w/c 2nd & 10th November 2014

This week M had difficulty with his Briteschool maths assignment on fractions, which for M is very unusual and so this took up more of our time than anticipated. M is behind in maths, not because he lacks aptitude for the subject but because his previous school career was so disjointed and he spent several years unsupported and unable to access the curriculum.

We also went for our first appointment at the new GP to get the persistent verrucca on his foot looked at. I was so pleased that he allowed his foot to be examined and asked sensible questions about the wait and procedure to have it removed. The OT's advice at our last appointment was superb and really made the difference as prior to her prescribed desensitisation programme M would not have consented to the examination. This represents a major success in coping with his sensory issues for M!

Wednesday was Bonfire night and M's recent forays into reading the newspaper have made him curious as to how the government actually works. To begin we used the excellent free resources and lesson plans available here on the topical gunpowder plot:-

 http://www.parliament.uk/education/teaching-resources-lesson-plans/gunpowder-plot-part-1/



M finds the bangs of fireworks problematic, so this helped to keep him distracted. (He does enjoy the visual displays so we watched the fireworks over the Swansea valleys from the upstairs windows of our home armed with ear defenders & his sympathetic whippet). He did manage to attend some of the neighbours celebrations 



http://www.tomorrowsengineers.org.uk/Careers_resources/Engineering_activities/ A useful free link we uncovered.

We've discovered the funding for the Children's University does not cover passports for Welsh home ed children and so are cheering on those who are off to a meeting with the National Head Office. Hopefully they'll come away with a result that will mean home educated children will be able to record credits on this scheme, in the way that Welsh school children can.

M is now halfway through the 12 audio book series entitled "Flat Stanleys adventures around the world". This puts him on target to join the postal scheme with his own Flat Stanley after Xmas which is great, as I think he'll derive a great deal out of it.

Our weekend was disrupted by the D&V bug that has been doing the rounds. This meant that most of the week commencing 10th November once M started to feel better was spent playing catch up with Briteschool homework. He will probably need to listen to a couple of the lesson recordings before he can tackle the homeworks set due to feeling under the weather. One of the huge advantage of online school is you can still participate from bed if need be!

w/c 27th October 2014 Highlights

This was the week I felt like social activities for M in our new home and locale are finally falling into place. Our regular activities are now as follows:-

Monday Evening -  Social club at Families for the Disabled. (Council activity for SN kids with any diagnosis).
Wednesday Evening - Puppy Training class
Friday Evening - Youth Club at the Trehafod Gospel Hall
Sundays - Sunday School at the Trehafod Gospel Hall.

Monthly - Porthcawl Home Ed Group (date will vary as some activities are more suitable than others).

In addition we have learning related Home Education Trips planned with other home educators at various points during the year. I'm particularly looking forward to the Tudor House trip to Tenby. Unfortunately M's current diagnosis means that he is ineligible for Trehafod organised autism outreach activities and I have to admit this has confirmed to me that a mainstream school in Swansea would have been wholly unsuitable for his needs. Previous bitter experience has taught us both that behavioral support must be given through an autism lens or it is always doomed to failure. It is a shame we are cut off from that form of support but not a surprise, given our experiences to date. Thank goodness our informal network is proving to be a great form of support for both of us.

I now feel that M has several regular outlets for socialization that can meet his need to make friends and that will help him settle into our new community; both with schooled children and those who may live a little further afield but share the home education experience. The routine social meets meet his need for regularity and structure but are not so onerous that we can't find time for impromptu playdates and outings.

Academically I am still chuckling at M's reading attempts. He is quietly reading an article from the newspaper daily alone with his mid-morning snack. He is gaining confidence about asking questions about what he has read. He now asks the neighbours as well as myself so is gaining ground. He is however still liable to shut down when asked to read out loud directly. I feel like we are at a delicate stage now, where gentle encouragement and provision of regular access to titles on the High Interest/low ability book list provided by Swansea LA is important.

I do worry that he will be put off once more if any outsiders question him too deeply, as he is still very anxious about reading. It is lovely to see his fledgling research skills emerge ably encouraged by his Briteschool teachers and he is gaining confidence in looking up text articles for himself on various topics. Our Monday morning global breakfast encourages this activity as he is keen to find out more about the nation whose cuisine he has just sampled each week.

The new exercises that the OT recommended at our last appointment are becoming entrenched into our routine and I am seeing M reaping the benefits, and improving his own ability to recognise when he is becoming over stimulated & take appropriate mitigating action. This is incredibly useful as his sensory issues do seem to flaring up at present.

