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“If you want intelligent children, give them a book …”
These words piqued* my interest as they wafted to my ears from the TV set in the other room. “Who is that?” I called out. “Jackie French,” he replied. I jumped up, eager to see and hear more. Jackie...
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Clearing confusion – reading and writing for the masses
This week at the Carrot Ranch, Charli Mills is talking about disorientation and has challenged writers to In 99 words no more, no less) write a story about disorientation. She suggested exploring...
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A palette of colours
I think few of us would deny that each of us is unique, or question the importance of an individual’s interests and abilities to learning. Much has been written about learning styles, multiple...
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A sprinkling of semicolons
This week at the Carrot Ranch Charli Mills is talking about semicolons; but not the little squiggles on a page, the semicolons that are sprinkled liberally through life as new beginnings. Sometimes we...
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A garden where children flourish
The introduction to this TED talk The best kindergarten you’ve ever seen by Takaharu Tezuka states: At this school in Tokyo, five-year-olds cause traffic jams and windows are for Santa to climb into....
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Are you ready or what?
When thinking about schooling and education there is always a lot of discussion about readiness and the things that must be done to have a child ready for school, ready for the next class, ready go to...
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Who wouldn’t be excited with high test scores?
Regular readers of my blog are aware of my attitude to didactic top-down, content and assessment driven methods of schooling students to become machines regurgitating meaningless facts on command. A...
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Playing with possibilities
Creating an environment which nurtures children’s learning and development is as important as creating an environment that nourishes and encourages the growth of plants in a garden. The link between...
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Five Photos Five Stories – Day two
Back to Day one and introduction What am I? One may wonder why I have responded to Geoff Le Pard‘s challenge almost immediately when there are other invitations that have lain opened but unanswered for...
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Between the lines
For a few months I had been aware of the new colouring books for adults craze that is sweeping the world but had chosen to ignore it. That is, until I read a blog post by Alana Munro stating that...
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@aussietony’s 20 gift suggestions for #life-long learning
Today I share with you a book by a passionate educator and life-long learner, Tony Ryan. I have shared material by Tony before. Here I wrote about his book The Ripple Effect, here I wrote about his...
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Which school? I found one!
Most parents want to provide what is best for their children. However, they don’t always know what that best is, where it is available or how to get it. This is just as true of schooling as it is of...
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Reflections on living a contented life, teaching and school
In a previous post I introduced you to Pauline King, The Contented Crafter. In comments on my blog, Pauline revealed that she was a teacher so passionate about education that she had attempted to...
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Writing poetry with children
This week at the Carrot Ranch Charli Mills has challenged writers to write about galloping. What keeps replaying in my head is the phrase “The horses go galloping, galloping, galloping” interspersed...
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Scary monsters
This week at Carrot Ranch Communications Charli Mills has challenged writers to In 99 words (no more, no less) write a monster story. Being an early childhood teacher I think immediately of picture...
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Let them loose
It is a wonderful thing to see children engaging in imaginative creative play. Let them loose with an assortment of bits and pieces and it’s amazing to see what they can construct, both physically with...
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3 + 2 = 5 Let me count the ways!
That we live in a print-rich environment is undisputed. Even in country areas one cannot travel far without being bombarded by print. In addition to road signs there is a plethora of billboards...
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You’re not allowed!
How many of these did you hear when you were a child? You’re too small You’re too big You’re too young You’re too old It’s too far It costs too much It’s too dangerous Girls don’t do that Boys don’t do...
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What do you create?
I am a fan of creativity. I like to develop my own creativity, and I like to encourage the development of creativity in others. One thing I always loved about teaching was the opportunity it gave me to...
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I love poems – Readilearn
I love poems. Children do too. Poetry is a great way of introducing children to the joy of language, as well as to features such as rhythm, rhyme, alliteration, similes and metaphors. What is taught...
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