers Charter to one of the schools local
to where I was born in County Durham.
There are 175,000 known young carers in the UK,
and many more who are young carers but are unknown,
who care for a family member
for one unfortunate reason or other.
A young carer is someone aged 18 or under who helps
to look after a relative who has a disability, illness,
mental health condition or drug or alcohol problem.
mental health condition or drug or alcohol problem.
Having read the Charter, it is to be applauded in it's thoughtfulness,
understanding and compassion shown towards young carers
who may be performing difficult
but necessary tasks in their home environment–tasks beyond
what are expected of children so young.
The Northern Echo
TWO schools have been rewarded for
supporting pupils
who have caring responsibilities at home and others are being
encouraged to follow their example.
Chilton Primary School and Woodham
Academy,
in Newton Aycliffe were this week presented
with copies of the County
Durham Young Carers Charter.
Both schools have worked with Family
Action Durham Young Carers
to create a supportive environment for those
youngsters
who help to look after loved ones.
Glynis Newby,
educational
development worker with Family Action, said:
“One in 12 children is a young carer
so we want
all schools in County Durham to sign up to the charter,
it involves
simple inexpensive steps to make
the live of young carers better.”
To sign up to the charter each
school built an environment
where young carers and their families feel safe,
accepted and understood and raised awareness among staff
and pupils of the
pressures some young carers may face.
Young carers should then know they
can turn to
someone at school for help, be it emotional or practical.
Children’s book illustrator Stuart
Trotter,
originally from Ferryhill,
presented Chilton Primary School with its
award yesterday
(Thursday, May 9).
Mr Trotter, whose work includes
illustrating
the Rupert Bear annuals since 2008,
Postman Pat and Kipper books,
said:
“To throw a comforting and
supporting arm around pupils
and families has to be applauded.”
By Catherine Priestley,
Chief Reporter Northern Echo.
Wednesday, 1 May 2013
How picture books boost your child's vocabulary...
From the Daily Mail
PUBLISHED:
1 May 2013
How picture books boost your
child's vocabulary:
Stories with no words help because toddlers ask
questions
about what they see.
- The study looked at 25 mothers as they read to their children at bedtime
- Mothers use a more sophisticated form of language when they picked a picture book compared to a book with words
Books with no words are actually best for boosting
children's language
skills, a study has found.
Want to help your child develop their vocabulary?
Pick a picture book
for their bedtime story.
Books with no words are actually best for boosting
children’s language
skills, a study has found.
Experts said parents who turn to wordless storybooks
end up spending
time discussing the pictures and answering
their toddler’s questions – exposing
them to complicated words.
The study looked at 25 mothers as they read their children a set of
bedtime stories.
Psychologists from the University of Waterloo,
Canada, found the mothers
used more advanced
language when they picked up a picture book
compared
to a book with words.
Study author professor Daniela O’Neill said:
‘Too often parents will
dismiss picture storybooks,
especially when they are wordless, as not real
reading or just for fun.
But these findings show that reading picture
storybooks
with kids exposes them to the kind of talk that is
really important
for children to hear.
‘Mums frequently used more forms of complex talk when reading
the
picture storybook to their child than the picture-vocabulary book.’
She added: ‘Books of all kinds can build children’s language
and
literacy skills, but they do so perhaps in different ways.
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