On a practical level M is still adjusting to his mattress being moved to the floor. He was breaking his bed slats on a regular basis. The adjustment means that he is having trouble sleeping and being awake from midnight till 4 am is affecting him a little during day time hours. This is something we are just going to have to work through as he needs to be safe at night. Last week's inadvertent school reminder has also had an impact and is still troubling him at night a little.

w/c 20th October 2014

This week was a week of highs and lows on the socialisation front for M. On the one hand our first trip to the Monday social club was declared a roaring success. The children present were such a lovely range of ages and abilities, and the staff so welcoming that M immediately absorbed the non-judgmental atmosphere and soaked up the feeling of acceptance with gusto. I also appreciated being able to take 5 minutes to take a phone call about a recently hospitalised relative who is causing great concern. It was also nice to hear the Mums present swap stories about behavioral issues. No issues with M having me around in the background "just in case", at this event! The consensus from both of us was that this needs to become part of our regular schedule.

The success of Monday meant that the contrast with Friday's expedition was made all the more stark. M has been before, knows the children and some of the parents from last year's Rhos group. In addition we traveled there with his friend and her Mum. It was a disaster. At first I thought his extreme reaction, (a melt down followed by half an hour sobbing his heart out in the toilets) was due to his sensory issues, which really seem to be playing up at the moment. However once he'd finally calmed down enough to spend forty five minutes outside away from everyone on the scooter and collect his thoughts; he was finally able to share the source of his distress. It turns out that the perfectly calm and pleasant activity the children were doing had reminded him of school! The sight of the pencils, children sitting as a group round a table drawing, writing and creating graphs was just too much for him. It has confirmed that he still needs a considerable amount of time to recover from his traumatising school experiences before we even broach attempting that kind of activity again.

Sunday was another high as we ventured out to try the Treboath Gospel Hall Sunday School. Anxious though he was, both children and group leaders were so warm and welcoming that M couldn't avoid being charmed by them. He has agreed to try the Friday evening youth club at the same venue. I am hoping that both activities can become a regular part of his weekly schedule. As it is on our doorstep it's a really nice opportunity for M to meet those local children we haven't yet encountered on our dog walks.

I did reach out via the Welsh facebook board to see if any other Home Edders within walking distance might fancy meeting up to walk the dogs together in daylight hours now the nights are drawing in for winter. However I was informed that the SHED group, run by a committee based in Port Talbot objected rather strongly to this idea.  I'm not a member of the said SHED group, (our one and only introductory excursion to meet them was rather marred by the organisers unpleasantness towards myself). I cannot verify what has been said and do rather hate listening to second hand information. Upon reflection it all seemed rather too politically charged for a simple dog walk and so I decided to withdraw the offer and stick with the lovely local pensioners instead. The local area is so beautiful that there are no shortage of nice companions to grab a flask and accompany us as we walk the dogs and socialise the new pup.

On the reading front M is currently presenting a bit of a conundrum. If he spontaneously searches for information it appears that his reading skills have improved dramatically. However if he consciously tries to read, all fluency is lost. It's as if we have to wait for him to consciously catch up to the idea that reading is not only possible but actually not that hard once you forget to fret about it. I'm doing all I can to create gentle prompts in the day that encourage him to read without thinking about it at the moment. The newspaper left lying prominently in the living room where he can find it seems to be the most useful tool for this at the moment.

w/c 11th October Highlights

This seems to have been a week where M has demonstrated his mastery of skills learned and his increasing confidence in his own abilities. Lots of consolidation has taken place.

M has enjoyed using the skills learnt on his futurelearn science course to plot a graph showing the weight of his bantam eggs over time. It has been nice to see him easily generalising a skill independently without adult prompting as historically this has been a real area of difficulty for him. It was also useful revision of an important maths topic.

He enjoyed visiting a Church craft fete at the weekend with friends and is getting quite confident about money, change and the social skills needed for a purchase. So confident in fact that, he intends to do the shopping for the roast dinner he plans to cook unassisted for myself and his Gran. This is a new target he has set himself to accomplish and demonstrates his improvement in his motor skills. This week he learned how to make the roast potatoes and the yorkshire puddings towards his self-directed goal.

