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What's so special about 23rd April?

Sat, 19 Apr 2025 10:52:00 GMT

A day of multiple observances

If you follow my page on Facebook , or make use of the Every Day Matters learning calendar , you'll see that some days have more than one special observance or celebration. However, 23rd April seems to have more special observances and celebrations than most. Here are just a few simple ideas to help you and your family mark these special occasions :)

April 23rd is St George's Day. He is the patron saint of England, Ethiopia, Bulgaria, Georgia, Portugal and Brazil. In Spain, he is the patron saint of Catalonia and Aragon. In Russia, he is the patron saint of Moscow. Can you help your children find these places on a globe or world map?
Listen to the legend of George and the Dragon at Storynory.

23rd April is also Shakespeare Day. Not only because it is the anniversary of his death in 1616, it's possible that it's the date of his birth in 1564 too. He was a prolific writer whose work is still popular more than 400 years after his death.

Why not watch an abridged, animated version of one of his plays or read one of his sonnets?

UNESCO has declared 23rd April to be World Book and Copyright Day (this is celebrated at the beginning of March in the UK). It's a day to celebrate the importance of reading. Every year, a different city is nominated to be the World Book capital, to carry on the work of World Book Day for the next 12 months. In 2025, this honour has been given to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

Why not read aloud a picture book set in another country to celebrate the global importance of books? Does your family have a favourite? I'd love to know, drop me a message on Facebook or by email :)

As if these three observances weren't enough, the UN has also declared April 23rd to be both English Language Day and Spanish Language Day. Can your children learn three new English words today to broaden your vocabulary? They can use a dictionary or thesaurus to help.

Why not learn a few words of Spanish today? Can your family find Spanish words that tie in with the other reasons to celebrate April 23rd? A few suggestions are book, play, saint, country and celebrate.

You can get a FREE monthly copy of the Every Day Matters learning calendar in the Picture Book Explorers Facebook group . If you'd rather get it sent directly to your inbox, subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of my Contact page .

Image credits:
St George and the Dragon

By Angel Lahoz from Fuenlabrada, Spain - Georgia Tiflis Tbilisi, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32540894

Shakespeare's Birthplace

By John - originally posted to Flickr as Stratford upon Avon, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3926496

Vincent Van Gogh

Sat, 08 Mar 2025 10:21:12 GMT

Van Gogh topic ideas to try at home

Vincent Van Gogh was born on 30th March, 1853. He is so famous that he even appears in a Dr Who episode ��

Did you know that he only sold one painting in his lifetime? Nowadays, his paintings are highly sought after and are worth millions.

Picture books are a great way to introduce children to famous people. Award-winning British author, Laurence Anholt has written a series of children's books about artists, including Van Gogh and the Sunflowers . The story is set in France, where Van Gogh spent some time when he was 35. The book includes examples of his work and a brief biography to learn more about the artist's life. The picture book makes an ideal springboard into a unit study project about the famous artist :)

Here are some activities that your child may enjoy:
Paint swirls in the sky just like Van Gogh. Use bright colours and mix the paint on the paper.
Create self-portraits just like Van Gogh - he painted more than 30!
Visit an art gallery and look for Van Gogh paintings.
Grow a sunflower.
Serve a sunflower shaped snack. Add sunflower seeds for extra sunflower nourishment.
Make a jelly in a Swiss roll tin and use a star shape cutter to make a starry night dessert.
Listen to the song 'Vincent' by Don McLean

Further resources for a unit study on Van Gogh:
Van Gogh Post Cards
Video clip from BBC Schools
Biography
Explore the digital Van Gogh map
Wordsearch
Colouring pages
Notebooking page

More books on Vincent Van Gogh:
Vincent Van Gogh the Complete Paintings
Katie and the Starry Night

Katie and the Sunflowers
Make a Masterpiece - Starry Night

For a unit study that explores another of Laurence Anholt's books, check out

Picture Book Explorers ~ Stone Girl, Bone Girl

Happy Exploring!

February Love

Sat, 08 Feb 2025 10:55:37 GMT

It's all hearts and flowers ❤

I ❤ February, don't you? The days are starting to get a little longer; the promise of spring is in the air and in the garden. Bulbs are sending up green shoots, their fingers tentatively checking that it's safe to come out before displaying their glorious colours to a waiting world. While you're waiting, get ahead with planning with Let's Explore Daffodils Project Lapbook ❤

February is the month of Valentine's Day, a day to celebrate love and matters of the heart. Legend has it that St Valentine was a bishop in Rome who disobeyed the Emperor's new law that prohibited marriage. Emperor Claudius II had this bright idea that men would make better soldiers if they weren't distracted by wife and family. Brave Valentine was having none of it, so he continued to perform marriages, but in secret. Sadly, he was eventually caught and thrown in prison. Whilst he was in there, he cured the prison guard's blind daughter, Julia. Valentine and Julia became friends and then fell in love with each other. On the night before his execution on February 14th 270AD, he sent her a final letter signed "From Your Valentine" ❤

