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Learn through fun outdoor play!

Playing outside is an essential part of a child's development. From making mud kitchens, to getting to know nature, learning and playing outside will help little learners form key developmental skills such as physical health & self-confidence!

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International Literacy Day

Learning Resources Posted On Sep 8, 2014 | National Holidays

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

International Literacy Day

Hello!

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

Learning Resources Posted On Jul 25, 2014 | Learn

Here at Learning Resources we do our best to reuse and recycle, we know itâ€™s important to take care of the world around us and keep it clean for the generations of little learners that are inheriting it from us!

We are proud distributors of over 20 Green Toysâ„¢ products, the 100% recycled alternative to traditional plastic toys! Let me tell you what makes Green Toys great:

All products are made from 100% recycled plastic and other environmentally friendly materials.
Even the packaging is fully recyclable and easy to open (with no twist ties!)
All Green Toys products contain no traceable amount of Phthalates, BPA or PVC.
No external coatings or paints are used on the products.
All Green Toys vehicles have no metal axles, so the toys can be recycled too!
Green Toys kitchen sets are all dishwasher safe!

The Green Toysâ„¢ Tugboat is good for the earth and for the youngsters who play there! It’s a very popular product, and many parents have told me that they use it to wash their children’s hair in the bath! The tugboat is suitable for play from just 6 months. We’re not the only people who think the Green Toysâ„¢ Tugboat is great, it was voted as one of the best eco toys by The Independent!

My personal favourite is the Green Toysâ„¢ Tractor! Living in the rural county of Norfolk, we see a lot of tractors out and about, and this little recyclable one is great! With its chunky tyres and detachable trailer little farmers can really let their imaginations grow!

Recycling can be linked to the Early Years Foundation Stage, including Understanding of the World, Expressive Art and Design and Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy. There are many activities that can be done at home and in the classroom to get little minds inspired by recycling and the environment. Here are some ideas that Jo, our ‘Educational Expert’ used during her time in the classroom:

Go for an 'environment’ walk around your school or local area. Talk about the importance of recycling and putting rubbish in a bin on the animals in our environment.
If you are lucky enough to have an allotment/ vegetable patch at your school you could begin composting left over fruit skins and cores from snack time whilst teaching children the benefits of doing so. You could also set up a recycling station within the classroom for other items such as paper and plastics. You could have weekly 'recycling monitors’ as children love taking ownership and feeling like they are doing an important job.

For smaller spaces, our Now You See It, Now You Don’t See-Through Compost Container is a great visual composting resource!

Have some fun and create recycled junk models. Use unwanted cartons, paper, boxes, clothes etc to make all kinds of crazy models!
Make a recycling collage! Let their imaginations run wild about the picture they are going to create or link it to your current topic!
Michael Recycle & Litterbug Doug books. Read the books, discuss and then children could make a poster all about recycling and looking after our world.

For some 3D shape development, encourage the children to sort the recycling into different 3D shapes! This allows for real-life problem solving.
Recycling treasure hunt! Hide lots of things around the classroom/ playground that could be recycled. Provide the children with recycling containers labelled plastic, cardboard, paper and fabric then let them hunt and sort!
Musical recycling! Have hoops around the room containing objects that need to be recycled plus the 4 recycling containers ( plastic, cardboard, paper and fabric). When the music stops children have to grab an item to be recycled, correctly place it in the correct recycling container and be the first to sit down!

Parents, do you recycle? Let me know what recycling you and your family do at home. For more information on recycling, visit the Recycle Now website; recyclenow.com.

Until next time…

Laura

We're growing up green

We are proud distributors of over 20 Green Toysâ„¢ products, the 100% recycled alternative to traditional plastic toys! Let me tell you what makes Green Toys great:

All products are made from 100% recycled plastic and other environmentally friendly materials.
Even the packaging is fully recyclable and easy to open (with no twist ties!)
All Green Toys products contain no traceable amount of Phthalates, BPA or PVC.
No external coatings or paints are used on the products.
All Green Toys vehicles have no metal axles, so the toys can be recycled too!
Green Toys kitchen sets are all dishwasher safe!

Go for an 'environment’ walk around your school or local area. Talk about the importance of recycling and putting rubbish in a bin on the animals in our environment.
If you are lucky enough to have an allotment/ vegetable patch at your school you could begin composting left over fruit skins and cores from snack time whilst teaching children the benefits of doing so. You could also set up a recycling station within the classroom for other items such as paper and plastics. You could have weekly 'recycling monitors’ as children love taking ownership and feeling like they are doing an important job.

For smaller spaces, our Now You See It, Now You Don’t See-Through Compost Container is a great visual composting resource!

Have some fun and create recycled junk models. Use unwanted cartons, paper, boxes, clothes etc to make all kinds of crazy models!
Make a recycling collage! Let their imaginations run wild about the picture they are going to create or link it to your current topic!
Michael Recycle & Litterbug Doug books. Read the books, discuss and then children could make a poster all about recycling and looking after our world.