On Monday we had the second of three planned NHS OT appointments with our new PCT. It was great to see him enthusiastically engaging with the therapist and chatting away as they assessed him. I was excited too, on learning that they have ordered him a new weighted blanket as his recent growth spurt means the one a friend helped me make a couple of years ago has been outgrown. We agreed the safest thing to do is to put his mattress on the floor for the time being as he has been breaking his bed slats on a regular basis in his sleep and I had been getting concerned about the potential safety implications. he enjoyed showing off his improved fine motor skills through drawing & colouring tasks for the therapist. We also discussed how to desensitise him so that I can take him to the GP to get a stubborn verruca on his foot looked at in a month or so. (Time is needed to work through the desensitisation programme so that the doctor can examine his feet without it causing a major melt down). It was a very productive appointment and I came away feeling confident that we have the tools needed to help him continue to make good progress as he grows.

He is enjoying his Flat Stanley audio books and discussing the story lines at present and they are an ideal way to spend time when it is too wet and rainy to go out. We got a new gym mat this week to use instead of a rug in the living room so that we can bring some of his therapy activities indoors for the winter as the grass outside is too sodden for effective floor work. It will be time to pull out the wii balance board soon for the same purpose. When the weather is fine I am keen for him to get out in the fresh air of the field with his dogs and continue to learn to ride his bike. However he has broken one of the stabilisers on his bike. His weight means sessions are shorter now as I can only support him for so long. I need to source some sturdier stabilsers as soon as I can so we do not lose momentum.

Motivation and learning.

w/c 6th October Highlights

The weather this week was very changeable. We had a lovely afternoon, and a morning looking at the free RNLI KS2 resources on beach safety.



We've also spent lots of time on social stories, to try and help M cope when he realises that older children are teasing him at social events and activities. It sends him into a panic and can upset him to the point of meltdown so really needs addressing before our next community farm visit in particular as some of the teens there honed in upon his vulnerability to torment him when we last visited. To do this we've used our "Lego Story Starter" trial pack and done lots of role play. Luckily our 15 year old neighbour is on the spectrum, and understand's M's fears - enough to role play the solutions after school M has decided upon with my help during the day.



Hopefully M will now be willing to try some new organised social activities in the weeks ahead, instead of just relying on play dates and dog walks with neighborhood children for his social life. It is a shame that he cannot use the local children's centre's  after school club, but I do not have the requisite DBS check that they demand,  in order for him to be able to successfully attempt an Introductory Session. It does make you wonder how many other children are excluded from activities at the children's centre simply because they need additional adult support in order to use their service. In addition unlike in many areas around the country Home Ed children cannot join in their local schools after hours activities. This closes off many social avenues for Home Ed kids to get to know the children in their locales.



M seems to have had a developmental leap recently regarding his drawing skills, so we have ditched the easygraph coloured pencils in favour of some erasable ordinary-shaped coloured pencils. I have let him spend lots of time this week drawing to his hearts content. Strike while the iron is hot, I say! He has a superb sense of colour and keen observational skills, so this will open up a whole new artistic avenue for him. Previously he was only ever confident working in 3 dimensions, his favourite medium being clay, for the sensory experience. I am also hoping that his new found confidence will extend eventually to his handwriting, and that we will reap the rewards of his hard work in this area too.

The Flat Stanley audio book series is perfect for quiet times after a mad race round the fields with the dogs. M is listening again to the book he insisted on hearing from beginning to end last week. He often does this with his Briteschool literacy lessons too, as he finds he often catches some of the language nuances he missed first go round due to his audio processing issues. After his second  time of listening I know to expect lots of questions as he digs into the details of the language used. He'll then listen a third time, in order to solidify his new knowledge, It's a method that seems to have accelerated his receptive language skill acquisition in the year we've been home educating, so I let him run with it. It means he can appreciate far more sophisticated texts (and conversations from his Briteschool lessons) than would otherwise be the case too.

The homework load from Briteschool was fairly time consuming this week, so it was a bit of a squeeze getting all our jobs done around the house on Saturday morning so that we could attend a local Cancer research coffee morning and have time for his cousins to visit on Sunday afternoon too.
On Saturday we headed out with the neighbours for a McMillan coffee morning, and Sprog chose a book on DNA from the reduced section of the Usbourne stall. It's great to see his growing confidence in talking to people and handling money and change. It's also good seeing him become more comfortable with an increasing range of new social situations and people. I never complain when he spends his pocket money on books either!