Since the Middle Ages, the feast day has been traditionally associated with romantic love, but nowadays, you can now find lots of activities online that celebrate familial and spiritual love too. In fact, I've collected some ideas together on a Valentine's Day Pinterest board for you to explore with your children ❤

This woven heart-shaped craft from First Palette is one of my favourites. I tried it with my Sunday school class and it proved a little tricky for younger children, so they simply wove the strips under and over each other to make a flat heart-shaped decoration instead. We glued the ends of the strips together to stop the heart from falling apart. Some children then glued it on to the front of a card; others threaded a loop of cotton through the top to hang it ❤
.
If you have older kids who have mastered the instructions, maybe you could set them the challenge of making baskets of different sizes so that they have to work out how to make the template for themselves ❤

If you want to tie some science in with Valentine's Day, it's worth bearing in mind that February is also National Heart Month here in the UK. The perfect opportunity to look at the biology of the heart. You'll find lots of hands-on ideas, videos and printables on the Circulatory System section of my Human Body Pinterest board. There's something for all ages, so please pop over and have a look ❤

What's your favourite thing about February?

It's here!

Tue, 10 Oct 2023 14:46:08 GMT

Are you ready for autumn?

Oh gosh! I love autumn so much �� I love the colours of the leaves on the trees and I love crunching through leaves on the ground. I love collecting acorns and conkers - I came home with three shiny conkers in my pocket today and not a child in sight. I love long evenings in front of an open fire. I love the sudden urge to start knitting. I love the sense of a new season and knowing that we're in the run up to Christmas. (I really love Christmas, but that's another story ��)

Collecting acorns and conkers is such a joyful autumn tradition. What child (or adult, in my case) doesn't love filling their pockets with these smooth, shiny nuts? Collect them for conker fights, add them to nature displays, use them as maths manipulatives or as a subject for observational drawing. You can even use them to make liquid soap. I haven't tried that yet though, have you?

Conkers and acorns bring back so many happy home ed memories. One year, The Girl was taking part in a Cabinets of Curiosity project at a local museum. Boykin was only 3 or 4 at the time - he was too young to take part in the workshop. We wandered round the park, collecting acorns and conkers while we waited for her. He was so proud of his collection that he showed them to the museum staff before we left. They added his collection to the project - complete with typed out label, just like everyone else's. He was so chuffed that his acorns and conkers went on public display alongside the more considered collections of the other children ��

If you want a lit-based unit study that touches on autumn, try Picture Book Explorers ~ Dogs Don't Do Ballet . There are activities focusing on autumn leaves to add a seasonal touch to your learning journey. If you want to find out how to make your own Cabinet of Curiosities, you'll find fully illustrated instructions in Picture Book Explorers ~ Stone Girl, Bone Girl �� How are you making memories this autumn?

Happy Exploring ��

Help! We need some structure!

Thu, 31 Aug 2023 11:22:04 GMT

First steps in building a rhythm that works

If you're in any home ed Facebook groups, you'll know that this question comes up a lot. Sometimes because children thrive better with set routines and sometimes because parents need them, for one reason or another. Personally, I found that I had to make the move from a more free-flowing approach to a more structured lifestyle because that's what my two youngest wanted. At the time, it really wasn't my idea of what Home Ed should look like, especially after having taken the autonomous route with my eldest ��

But how to introduce a happy rhythm when they were only 7 and 3?
After some trial and error, we finally found a flexible routine that worked for us that pretty much stuck through the remaining Home Ed years. Having a regular, familiar pattern certainly made it easier when it came to the more focussed study need for GCSEs and beyond. But would you believe that my first successful starting point revolved around that wonderful tradition of elevenses?

That's right �� At eleven o'clock, every morning that we were at home, I served up a tray of hot drinks (hot chocolate for them and Earl Grey for me) with a plate of cake or biscuits. While we enjoyed our elevenses, I read aloud from a chapter book. At first, it was a little tricky because I found that they'd finished eating before I'd finished reading the chapter and they'd start climbing on furniture and tumbling like puppies. Surprisingly, they were still listening to the story alongside this physical activity, but it was all far too distracting for me. How on earth was I supposed to remember all the voices when in between telling them not to jump on the settee?