For some 3D shape development, encourage the children to sort the recycling into different 3D shapes! This allows for real-life problem solving.
Recycling treasure hunt! Hide lots of things around the classroom/ playground that could be recycled. Provide the children with recycling containers labelled plastic, cardboard, paper and fabric then let them hunt and sort!
Musical recycling! Have hoops around the room containing objects that need to be recycled plus the 4 recycling containers ( plastic, cardboard, paper and fabric). When the music stops children have to grab an item to be recycled, correctly place it in the correct recycling container and be the first to sit down!

Parents, do you recycle? Let me know what recycling you and your family do at home. For more information on recycling, visit the Recycle Now website; recyclenow.com.

Until next time…

Laura

The benefits of outside learning

EI Editor Posted On Jul 8, 2014 | Early Years

My daughter ‘Squirt’ loves being outside, she’ll happily play for hours in the garden, at the beach, and she loves nothing more than a play park! She enjoys it so much; it’s easy to sneak in some fun learning activities without her even noticing she’s learning!

We all know the benefits of being outside; fresh air, exercise, vitamin D and the boosts to children’s immunity, needless to say how much extra space there is out there! Whether it’s the school playground or at home in your back garden, the activity ideas and resources are endless! My niece particularly enjoys the 'jumpoline’ (trampoline!) and we can see her coordination and balance have already improved.

Toys that require new skills, encourage the development of self-confidence and encourage exploration. I gave 'Squirt’ some Helping Hands Fine Motor Tools to use outside in her sand and water tray to improve her motor skills & build the strength in her hands. She’s learning scissor skills at nursery, so I thought the Handy Scoopers would help. Well the learning didn’t stop there! She explored the entire garden with the Handy Scoopers to see what was small enough to fit through the holes! Stones, soil, insects and flowers were all tested out and it became a little measuring activity!

This set combines four of our finest Learning Resources tools, great for children as young as 2. They’re great for encouraging exploration both inside and out.

Teachers, with the new curriculum coming into place in September, are you planning more outside learning at your education setting? We’d love to hear your ideas for taking your lessons outside!

We have some great resources for taking hands-on learning outside, and you can view the entire range of outdoor play resources on our website. Dino Construction Companyâ„¢ vehicles have been very popular with both parents and teachers for outside learning and play. They are powered by children, so not motorised or controlled by a remote. There are four different dino vehicles in the set; Wrecker the T-Rex Skid Loader, T-Top the Triceratops Bulldozer, Spike the Ankylosaurus Steam Roller and Boom the Brachiosaurus Backhoe! Each dinosaur features a range of hand-powered mechanisms and the dinosaur track treads are great for making tracks in sand or dirt!

Mummy Blogger, Mummy Bird provided us with her review of Wrecker the T-Rex Steer Loader. Not only did her son love it, but her daughter did too! Little Bird even tried out the dino vehicle helping to dig up his Nanny’s patio! The full review can be found on her blog at mummybird.com

Make the most of outside learning and get the little ones outside!

Until next time…

Laura

The benefits of outside learning

This set combines four of our finest Learning Resources tools, great for children as young as 2. They’re great for encouraging exploration both inside and out.

Teachers, with the new curriculum coming into place in September, are you planning more outside learning at your education setting? We’d love to hear your ideas for taking your lessons outside!

Make the most of outside learning and get the little ones outside!

Until next time…

Laura

Learning Resources Posted On Jun 27, 2014 | Learn

We’ve been getting our brains working in the Learning Resources office this week, challenging each other to a go at the Mental Blox challenge! This critical thinking challenge game contains activity cards to promote strategic thinking and memory skills, as players re-create the image on the card (to be kept out of sight - no cheating!!) This challenge is certainly not as easy as it looks! Were those stripes horizontal or vertical? Was it purple on green or green on purple?

Our Mummy Blogger friend Donna from the Mummy Bird blog sent us a great review when her and her daughter ‘Big Bird’ took on the Mental Blox challenge. They liked to play it with the whole family in teams, but it can also be played individually. A great challenge for all ages!

Fancy taking on the challenge yourself? Take a look at Mental Blox on our website. There are sample cards and an activity guide to download, see if you can handle it! Already played it? Let us know what you thought.

We had a lot of fun doing this in the office, nothing better on a Friday than a bit of brain boosting! This game is great for children who need a challenge, or perhaps just need a quick break in between lessons.

Quick breaks are ideal for keeping children on the learning track! Jo, our 'education expert’ has years of classroom experience and says if children look like they are tired or struggling to concentrate, take a break! Play a game, do some brain gym or have a run around on the playground. Doing this means they can feel refreshed and get stuck back into learning! To keep your children or students engaged, give them a quick break with these fun Learning Resources boredom busting games.