M needed to hear his science KS3 lesson recording again before he fully understood what was required of him for homework. However it's good to see that he is taking the time to fully understand the key concepts instead of just letting things float over his head in order to fit in, as he did when he was at school. Deep learning in preference to surface curriculum skimming with no real understanding or retention of the knowledge gained is a concept I wholeheartedly approve of. I think I like the newest trendy educational meme from Canada, "Slow Learning", as it seems to incorporate the actual development rate of the whole child in a holistic sense, rather than mere curriculum tick box targets.

On Sunday I was over the flu and the sprog was feeling brave, so we ventured out to the nearest Sunday School within walking distance at the Treboath Gospel Hall.  Another minor success as we have now been able to add another regular, local social activity to our week. (I've mentioned in previous weeks that appropriate Home Ed groups this year are all at some distance). I see this as yet another slot in the puzzle of M becoming part of the local community in which he resides. This is important to me, as in London we had local children in and out of our home daily, and were involved in several community activities. M has always enjoyed socialising despite the limitations of his sensory issues, and always had several close friends when he was at school.

Taking sole responsibility for my son's education is at times a little daunting, so this article about home education in another part of the country helped me hold my nerve, in this a week when I had flu. Article here

Microwave Sweeties

With the Xmas season approaching, home made sweeties can be a lovely gift to make together for friends and family. Using the microwave is often easier to handle safely than a hot stove top when dealing with molten sugar. Here are some recipes to get you started, the coconut ice & peppermint creams require no cooking at all, so is perfect if there are toddlers who would like to get involved, while perhaps an older child operates the microwave. 

This is my version of Scottish "Tablet "which is a "crumbly fudge "
450g (1 lb) caster sugar
125g (4 1/2 oz) unsalted butter
170g (6 oz) EVAPORATED milk .
NOTE not CONDENSED MILK ...

( USE THE BIGGEST BOWL YOU CAN GET IN THE MICROWAVE ..TO WILL NOT BELIEVE THE MESS IF IT OVER BOILS lol )

Prep:5min › Cook:12min › :2hr setting

Pour all the ingredients into a LARGE microwavable bowl (as the mixture cooks it expands) and beat well.
Place in the microwave on high for 12 minutes. ( I keep checking and beating ) every minute or so ,,, but at very least ) do .3, 6 and 9 minutes take the mixture out of the microwave and beat well.
Keep an eye on the mixture as it may boil over the top of the bowl and can be time consuming to clean! MOTTO. ... WATCH IT AND BEAT IT .....
After 12 minutes take the mixture out of the microwave and beat well for a few minutes until the mixture starts to crystallise. (I tend to use an electric whisk) .
Pour into a well buttered tray ( I always use non stick WELL BUTTERED ) and leave to set. It is a good idea to mark out your portions when the tablet is setting for ease of extracting from the tin!
Leave to set for a few hours in the fridge ...
To get out of tin ,.l ...I put a large bread board over my tray and flip
over ...

BASIC FUDGE RECIPE
450g plain chocolate
1 (397g) tin condensed sweetened milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
180g chopped walnuts

Method
Prep:15min › Cook:3min ›

Line a 20cm (8 in) square dish with aluminium foil or non stick parchment
Chop chocolate and place in a large, microwave safe bowl with condensed milk. Microwave on high, stirring at short intervals until chocolate is soft, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from microwave and stir until completely smooth.
Stir in vanilla and walnuts. Spread in prepared dish.
Refrigerate 2 hours, until firm. Cut into square ...

THIS WILL KEEP FOR QUITE A WHILE BUT NOT WRAPPED IF IN A FRIDGE ..JUST IN COOL PLACE

Orange Pecan

380g (13 oz) chocolate chips or chocolate drops
1 (397g) tin Nestlé Condensed Full Cream Sweetened Milk
60g (2 oz) chopped pecans
1 dessertspoon grated orange zest

Prep:10min › Cook:10min › 2hr chilling

Line a 20x20cm (8x8 in) square tin with baking parchment
Melt chocolate with condensed milk in a bowl in the microwave. ..WATCH AND STIR ...
Stir until smooth and slightly cooled
Stir in pecans and grated orange zest.
Pour chocolate mixture into prepared pan.
Chill 2 hours, or until firm, and cut into squares.
If doing as present ..sprinkle with cocoa powder and strips orange zest ..

ROCKY ROAD AND OTHERS
....
USE ANY CHOCOLATE YOU LIKE - WHITE ..CHOC CHIPS MILK PLAIN ..IT DOES NOT MATTER ...COOKING CHOCOLATE IS BEST THOUGH ..

