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Hi all
Young children are very inquisitive and natural problem solvers. They learn to walk and talk by having a desire to attain their goal, by mimicking others, by trying things out, by making lots of mistakes and adjusting strategies accordingly, and by gradually gaining in confidence.
Hi all
Young children are very inquisitive and natural problem solvers. They learn to walk and talk by having a desire to attain their goal, by mimicking others, by trying things out, by making lots of mistakes and adjusting strategies accordingly, and by gradually gaining in confidence.
“We feel we might be lost. We can hear the distant pounding of the waves but it seems hours and miles since we left Cley Next The Sea. The shingle underfoot is unforgiving and seems to stretch to the near horizon which is shrouded in an eerie mist. Is that really a dead seal over there? Slowly on our right the barrels of giant World War 2 Howitzers rear out of the murk. Have we slipped through a wormhole in time? No we have just come across the Muckleburgh Museum and we know we can’t be far from Weybourne and the final push to Cromer (although it’s not as near as we think)!”
That was Day 2 of our charity walk to raise money for our local Little Discoverers group. Â We six from Learning Resources had over a thousand pounds riding on the challenge of walking from Hunstanton to Cromer along the bleak and beautiful North Norfolk Coastal Path in just 48 hours.Â
Day 1, while not just a walk on the beach, had also not seemed so taxing. The weather was fine, balmy in fact, the terrain was firm and level we had the confidence of fresh legs and un-blistered feet. We arrived in Wells Next The Sea footsore and stiff in the knees just ahead of a biblical thunder storm. We found shelter at the YHA Hostel and hot food and cooling beer at The Crown.  22 miles down we thought, about the same distance to cover tomorrow? Err wrong!
We had trained for this; eight mile walks weekly after work, a couple of longer walks at the weekend as the event approached. What we hadn’t considered was the effect of walking that distance on consecutive days, and the effect of discovering that the actual distance on Day 2 is actually close to 26 miles.
Day 2 started so magically. The sea mists drifting along the creeks giving the marsh a dreamlike quality, the spider webs hung with dew that glittered in the pale morning sun, the mournful cry of the curlew and the raucous gabble of gathering geese, the weathered boats with their faded peeling paintwork.
But we had billed this as a challenge, and challenge us it did. For after our posh deli lunch in Cley we encountered the shingle (see above), the surprisingly hilly path to Sheringham and the dispiriting and seeming endless inland trek before the bracing vision of Cromer Pier. When, one mile from Cromer we came across a sign that said ‘Cromer 2 ½ Miles’ some of us wanted to cry! It’s true to say that everyone in or team; Liz, Helene, Sammy, Jo, Nick and your humble author had to dig deep in our own ways just to keep going.Â
Bur of course we did it, to the delight of friends & family & colleagues (and hopefully our chosen beneficiaries). And all we will remember is that inspiring camaraderie that only a shared struggle to a goal can deliver. That and the views and the fact that we seemed meet every dog in Norfolk on the way!
Dennis Blackmore
Managing Director - Learning Resources Ltd
North Norfolk Coastal Path Team 2014.
“We feel we might be lost. We can hear the distant pounding of the waves but it seems hours and miles since we left Cley Next The Sea. The shingle underfoot is unforgiving and seems to stretch to the near horizon which is shrouded in an eerie mist. Is that really a dead seal over there? Slowly on our right the barrels of giant World War 2 Howitzers rear out of the murk. Have we slipped through a wormhole in time? No we have just come across the Muckleburgh Museum and we know we can’t be far from Weybourne and the final push to Cromer (although it’s not as near as we think)!”
That was Day 2 of our charity walk to raise money for our local Little Discoverers group. Â We six from Learning Resources had over a thousand pounds riding on the challenge of walking from Hunstanton to Cromer along the bleak and beautiful North Norfolk Coastal Path in just 48 hours.Â
Day 1, while not just a walk on the beach, had also not seemed so taxing. The weather was fine, balmy in fact, the terrain was firm and level we had the confidence of fresh legs and un-blistered feet. We arrived in Wells Next The Sea footsore and stiff in the knees just ahead of a biblical thunder storm. We found shelter at the YHA Hostel and hot food and cooling beer at The Crown.  22 miles down we thought, about the same distance to cover tomorrow? Err wrong!
