Creating, wondering, imagining…these are such important activities for all of us, but never more so than in childhood. Imaginative play is crucial to your child’s mental, social and emotional development. The ability to form new ideas, images or concepts without needing to see or sense something enhances a child’s ability for creativity and resourcefulness. Even prominent and inspirational scientists such as Einstein understood the importance of imagination for children: “Ima

Personalised jigsaw puzzles are a great activity for family time together and an opportunity to build your child's self-esteem. They provide time to discuss their unique features and positive qualities or a story that gets told as the photo gradually takes shape and relive memories time and time again, evoking the same wave of positive emotions! What you need: a photograph of your child paper and crayons scissors What to do: either find a photograph of your child or encourag

The ability to segment words into sounds and the ability to blend sounds into words (oral blending and segmenting) are vital prerequisite skills for spelling and reading. Young children learning the English language initially perceive words as whole units, as their focus is meaning. They have to be explicitly taught that words are made up of a sequence of speech sounds (phonemes). Development of this understanding requires direct instruction, modelling, and lots of practice o

Apostrophes can be tricky. Sometimes they form possessives. Sometimes they form contractions. Can they ever make something plural? Confusion around apostrophes means mistakes can often be spotted all around us in everyday situations. Have you ever heard of the grocer's apostrophe? Using an unnecessary apostrophe to form the plural of a noun is a very common mistake. Sometimes, it’s called the grocer’s apostrophe because of how frequently it is spotted in grocery store adverti

Did anyone tell you practice makes perfect? That's only if you're practicing it right. Each time you spell a word wrong, you're 'practicing' the wrong spelling. So, if you're not sure how to spell the word, find out, then practice that spelling. Keep an ongoing notebook of words, so you've got your own personal dictionary and you can see your progress. Start small, though! Don't try to learn all the words at once Even if you learn them all in one sitting, practice them a few

As we start the new academic year, parents and carers are likely to be 'bombarded' over the next few weeks with a variety of letters and leaflets. Much of this home/school communication will involve teachers advising families about topics and themes that are going to be explored in their child's new class. You may even be invited into a school or setting for a curriculum meeting to discuss what learning next year may look like for your child. Where possible, it's important to

Fine motor skills are those that involve a refined use of the small muscles which control the hand, fingers and thumb. With the development of these skills, a child is able to complete important tasks such as writing, feeding oneself, buttoning and zippering. These abilities gradually develop through experience and exposure to a variety of toys, materials and even foods. Why is fine motor skill development important? Little hands need to develop dexterity and strength. We can

Self-esteem is how you think about yourself. Being confident means being comfortable with how you look and how you feel. And it means feeling good about yourself, your abilities and your thoughts. Sometimes it helps to get your feelings down into words or art. It doesn’t matter how good you are; creativity, however accomplished, can help you calm down or make sense of things. Try these ideas with your child to support them in creating a space for writing or drawing about them

Art is the “first language” of the beginning reader and writer. Children usually draw or paint before they write. They use what might seem like just scribbles, lines and blobs to represent things. But isn’t that what writing is all about? Both art and writing are a process of symbol making and can be a means of communication. Children’s pictures are words to them and represent an essential step on the road to literacy. Offering children lots of different opportunities to mark

When researching about teaching mindfulness to today's children, I realise how enlightened my parents were almost 50 years ago.  We routinely sat silent for at least a minute before dinner each night.  My parents taught my sisters and I the importance of slowing down and quietening ourselves before we began eating.  It made a big difference to how we enjoyed the meal and each other’s company.  It set me on the path of appreciating the importance of mindfulness; a gift I treas

Names... we all have them. Nearly all names have a meaning and the naming of children is often marked by an important ceremony. For example, in Bangladesh, when a new baby is named, a number of names are written on pieces of paper and each one is placed is front of a candle. The candles are then lit and the name in front of the one which burns the longest is the name given to the child. In West Africa, names indicate the occasion of the child's birth. If the child was born du

The wellbeing of families, and children in particular, is a critical part of achieving academic outcomes. Here at Fabulous at Phonics!, it is our goal to support children and their families to develop their wellbeing so that they are able to maximise their own sense of inner peace and joy to have a positive effect on educational progress. Our weekly Feel Fabulous Friday blogs provide high-quality ideas to support parents to provide age-appropriate mindfulness practices with t