Fudge
350g cooking chocolate
1 (397g) tin condensed sweetened milk
2 tablespoons butter
Prep:5min › Cook:4min ›
:3hr chilling ›
To make the fudge: First, break up the cooking chocolate into a large microwave safe bowl, then pour over the condensed milk and add the butter.
Zap in the microwave on 60% power for 3 minutes in 1 minute blasts ... (IF YOU CANNOT ADJUST POWER . DONT WORRY ..BUT KEEP CHECKING AND STIRRING HARD ,,CHOCOLATE WILL BURN IN MICRO )
let cool for a bit ..... then add
FOR THE ROCKY ROAD
150g mixed nuts, chopped
100g marshmallows
1 small bar Turkish Delight, chopped
50g glace cherries,
To make the rocky road: Once the chocolate mix has come out of the microwave and has been stirred, add the nuts, marshmallows, Turkish Delight and cherries
Stir to combine and the pour into a greased tin. Place in fridge to set for a minimum of 3 hours.
DONT FORGET IT YOU WRAP IT IN CELLOPHANE DONT KEEP IN IN FRIDGE
VARIATIONS .... REMEMBER MAKE FUDGE FIRST ..THEN AS IT STARTS TO COOL STIR IN YOUR ADDITIONS
for example
ADD ANY NUTS - DRIED FRUIT
SULTANAS SOAKED IN BRANDY .. GLACÉ CHERRIES ..
SMALL WHITE CHOC CHIPS ( USE WHITE COOKING CHOCOLATE FOR THE FUDGE ) .(.MAKE SURE FUDGE IS COOL ..AND THEN JUST PUSH IN AND LEAVE A FEW SHOWING) .
You can buy all the Jane Asher .. CHOC chips and fancies in POUNDLAND NOW ..

Coconut Ice Recipe. NO COOK
Ingredients:

340g desiccated coconut
340g icing sugar
400g tin of condensed milk
Optional food colouring
How To Make Coconut Ice
1. Place the condensed milk into a bowl and add the icing sugar. Beat well then mix in the desiccated coconut. The mixture will get firm and difficult to stir but persevere until everything is all combined.
2. Divide the mixture into two (add optional food colourings to each) and spread into an 8inch square tin giving two coloured layers and allow to set overnight
3. Cut into small cubes and spread on a sheet of greaseproof paper to dry slightly.

MICROWAVE LEMON CURD

150 grams Caster Sugar ....( use can use granulated but make sure all dissolved
50 grams of butter ....( real butter not butter spreads )
Juice of 2 lemons ... ( so about 3 ozs of lemon juice )
And all the zest from the 2 lemons ,, ( this makes it really lemony)
2 large eggs ...Beaten very well

Place in large bowl in microwave ..for about 3 minutes ...BUT open and stir
all the way thru .,IT GETS HOT ...make sure all sugar has dissolved

Whilst hot .quickly add the two eggs ..AND BEAT hard ..really BEAT . Together

quickly back in to microwave for 2 to 3 minutes or less .... BEATING every 30 seconds

It will thicken up ..and when you stir and it leave trails ..
.( you can see the swirls where you have stirred ).

Microwave for 30 seconds more ..LEAVE TO COOL
Put in clean jam jars ...

Peppermint Creams NO COOK ...
Ingredients
Makes: 35 sweets

1 egg white
340g (12oz) icing sugar
a few drops peppermint extract
a few drops food
Method
Prep:20min › 1day chilling ›

Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper.
Whisk the egg white lightly in a bowl until frothy but not stiff.
Sift the icing sugar into the bowl and stir it into the egg white with a wooden spoon until the mixture is stiff.
Knead in the peppermint essence. And the food colouring if required.
Roll the mixture into balls and put on a baking sheet. Use a fork to flatten them. If the fork sticks to them, then dip the fork in icing sugar before pressing down.
Refrigerate for 24 hours.

Other ideas

Instead of peppermint, you can use orange essence, lemon juice or strawberry essence.
Other ideas

Once set, if you like, you can melt 55g (2oz) chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Dip the peppermint creams in.

w/c 29th September 2014 Highlights.

We went for a lovely walk on Thursday in the sunshine with the dogs to look for flowers, so that M could study the flower structures from his Briteschool homework task of the previous week. We also had great fun searching for wild plants that can reproduce via runners in our surrounding neighbourhood.