We had trained for this; eight mile walks weekly after work, a couple of longer walks at the weekend as the event approached. What we hadn’t considered was the effect of walking that distance on consecutive days, and the effect of discovering that the actual distance on Day 2 is actually close to 26 miles.
Day 2 started so magically. The sea mists drifting along the creeks giving the marsh a dreamlike quality, the spider webs hung with dew that glittered in the pale morning sun, the mournful cry of the curlew and the raucous gabble of gathering geese, the weathered boats with their faded peeling paintwork.
But we had billed this as a challenge, and challenge us it did. For after our posh deli lunch in Cley we encountered the shingle (see above), the surprisingly hilly path to Sheringham and the dispiriting and seeming endless inland trek before the bracing vision of Cromer Pier. When, one mile from Cromer we came across a sign that said ‘Cromer 2 ½ Miles’ some of us wanted to cry! It’s true to say that everyone in or team; Liz, Helene, Sammy, Jo, Nick and your humble author had to dig deep in our own ways just to keep going.Â
Bur of course we did it, to the delight of friends & family & colleagues (and hopefully our chosen beneficiaries). And all we will remember is that inspiring camaraderie that only a shared struggle to a goal can deliver. That and the views and the fact that we seemed meet every dog in Norfolk on the way!
Dennis Blackmore
Managing Director - Learning Resources Ltd
North Norfolk Coastal Path Team 2014.
Hello!
At the end of September we were busy bees here at Learning Resources, exhibiting some of our best selling and newest products at the Scottish Learning Festival in Glasgow and Childcare Expo: Childcare Show in Coventry.
First came the Scottish Learning Festival, which we have been exhibiting at now for 6 years. Helen jetted off to Scotland for the set up of our stand, and was then joined by John and Jo from the office ready to face the crowds of visitors.
Although the Festival was quiet on day one, the second day picked up and we enjoyed demonstrating some of our key products such as our new style counters and the latest addition to our Design & Drill range; Socket to Me.
A popular product at this year’s Scottish Learning Festival was our new Hot Dots PhonicBook Practice Cards. We had a pod dedicated to these products, with open packets and working pens so visitors could see for themselves how Hot Dots work and why they’re so popular! Recently these sets were awarded silver in the Primary Teacher Update Awards.If you’d like to know more about these award winning sets and the magic of Hot Dots, visit the brand sections on our website.
The Childcare Expo: Childcare Show was a first for us this year! We decided to exhibit at the show as it gives us the opportunity to branch out into a more Early Years focused show. Chilcare Expo is dedicated to Early Years, looking into both the Early Years Foundation Stage in primary schools and childminders alike. We were able to have a stand of all our key Early Years products, rather than a reduced selection at our more mainstream events.
Not only was this our first time at the Childcare Expo: Childcare Show, but it was the first show ever for the latest recruit of Learning Resources. Claire Caldairou joined the sales team in September as our International Sales Customer Relations Coordinator, and was whisked off to the show to get a taste of exhibiting some of our top early years products.
The favourite products at the Childcare Expo show were the new style counters! Our dedicated stand of counters attracted a lot of visitors who wanted to experience the counters hands-on! Also popular was the latest addition to the Smart Snacks range; Number Pops.
Resources to support the development of fine motor skills in early learners are always popular, and at this show it was the turn of our tweezers products. Both our Jumbo Tweezers and Gator Grabber Tweezers are ideal for use with early years, and our Squeezy Tweezers make a great new addition to the range.
If you couldn’t make these shows but want to come to visit a Learning Resources stand, visit us at the TES Special Educational Needs Show in London on 10th & 11th October. It’s free to enter and has a great selection of exhibitors!
Hope to see you there.
Until next time…
Laura
Hello!
