Tell us Tuesday: twinkl

Having picked up a couple of free resources from twinkl.co.uk before, we at BAPN were thrilled to be given a platinum subscription to review. We started in the Parent section, thinking it would have some helpful ways to support homework and prepare children for school, and were particularly impressed by the helpsheet on phonics. This is a tricky topic for many people working with children out of school as it wasn’t the way we were taught to read and it wasn’t the approach taken when many of us were training. As a nanny it can be difficult to keep up to date with the latest developments in schools so this guide helps to break it down quickly and easily into what you really need to know. All the resources can be printed easily and have fun, detailed illustrations. We particularly liked the cutting skills workbook – it’s beautifully designed and gives children the opportunity to progress from cutting straight lines to more complex cutting out.

We also took a peek at the Early Years area, which had some brilliant lessons plans that could easily be adapted for use at home. The Autumn one is full of stunning ideas and easy cross-links make it so simple to find the activities needed. Many nannies like to work with loose topics that a child has shown an interest in. The IPC (which stands for International Primary Curriculum) has some brilliant ideas for themes covering animals to transport, and our personal favourite – treasure (that means pirates, me hearties!).

If you’re interested in resources to reinforce a particular area such as numeracy or literacy the layout makes it really easy to home in on what you need. There’s a great range and often a topic is presented with many different types of resource. We used a selection of resources on shape which included colouring in, playdough mats, dominoes and cutting out. There were obvious links to other areas of learning – for example asking a child to colour certain shapes one colour and other shapes a different colour. If we had a tiny criticism of the way things are labelled it would be that we want more info on what skills are being worked on apart from the obvious one you searched for.

Even if you’re just looking for something to keep children occupied, or to involve younger charges while older siblings are doing homework, there are tons of different themed activities so you should find something for everyone. Twinkl have also kindly provided a forum for users, sensibly divided by age, stage and role (although there sadly isn’t a section for nannies). It’s a bit quiet in there but hopefully it’ll liven up.

It’s well worth paying for a subscription in our opinion, because then you get instant access to all the newest resources. It’s a reasonable price – £24.99 per year for the Gold service and £39.99 for the Platinum service for individuals – and if you volunteer in a school let them know that Twinkl are offering a free trial for schools. For members of BAPN we have one platinum subscription to give away! All you have to do is email us with your membership number saying ‘I love twinkl’ to be entered into the draw.

Tell Us Tuesday The allergy and free from show

The Allergy and Free from show
7th-9th of June at the Olympia

“This is the second year that I have been to the Allergy show I London but this year was a wow. It was bigger and better than other years – there were 242 exhibitors and over the 3 day period there were 21,803 visitors.

I went on Friday and took along a suitcase as I know you can get some really good bargains at these shows. As I have loads of allergies and need free from foods it is a great place to try before you buy.

Not only did I have an amazing time eating and learning new things I found out lots about how children can be affected and how to help them on a day to day level. There was a great CPD Master class providing 4 CPD credits about Milk Allergy, IBS, Anaphylaxis and Allergic Rhinitis, it was great and I hope to follow up this with a chat to the Milk Allergy expert about Allergies in children later this year.

The Allergy and free from show has a second exhibition in Liverpool on the 26th – 27th of October at the BT Convention Centre and they have given us free tickets to all our members just us this link.

I have not attended this event in Liverpool but if it’s anything like the London one it’s not to be missed.

I made a lot more contacts and was able to try some foods which I haven’t eaten in years. I will definitely be attending next years’ show in London so I’ll let you know if we are lucky enough to get some more free tickets.

Penny”

Shark in the Dark by Peter Bently

Today we’re reviewing Shark in the Dark

If you love the likes of The Gruffalo and The Snail And The Whale by Julia Donaldson then this bouncy ocean tale is definitely for you. The shark is coming up from the depths of the sea to terrorise the fish but ends up biting off more than he can chew.

There’s a good balance between simplicity and new vocabulary in this book, and the rhymes don’t feel forced. It’s a big hit with my 2 year old charge who is now able to recite large chunks and identify the different types of fish. We also did a couple of ocean themed crafts, making a jellyfish and whale using paper plates and a squid from odd socks. By the way, do you know the differences between a squid and an octopus? We do now!

For slightly older children there’s a couple of morals to discuss about our behaviour towards others and working together, and the story is engaging enough to keep their attention. It’s quite good for confident early readers, with lots of material for practising phonics, and older readers can be encouraged to practice expressive reading and different voices for the fish.

Illustrated by the same artist who worked on Aliens Love Underpants there is plenty to see and talk about in the pictures, which really add to the story and provide lots more to talk about.

All in all a great book. Add it to your Christmas list!