The pace of the Briteschool KS3 science curriculum is quite a brisk one, so we can't always find the time for this sort of thing. It takes M so much longer then the norm to produce any written work, even the models he's been producing in recent weeks instead of reports are time consuming to produce. The British weather may not be on our side for much longer either, as it's hard to make scientific observations in the driving rain.

I'm really pleased with the diagrams that M has managed to produce so far this term as it's a tangible sign that his fine motor skills are improving. His drawings are so much neater than when we began our homeschool journey, making it feel like all our fine motor skills work is beginning to pay off. If he can only pick up some speed then I can see an iGCSE  in Biology perhaps being a tangible reality for his future in the coming years. Handwriting as a means of recording information is at last becoming a meaningful concept in its' own right for him after years of pain. He can see the purpose of recording the results of his experiments so is keen to improve his handwriting where he had previously almost given up seeing no purpose beyond making himself feel stupid in comparison to his peers. I believe intrinsic motivation to be a key component for learning in children with social communication disorders like my son, so am thrilled at this new development.


We also stumbled upon an amazing literacy resource to help M with creative writing this week in the form of a free trial Lego story starter pack. Like many children with a social communication disorder M has real struggles with creative language work. The curriculum guide that accompanies the pack is really helpful and well structured. M spent a happy hour with the neighbor working on a story plot for his Briteschool homework.

We also feel that the software would be great for helping M produce his own social stories in conjunction with resources like the "Talk About" series.  The only issue for purchasing a full curriculum pack for M is the cost at £100 for the software licence and another £108 for the lego and teachers resource this isn't a cheap solution.

On the social front M's second puppy training class went well, and it is lovely to see him starting to form tentative friendships with some of the other children who attend with their parents. Once again the challenge of right from left had him confused - this time as he attempted to weave in and out of a circle of dogs with his pup. The instructors are lovely and very clear in their instructions to him, and it is nice to see him forming a trusting relationship with them, and beginning to ask for help when needed. It was commented on that his body language seemed far more relaxed this week.

The class is quite busy and a little noisy at times, as pups yap. This means it's a very challenging sensory environment for M. He uses his Nintendo DS  to "zone out" the noise when it gets too much. At an hour's duration I think the class is at about the edge of his tolerance limit. He is keen to continue, so we will look at strategies for him to manage his sensory issues in a calm way for future classes, He'll be working on the Kennel Club's "Good Citizen" puppy foundation scheme this year, giving him a tangible goal to work towards, and hopefully a sense of achievement at the end.

Our Flat Stanley - "Around the World Adventures" audio books arrived this week. Although we've read the original "Flat Stanley" book together in the past we've only recently come across the accompanying UK home school group. The scheme involves sending out a Flat Stanley laminated model and an adventure story to another child, and in return receiving theirs. As it's a global project it seems a wonderful way of encouraging & motivating literacy & geography skills while having a bit of creative fun. We'll listen to some of the books in the series that is new to us before joining the postal scheme in a couple of months, when M is feeling confident about what he'd like to produce and contribute. In the mean time, it helps bring the World map on the living room wall to life for M, and compliments our Monday global breakfasts inspired by Grain Chain. By starting our postal adventure in the UK this year we'll build up confidence perhaps to try some of the global destinations in future.

Free learning resources

Thursday is M's long day with his online school, so is the day I can do my planning. This week I decided to gather together all the free resource links I've found to date and pop them in one place for easy reference in the future. We are unlikely to use them all this school year.

Free Home Education Resources

Parliament

Book a parliament loan box to learn about how government works http://www.parliament.uk/education/teaching-resources-lesson-plans/parliament-loan-box/

British legion

http://www.britishlegion.org.uk/remembrance/schools-and-learning/learning-pack

Farming, & food production

Grow your own potatoes

http://gyop.potato.org.uk/PreRegister.aspx?PageId=51

Grain Chain

We are using the map poster as our introduction to Geography this year. We start each week with a global breakfast on Monday mornings.

http://www.grainchain.com/Teachers/order-resources.html  In the spring we will grow our own grains in the garden (probably sweet corn, amaranth and quinoa ).

Design and technology

Dyson Project Loan Box

http://www.jamesdysonfoundation.co.uk/.../engineering-box/ for a dyson project

We also have the Dyson Challenge cards, which we will use once our electronics apprenticeship is complete.

The Environment & Conservation

Butterfly conservation project

http://www.butterfly-conservation.org/

Water

http://www.wateraid.org/uk/audience/schools/the-water-resource

Primary and secondary packs are available.