At the end of September we were busy bees here at Learning Resources, exhibiting some of our best selling and newest products at the Scottish Learning Festival in Glasgow and Childcare Expo: Childcare Show in Coventry.
First came the Scottish Learning Festival, which we have been exhibiting at now for 6 years. Helen jetted off to Scotland for the set up of our stand, and was then joined by John and Jo from the office ready to face the crowds of visitors.
Although the Festival was quiet on day one, the second day picked up and we enjoyed demonstrating some of our key products such as our new style counters and the latest addition to our Design & Drill range; Socket to Me.
A popular product at this year’s Scottish Learning Festival was our new Hot Dots PhonicBook Practice Cards. We had a pod dedicated to these products, with open packets and working pens so visitors could see for themselves how Hot Dots work and why they’re so popular! Recently these sets were awarded silver in the Primary Teacher Update Awards.If you’d like to know more about these award winning sets and the magic of Hot Dots, visit the brand sections on our website.
The Childcare Expo: Childcare Show was a first for us this year! We decided to exhibit at the show as it gives us the opportunity to branch out into a more Early Years focused show. Chilcare Expo is dedicated to Early Years, looking into both the Early Years Foundation Stage in primary schools and childminders alike. We were able to have a stand of all our key Early Years products, rather than a reduced selection at our more mainstream events.
Not only was this our first time at the Childcare Expo: Childcare Show, but it was the first show ever for the latest recruit of Learning Resources. Claire Caldairou joined the sales team in September as our International Sales Customer Relations Coordinator, and was whisked off to the show to get a taste of exhibiting some of our top early years products.
The favourite products at the Childcare Expo show were the new style counters! Our dedicated stand of counters attracted a lot of visitors who wanted to experience the counters hands-on! Also popular was the latest addition to the Smart Snacks range; Number Pops.
Resources to support the development of fine motor skills in early learners are always popular, and at this show it was the turn of our tweezers products. Both our Jumbo Tweezers and Gator Grabber Tweezers are ideal for use with early years, and our Squeezy Tweezers make a great new addition to the range.
If you couldn’t make these shows but want to come to visit a Learning Resources stand, visit us at the TES Special Educational Needs Show in London on 10th & 11th October. It’s free to enter and has a great selection of exhibitors!
Hope to see you there.
Until next time…
Laura
READ MOREIt’s British Food Fortnight, a time to celebrate all the lovely foods grown and produced in Britain! It was first held in 2002, at the same time as the traditional harvest festivals that take place in schools and churches across the country.
British Food Fortnight shouts about the health benefits and enjoyment of eating quality, fresh, seasonal and local produce. It is also helping to engage the retail, catering, education and volunteering sectors and is establishing and maintaining a larger market for British food.
The Learning Resources offices are in West Norfolk, surrounded by rural countryside and not far from the coast. We’re very lucky when it comes to regionally sourced food, with local favourites such as Cromer Crab, Norfolk Turkey and Colmans Mustard! Much of the mint grown in the UK is grown in Norfolk too!
We understand that it is important for both teachers and parents to encourage children to learn about a variety of different foods from an early age, especially those foods local to them. The Food Standards Agency highlights the importance of a healthy balanced diet for growing children. Their website suggests ways in how they can be involved, such as helping with the food shopping, talk about all the colours of foods available and encourage youngsters to prepare foods - it will make them more inclined to try them!
 
Another great way to encourage children to learn about local foods and general nutrition is through imaginative play. Not only do play foods teach children about the variety of foods around us and how they look and feel, but also promotes vocabulary, sorting skills and other cross-curriculum themes.
We have a large selection of Role Play Food Sets available for learners as young as 2! The play food products in our New Sprouts range are suitable from 2 years, and contain chunky, colourful pieces specially designed for little hands!
Our Pretend & Play range food sets are life-sized and realistic, so perfect for teaching nutrition! The Healthy Meal Play Food Sets also include exercise cards to extend the learning.
For a more scientific approach to food, take a look at our Magnetic Healthy Foods. The set contains 34 foods from the five main food groups, along with a magnetic placemat, menu pad and suggested activities.
