Top Tips for Helping Your Child with Maths
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Mathematics is not only an important part of your child’s education, but it is also an essential life skill. Maths helps children to understand numbers, patterns, and shapes; and it can also encourage them to think of new concepts and ideas.
Being positive about maths is hugely important for parents. If you express doubt about your own maths skills, or suggest that it is your least favourite subject, it can have a negative impact on your child’s attitude towards maths. Here are some top tips from a junior school in Kent, on how to help your child with their maths learning at home…
Make maths fun
Try to make maths as fun as possible, by incorporating it into everyday activities. For example, ask your child to help you measure out the ingredients for baking or ask them to work out your change when you are shopping. By practicing maths in this way, your child won’t even realise that you are giving them a maths lesson!
Speak to the teacher
It does help to understand how your child is being taught maths at school. This is because it will help you to practice the same techniques at home and teach maths at the correct level for your child. Speak to your child’s teacher to find out what they are currently working on and what you can do to support your child’s learning.
Learn online
There are many useful online resources that can help to improve your child’s maths skills. Simply search for educational websites aimed at your child’s age group. Many of these learning activities are free and often include games, which can help to make maths much more exciting.
Learn through play
Roleplay games are a great learning method for youngsters. Play shopkeepers with your child and use pretend money to teach them how to count. For older children you could use board games as learning tools. Dominos and Monopoly are both great games for practicing maths and reinforcing key STEM skills.
Why Are Chores Important for My Child's Overall Development?
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To give children autonomy, self-respect, and an understanding of their own responsibilities, one would recommend giving them age-appropriate chores. These chores allow children to understand the elements that constitute their own personal development. In this guide from an independent girls school in London, we take you through the ways chores improve your child’s developmental skills and boost their confidence.
Children are taught the importance of being responsible
Being responsible is a core technique in training children to look after themselves and be able to act like mature and reliable adults. They’re learning how to complete tasks for themselves, essentially, so by giving them chores and other tasks to do on a regular basis they’re learning how to do things they’ll eventually be doing without your supervision.
Children are taught how to use their initiative
Wouldn’t you love it to come home to a clean house because someone took the initiative? It’s a great skill to have and can really impress friends and parents because they took responsibility and thought they could help out at home. Training children to know when a house needs tidying can prepare them for looking after their own homes in the future and keeping on top of their cleanliness. This can also give children a sense of accomplishment once their chores are done.
Children can see the benefits of being rewarded
A lot of motivation to complete chores is done through rewarding your child, but while that’s tempting to do each week it should only be done in certain circumstances. To make rewards seem more like your child’s earning them, set up a chart where your child can receive gold stars to work towards bigger rewards. Children are learning how to set goals, work hard for good results and try their best with the chores they’re given, even if they don’t get it right the first time around.
Reduce Skiing Costs During Your Vacation
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Skiing and snowboarding are considered to be somewhat costly sports, but they are constantly gaining new friends around the world. During the excursions to the ski resorts, your visits can become more affordable and economical if you follow the following tips, whether you are a beginner or advanced.
Look for cheap ski resorts in Europe
Suppose you are looking for cheap ski resorts. In that case, Italy can be a good
and relatively inexpensive choice (Dolomites, Cervinia, etc.) with a low cost for
food and overnight, with Austria as the following country. France may seem
cheap at first, as you can find affordable accommodation but all other activities
can be expensive. In any case, you can trust a booking company such as ErnaLow, which can design personalized accommodation for you at very reasonable
and attractive prices. Also, for a trip abroad, in the cost of your travels, do not
forget to include the transfer from the airport to the winter resort and your
travels there. Usually renting a car can be the best option, especially if you are a
large group.
When is the best time to visit a resort?
Avoid periods that are popular in the country you are going to visit. Usually, these periods are Christmas and the month of February. So look at the prices before Christmas, in January and towards the end of the winter season, in March / April. If you have the comfort, you can go midweek instead of the weekend, probably with less money. It would be good to consider if there is a major ski/snowboard tournament at the ski resort you are planning to go to that may raise prices. Also, closing flights and the hotel early enough can save you even more money.
Reduce equipment costs
If you are a beginner, then the best thing you can do is rent so that you do not buy the ski equipment you will use a few times, or it will not be suitable. For the best prices, rent the equipment online much earlier and not when you are at your destination. If you can, borrow some of the equipment from friends to reduce costs further. In case you want to buy the equipment, you can direct your purchases to specific items. For example, a cheap jacket may not bother you, but you may wish for good-quality pants and gloves to keep you warm. In addition to clothing, we recommend that you buy boots but avoid buying skis or a snowboard. The reason is that you can put the boots in your luggage if you go by plane to your destination. For ski/board, you will have to pay extra for their transportation, primarily when you use one of the cheap airlines. Besides, you should maintain them every season that can cost you.
Reduce the cost of the courses
To enjoy your time in the mountains, you must have at least a basic knowledge of the technique; otherwise, you may put yourself and others at risk in addition to the difficulties. So if this is your first time, you will need to take classes. You can usually book one-hour classes with a tutor either online or at your destination. You can also take group lessons which may be cheaper. Consider if you need a fold for the slopes as it can be part of the lessons' cost or take classes on the children's track. You can avoid the cost of the lessons if you have a friend who is willing to teach you the basics. You can also find many videos on the internet with skiing or snowboarding lessons and tips to help you to some extent.