Habitats

http://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/education/teaching-resources/wallcharts/

Soil association

http://www.soilassociation.org/Search/tabid/38/Default.aspx?cx=009018360221032490705%3Aeoxc-qjqswo&cof=FORID%3A10&ie=UTF-8&q=activity+book

Links to several curriculum packs covering several topics

Biology 

The British Heart Foundation
http://www.bhf.org.uk/schools.aspx

Plants
http://www.saps.org.uk/

Science for a bit of fun on Fridays (meant for Primary but does it really matter?)
http://www.lovescience.co.uk/friday-freebie-blog/

General 

http://www.e-learningforkids.org/

High Interest/Low Reading Age - book list.

High Interest/Low Reading Age books

(courtesy of Swansea LA)

Name	Description	Age Range	Publisher/Supplier
Jump Start	Early intervention for children who are falling behind.  RA of 5, but IA of 6+	6+ Years 2-3	Collins Educational www.collinseducation.com
Wellington Square	A series of reading books with an initial RA of below 6. There are 5 levels available.  The CD ROMs are very useful for KS3.  Levels 4 & 5 include a secondary teacher’s handbook.	KS2 Early KS3	Nelson Thornes www.nelsonthornes.com
Jets (Young Lions)	39 motivating books for reluctant readers, written by the UK’s leading children’s authors	Upper KS2 KS3	Collinswww.collinseducation.com
Wolf Hill	Popular  -  look like real paperbacks. Five levels of difficulty for reluctant or struggling readers with a RA of 6.5.	Year 5+ KS3	OUP www.oup.co.uk
Orchard Crunchies	Suitable for reluctant readers with a RA of above 7	Year 5+	Franklin Watts www.orchardbooks.co.uk
Graffix	Cartoon style, for older reluctant readers  -  action packed stories appealing to boys	KS3	A&C Black www.acblack.com
Skyways	Graded scheme of exciting stories  - 7 levels IA 7 – 11   RA 6 - 9	Year 4+	Collins www.collinseducation.com
Sparklers	High interest chapter books written for Guided Reading for reluctant readers	KS1 KS2	Nelson Thornes www.nelsonthornes.com