I hope you have fun celebrating British Food Fortnight, and get to sample some of the foods local to you that you perhaps haven’t tried before!
Until next time…
Laura
It’s British Food Fortnight, a time to celebrate all the lovely foods grown and produced in Britain! It was first held in 2002, at the same time as the traditional harvest festivals that take place in schools and churches across the country.
British Food Fortnight shouts about the health benefits and enjoyment of eating quality, fresh, seasonal and local produce. It is also helping to engage the retail, catering, education and volunteering sectors and is establishing and maintaining a larger market for British food.
The Learning Resources offices are in West Norfolk, surrounded by rural countryside and not far from the coast. We’re very lucky when it comes to regionally sourced food, with local favourites such as Cromer Crab, Norfolk Turkey and Colmans Mustard! Much of the mint grown in the UK is grown in Norfolk too!
We understand that it is important for both teachers and parents to encourage children to learn about a variety of different foods from an early age, especially those foods local to them. The Food Standards Agency highlights the importance of a healthy balanced diet for growing children. Their website suggests ways in how they can be involved, such as helping with the food shopping, talk about all the colours of foods available and encourage youngsters to prepare foods - it will make them more inclined to try them!
Â
Another great way to encourage children to learn about local foods and general nutrition is through imaginative play. Not only do play foods teach children about the variety of foods around us and how they look and feel, but also promotes vocabulary, sorting skills and other cross-curriculum themes.
We have a large selection of Role Play Food Sets available for learners as young as 2! The play food products in our New Sprouts range are suitable from 2 years, and contain chunky, colourful pieces specially designed for little hands!
Our Pretend & Play range food sets are life-sized and realistic, so perfect for teaching nutrition! The Healthy Meal Play Food Sets also include exercise cards to extend the learning.
For a more scientific approach to food, take a look at our Magnetic Healthy Foods. The set contains 34 foods from the five main food groups, along with a magnetic placemat, menu pad and suggested activities.
I hope you have fun celebrating British Food Fortnight, and get to sample some of the foods local to you that you perhaps haven’t tried before!
Until next time…
Laura
READ MOREIt’s National Cupcake Week this week, and being an avid cupcake baker I, and my cake-loving colleagues here at Learning Resources are looking forward to the treats. Squirt and I got messy in the kitchen over the weekend to make some cupcakes to bring to the Learning Resources offices for National Cupcake Week; here are our results!
Baking is a great way to get children practising a variety of skills! From reading a list of ingredients and weighing them into a bowl, to watching the clock so their creations don’t burn.
If you don’t fancy letting your children loose in the kitchen just yet, we have a variety of products around the topic of cakes and baking to help encourage basic early skills!
Smart Snacks Shape Sorting Cupcakes
A delicious way to develop shape and colour identification. Fix the cupcakes together by matching the shapes of the top and bottom halves, then match them to the correct shapes in the tin!
 
Children can bake their favourite flavour combinations in this pie, while learning early numeracy skills such as sorting, colour identification and patterning. The Jumbo Tweezers are great for developing motor skills too.
Get matching with familiar kitchen equipment, sorting in and out of life-sized muffin tins with the Mini Muffin Match Up Maths Activity Set. The Squeezy Tweezers are great for reinforcing fine motor skills.
I hope you have a tasty week!
Until next time…
Laura
It’s National Cupcake Week this week, and being an avid cupcake baker I, and my cake-loving colleagues here at Learning Resources are looking forward to the treats. Squirt and I got messy in the kitchen over the weekend to make some cupcakes to bring to the Learning Resources offices for National Cupcake Week; here are our results!
Baking is a great way to get children practising a variety of skills! From reading a list of ingredients and weighing them into a bowl, to watching the clock so their creations don’t burn.
If you don’t fancy letting your children loose in the kitchen just yet, we have a variety of products around the topic of cakes and baking to help encourage basic early skills!
Smart Snacks Shape Sorting Cupcakes
A delicious way to develop shape and colour identification. Fix the cupcakes together by matching the shapes of the top and bottom halves, then match them to the correct shapes in the tin!
