education

Gunning for Peace?

Posted by on Mar 2, 2013 in education, Parenting, Uncategorized | 5 comments

So when I started this blog, back last summer,  I made a list of topics I wanted to write about.  The debate about whether to allow children to play with toy guns was something at the top.  After the Sandy Hook tragedy this is clearly a hot and sensitive subject.  Having two boys who, like many of their gender, are naturally drawn to toy guns I wondered if I should allow them to play with such things.  Many of my friends do not allow toy guns of any description in their houses and even light sabers are down the garbage chute before you can count to 10!  But growing up with two brothers,...

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Reading

Posted by on Oct 3, 2012 in education, Parenting | 3 comments

Your child learning to read can be a nerve racking process and one, I feel, parents have good cause to be concerned about.  I’m a firm believer in early intervention.  Our children are so lucky today, surrounded by print many of them will pick up reading just from the instruction they receive at school and the constant exposure to books and words all around them. But how do you know your child is really struggling with reading and at what age should you start to have serious concerns? It can be alarming to go into your child’s classroom and see their friend reading Harry Potter...

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Hunger Games?

Posted by on Aug 9, 2012 in education, Parenting, Uncategorized | 0 comments

I have just finished reading the first  book of The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins and enjoyed every page.  I was reluctant to start as it is not the usual kind of book I like to read but I felt it very important to be ‘in the loop’ about this series as I am set to teach 4th Grade in September. The Hunger Games has been a hot topic this past academic year amongst teachers and parents – is this story appropriate for  a 9/10 year old?  Scholastic rates the book as grade 5.3 for ages 11-13. I confess Peter, my 9 year old, read the book before I did. Yes, I broke...

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