Gigglers	Written for Guided Reading for reluctant readers  -  chapter books with even funnier storylines than Sparklers.	KS1	Nelson Thornes www.nelsonthornes.com
Rising Stars Downloads	2 series of books for older boys. Extreme sports, fast cars and popular culture are used as themes to turn reluctant and less able teenagers back to reading. Each book has a short story of 3 chapters and non-fiction information pages with a small amount of reading on each page. + CDROM	KS2 & KS3	Heinemann www.risingstars-uk.com
Hopscotch Adventures	16 titles of exciting page-turning adventures.  Text of no more than 400 words	KS2	Franklin Watts www.franklinwatts.co.uk
Trackers	Motivating fiction and non-fiction for struggling readers at Level 1 of NC.  6 levels plus a starter level.  Real book look.  Guided reading booklet free with each pack	KS2 and Year 7	Oxford University Press www.oup.co.uk
Trailblazer	2 series of 6 titles – RA 6-7; IA 8-14. Fiction and non-fiction in one book. First half of each title presents information in and exciting and highly visual form.  This provides key vocabulary for fiction section which makes up second half of book.	KS2 & KS3	Ransoms http://actinic.thwd.co.uk
Boffin Boy	Series of 12 books – RA 6-7 (6 books);  7-8 (6 books).  Hero is a 14 year-old interested in Science who uses his skills to fight evil.	KS2 & KS3	Ransoms http://actinic.thwd.co.uk
Dark Man	Gripping books with chapters, for older struggling readers.  2 sets of 6 books - RA 6-7 years.  CDROM of talking books and activities.	KS3 & KS4 and young adult	Ransoms http://actinic.thwd.co.uk
Full Flight	Aliens, sport and adventure for 11-13 year olds (particularly boys) reading age 7.5 – 8; Level 4 now published for girls and Full Flight 5 – graphic novels and Choose Your Own Adventure Stories; Full Flight Runway – 12 books with RA of 6 and IA of 9-13, useful for EAL students	Upper KS2 and KS3	Badger Books www.badger-publishing.co.uk
Dark Flight	Hard-edged content for 10 – 14 year-olds.  RA 6.5 - 7	KS2 & KS3	Badger Books www.badger-publishing.co.uk
First Flight	Engrossing books for 7 – 14 year-olds  -  ‘real’ paperbacks.  Themes include football, ghosts, roller-coasters, poems	KS2 & KS3	Badger Books www.badger-publishing.co.uk
Jo Gentle	Set of 6 books – RA 6-8 years. Graphic novel format about streetwise single girl in her 20s with a secret power.	KS3& KS4 and young adult – particularly girls	Ransoms http://actinic.thwd.co.uk
Siti’s sisters	Author Helen Orme’s name dominates the cover. 2 series of 6 books  -  RA of 7-8 – designed to appeal to girls.	KS2 &KS3	Ransoms http://actinic.thwd.co.uk
Rapid	Exciting fiction and non-fiction books with accompanying resources and computer software	KS2	Heinemann www.heinemann.com
Fast Lane	‘Blow-your-socks-off’ fiction for teenagers who aren’t keen to pick up books.  Parental Advisory content. No more than 2,000 words over 64 pages	KS3 & KS4	FranklinWatts www.franklinwatts.co.uk
Chain Gang	Series intended to involve even the most reluctant reader.  It follows the adventures of a gang of friends brought together by their passion for mountain biking.	KS2 & KS3	Evans www.evansbooks.co.uk
Sharp Shades	Popular stories from the ‘Shades’ series that have been reduced in length and complexity for less able or reluctant readers	KS2 & KS3	Evans www.evansbooks.co.uk
Barrington Stoke	Excellent ’real’ paperbacks printed in a dyslexia-friendly typeface on cream paper which appeal to older (9+) boys. Written by top children’s authors. Several series: 4U2Read:  IA  8-10    RA below 8  IA 10 – 12    RA below 8 Fiction IA 8 – 10    RA 8+ IA 10 – 12    RA 8+ IA 12 - 13    RA 8+ IA 13 – 14    RA 8+ IA 14+    RA 8+ FYI  - fiction with stacks of facts IA 8 – 12    RA 8+ GR8Reads – for seriously struggling teenage readers: IA 12 – 16    RA  below 8    Teenage titles: IA 12 – 16  RA  8+	Upper KS2, KS3 & KS4	Barrington Stoke www.barringtonstoke.co.uk
On the Edge	4 levels of reading with 12 books at each level, plus teacher’s books and playscripts at each level. Stories built around same group of characters that teenagers can identify with. Topics includes problem page letters, Valentine’s Day.  Supporting website very popular with students.	KS3 & KS4	Folens www.folens.com
Zone 13	Scary stories for struggling readers	KS3	Nelson Thornes www.nelsonthornes.com
Sports Zone	Exciting stories with a sports theme, by David Orme, author of Zone 13.  3 Levels covering a RA range of 7–9 years	KS3/ KS4	Nelson Thornes www.nelsonthornes.com
Livewire Chillers Livewire Real Lives LivewireInvestigates Livewire Plays	Scary stories – 3 levels RA  7-9 Short biographies of famous people, including footballers, which make extensive use of photographs Non-fiction texts  about intriguing topics such as UFOs and The Bermuda Triangle	KS3	Hodder & Stoughton www.hoddereducation.co.uk
Tremors	More scary stories to start the tremors.  Well-written with appealing illustrations.	KS2 & 3	Wayland www.hodderwayland.co.uk
Danger Zone	Exciting true-life adventure stories with carefully constructed text.	KS3	Franklin Watts www.orchardbooks.co.uk
Five-minute Thrillers	Eerie stories with an unexpected twist ‘in the tale’.  Short sentences and easy vocabulary  make them accessible to struggling readers.  2 sets of 8 books.	KS3 & KS4	LDA www.ldalearning.com

Non Fiction     (see also some series above e.g. Trackers & Trailblazers)        

Wildcats	Six levels, covering a RA range of 6 – 11, Interest Age range 8 – 12. Each level contains fiction and non-fiction  titles such as ‘Extreme Sports’, ‘Maps & Codes’.	KS2+	Kingscourt Publishing www.kingscourt.co.uk
Fusion (Geography, History & Science)	3 series with a reading age of 7 years and content of 9+.  Designed to make core concepts easy to understand, with strong images to engage the reluctant reader.	KS2 & KS3	Heinemann Raintree www.raintreepublishers.co.uk
Spirals Plays			Nelson Thornes

Excellent books currently out of print

.Starpol	Series of graded reading books, set in space	KS2+	Ginn
Zoom	Outstanding series of graded readers, beginning at a reading age of >6, up to 8+	KS2+	Ginn