Â
Children can bake their favourite flavour combinations in this pie, while learning early numeracy skills such as sorting, colour identification and patterning. The Jumbo Tweezers are great for developing motor skills too.
Get matching with familiar kitchen equipment, sorting in and out of life-sized muffin tins with the Mini Muffin Match Up Maths Activity Set. The Squeezy Tweezers are great for reinforcing fine motor skills.
I hope you have a tasty week!
Until next time…
Laura
READ MOREHello!
Today is the International Day of Literacy! Thanks to UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) the International Day of Literacy was first celebrated in 1966 to highlight the importance of literacy to individuals, communities and societies. Celebrations of ILD have been taking place all over the world for 48 years, reminding the international community of the important skills; reading and writing.
1 in 5 adults worldwide cannot read or write, this unbelievable statistic equates to 776 million people. Writing your own name or reading a line out of a book is a basic educational skill that countries like ours don’t need to worry about, but individuals in many third world countries are denied these skills.
UNESCO’s aim is to tackle the link between poverty and literacy, and raise public awareness of the priceless value of the written word, and of the necessity to promote an educated, literate society.
It’s hard to think where we would be without basic literacy, for one I wouldn’t be writing this blog article, and you wouldn’t be reading it! Personally, reading and writing are two things I really enjoy, and I couldn’t imagine my life without these skills. 1 in 6 people in the UK struggle with literacy, a figure which UNESCO and other charities such as The National Literacy Trust are trying to reduce.
Each year, UNESCO awards International Literacy Prizes of $20,000. Winners in 2013 included Literate India, and The Dhaka Ahsania Mission in Bangladesh. This year’s theme is Literacy and Sustainability Development, with prizes already set to be received by the Lifelong Learning School for Community Development Poligono Sur in Spain and the The Molteno Institute for Language and Literacy in South Africa.
At Learning Resources we understand the importance of introducing literacy at an early age, giving young learners the opportunity to have fun while learning an important, fundamental skill. From phonics resources through to grammar and reading comprehension, we have literacy resources to motivate and engage children into developing their reading, writing and vocabulary skills.
If you would like more information about UNESCO and the International Day of Literacy, visit their website at http://en.unesco.org/events/international-literacy-day-2014.
Until next time…
Laura
Hello!
Today is the International Day of Literacy! Thanks to UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) the International Day of Literacy was first celebrated in 1966 to highlight the importance of literacy to individuals, communities and societies. Celebrations of ILD have been taking place all over the world for 48 years, reminding the international community of the important skills; reading and writing.
1 in 5 adults worldwide cannot read or write, this unbelievable statistic equates to 776 million people. Writing your own name or reading a line out of a book is a basic educational skill that countries like ours don’t need to worry about, but individuals in many third world countries are denied these skills.
UNESCO’s aim is to tackle the link between poverty and literacy, and raise public awareness of the priceless value of the written word, and of the necessity to promote an educated, literate society.
It’s hard to think where we would be without basic literacy, for one I wouldn’t be writing this blog article, and you wouldn’t be reading it! Personally, reading and writing are two things I really enjoy, and I couldn’t imagine my life without these skills. 1 in 6 people in the UK struggle with literacy, a figure which UNESCO and other charities such as The National Literacy Trust are trying to reduce.
Each year, UNESCO awards International Literacy Prizes of $20,000. Winners in 2013 included Literate India, and The Dhaka Ahsania Mission in Bangladesh. This year’s theme is Literacy and Sustainability Development, with prizes already set to be received by the Lifelong Learning School for Community Development Poligono Sur in Spain and the The Molteno Institute for Language and Literacy in South Africa.
At Learning Resources we understand the importance of introducing literacy at an early age, giving young learners the opportunity to have fun while learning an important, fundamental skill. From phonics resources through to grammar and reading comprehension, we have literacy resources to motivate and engage children into developing their reading, writing and vocabulary skills.
If you would like more information about UNESCO and the International Day of Literacy, visit their website at http://en.unesco.org/events/international-literacy-day-2014.
Until next time…
Laura