When is the best time to visit a resort?
Avoid periods that are popular in the country you are going to visit. Usually, these periods are Christmas and the month of February. So look at the prices before Christmas, in January and towards the end of the winter season, in March / April. If you have the comfort, you can go midweek instead of the weekend, probably with less money. It would be good to consider if there is a major ski/snowboard tournament at the ski resort you are planning to go to that may raise prices. Also, closing flights and the hotel early enough can save you even more money.
Reduce equipment costs
If you are a beginner, then the best thing you can do is rent so that you do not buy the ski equipment you will use a few times, or it will not be suitable. For the best prices, rent the equipment online much earlier and not when you are at your destination. If you can, borrow some of the equipment from friends to reduce costs further. In case you want to buy the equipment, you can direct your purchases to specific items. For example, a cheap jacket may not bother you, but you may wish for good-quality pants and gloves to keep you warm. In addition to clothing, we recommend that you buy boots but avoid buying skis or a snowboard. The reason is that you can put the boots in your luggage if you go by plane to your destination. For ski/board, you will have to pay extra for their transportation, primarily when you use one of the cheap airlines. Besides, you should maintain them every season that can cost you.
Reduce the cost of the courses
To enjoy your time in the mountains, you must have at least a basic knowledge of the technique; otherwise, you may put yourself and others at risk in addition to the difficulties. So if this is your first time, you will need to take classes. You can usually book one-hour classes with a tutor either online or at your destination. You can also take group lessons which may be cheaper. Consider if you need a fold for the slopes as it can be part of the lessons' cost or take classes on the children's track. You can avoid the cost of the lessons if you have a friend who is willing to teach you the basics. You can also find many videos on the internet with skiing or snowboarding lessons and tips to help you to some extent.
Children's Party Bags With PoundToy - Review & Giveaway
AD - I was gifted a £50 voucher to use on the website for the purpose of this review.
PoundToy is an online shop that supplies an impressive range of toys, games, puzzles, crafts, and more, all at brilliant prices - many being £1 and under. I've worked with PoundToy previously, however, even before that they were my go-to for pocket money treats, birthday party gifts, stocking fillers, and so on.
I recently got back in touch with PoundToy to ask if they'd like to collaborate again, this time with a party bag angle. With Noah's 6th birthday party coming up I thought it would work well and I was excited to see how far £50 credit would stretch when it came to filling party bags for 12 children.
The first thing I added to my basket was the party bags! Yes, PoundToy even sells party bags. In this particular pack, there are 12 party bags, costing a reasonable £3.00. They come in an array of different colours so you don't need to worry about children wanting certain colors on the day. I always opt for the paper party bags over the plastic-type, for aesthetic and environmental reasons.
I then headed to the craft supplies section on the website because I think that colouring books and crayons are essential for children's party bags. I chose x6 Paw Patrol colouring puzzles with crayons and x7 Despicable Me carry along colouring sets, all for 99p each. I did want to buy x12 Despicable Me carry along set colouring sets, however, you are only able to order a set amount of items when it comes to certain products. I'll pop these randomly inside each bag as his friends are fans of both Paw Patrol and Minions.
Next, I chose x12 Slime Play make your own slime - 60p each and x4 multipacks of dough - £1.50 each. These are the items that I hope the parents don't begrudge me for, but most kids love slime and dough! The packs of make your own slime can be relatively mess-free when used in a sink, or in a plastic container in the garden.
13 Dino Gliders were then thrown into the mix, adding £5.20 (40p each) to the total. Gliders take me straight back to my childhood and the hours of fun that I had with them. It's fantastic that they are still around, all these years later, and that my children get to enjoy them too.
I finished the party bag with x10 sticky men (I couldn't add anymore than 10 of this product) which cost just 1p each and x13 little bags of Haribo - £2.60 for the lot. I'm aware that the sticky men are bits of plastic, which will eventually end up in landfills, however, if you look at the rest of my products I've avoided many single-use plastic items.
I had a little bit of money left over so I spent the rest on a couple of small gifts for the birthday boy. Noah is a huge wrestling fan so I chose The Ultimate Warrior WWE Retro Figure - £8.00 and x4 WWE Pint Sized Heroes Blind Bags - £2.00 each. He's going to be so excited when he opens them on his birthday.
I was delighted by the number of products that were available and suitable for Noah's party bags. None of it was tat, all products that I know the kids will like and use. It was also great how I had money left over to buy Noah a few extra birthday presents.
How would you like to win £25 to spend at PoundToy? Simply use the Gleam form below and don't forget to enter my other blog and social media competitions.
Terms & Conditions.
1. There will be 1 winner who will win the prize mentioned above.
2. Winners details will be shared with the PR to arrange delivery of the prize.
3. Competition ends 30/11/19.
4. Incomplete entries with be disqualified.
5. UK entries only