So what did I do? How did I balance their need for activity with my need to be able to focus? I made sure that there were some quiet activities on hand for when they had finished eating and drinking. In those early days, I found that jigsaws satisfied their need to be 'doing' while listening and satisfied my need to have a certain level of stillness while I read to them. After a few days, I realised that we had successfully taken our first tentative steps into an intentionally established daily routine of formalised learning and (apart from replicating the school six-week holiday one summer) we never looked back ��

Of course, structure isn't for everyone and I take that into account when I'm writing my resources. Even though I include schedules, these are intended to be suggestions only. It's my hope that you take what you want and need from each pack to enhance your child's learning journey. Because they are written for family learning, you'll be able to revisit the packs as they get older and enjoy any activities that you missed first time round. You can also repeat activities that they enjoyed first time round ( volcano buns, anyone ?)

I'd love to know how you home ed. Do you have a routine or are you more free-flowing? Drop me a line or pop into the Picture Book Explorers group on Facebook ��

Maths & Maps

Tue, 02 May 2023 07:14:52 GMT

Picture Book Explorers ~ Oscar, Cat-about-town

Maths & Maps?

I apologise for the quality of these photos. They are oldies but goodies ��

I often hear from people who are daunted by doing maths at home with their kids, but there are so many different ways to approach the subject. It doesn't have to be all textbooks and worksheets :)

Take the top photo, for instance, of the compass and map. It's one of the suggested activities in Picture Book Explorers ~ Oscar, Cat-about-town . I was inspired by a short phrase in the story about one place being 20 miles away from another. We got out a map, found our village and used a compass to circle a 20 mile radius around it to find out just how far that is.

Sounds fairly simple, right? Here are 10 things my kids learnt from this single activity.
1. They learnt how to set up a compass - the pencil point must be level with the needle tip when the compass is closed.

2. They learnt how to draw circles with a compass - a skill that takes time to master.

3. They were introduced to the maths language for circles. There were no worksheets involved. They learnt through the conversation that happened naturally as we worked together to complete this task. This gave me the opportunity to check their understanding without the need for testing.

4. We talked about scale and how long distances are represented on paper.

5. We talked about metric and imperial measurements and about how we use both in the UK, depending on what we're measuring - roads in miles, planks of wood in mm!
6. They used the bar scale on the map to set the compass to get the required diameter for their circle.

7. They explored the places inside the circle they had drawn, discussing place-names and terrain.

8. They learnt about the map key by investigating the symbols inside the circle.

9. We talked about places we had visited and places we would like to visit.

10. They helped to plan a day out, then we visited one of the places they had chosen and enjoyed the spontaneous learning that a day out always bring.

All in all, they really enjoyed themselves and so did I. There are practical maths activities in all the Picture Book Explorers packs. On there own, the activities are not a complete maths curriculum, but they can help to introduce maths topics or revise ones already covered. More than that, they encourage a positive can-do attitude to maths by making it fun ��

Happy Exploring!

I'm just wild about April

Tue, 04 Apr 2023 10:31:26 GMT

NEW Let's Explore Daffodils Project Lapbook

Isn't the sunshine just gorgeous? �� It's so nice to feel a little warmth on my face when I'm out in the garden, weeding and tidying ready for the new growing season. This year, I'm really appreciating the daffodils. I have only three types in my garden currently, but after writing Let's Explore Daffodils Project Lapbook , I'm determined to get some more ��

I'm particularly keen to grow narcissus pseudonarcissus , the wild daffodil native to Britain. If you fancy learning more about daffodils, you'll love my latest cross-curricular unit study lapbook pack. Pop on over to my shop and take a look. I had a lot of fun putting it together and learnt so much in the process. I can't wait to share it all with you and your family ��

If you're keen to get outside with your kids, but would love a little direction for your learning have a look at some of the other lapbooks in my shop ��
If you love growing things, there's Let's Explore Sowing & Planting Linked Lapbook . If you have bug-crazy kids, then try Let's Explore Insects Linked Lapbook . Each of these id so more than just a lapbook, with instructions for hands-on practical activities to bring the topic to life ��

I'd love to know what you love about spring. Drop me a line or pop into the Picture Book Explorers group on Facebook. Did you know that I share ideas, links and resources to support home educators in there? ��

Happy Exploring!

FREE Harry Potter inspired worksheet

Fri, 10 Feb 2023 10:16:38 GMT

When inspiration strikes, self-led learning happens

You may or may not know that I home educated my children for a grand total of 30 years and in that time I was often delighted by their own ideas for learning activities ��

In fact, my most popular FREE resource is based on an idea that my son came up with as an activity for our local HE group Harry Potter themed session. He was just 12 years old at the time and usually didn't enjoy writing much at all ��

Like a lot of kids of that age, he was a bit (a lot) of a Harry Potter fan and had decided to learn a little Latin after discovering that many of the spells were derived from it. Consequently, he became very enthusiastic about making up his own spells using Latin vocabulary and came up with the idea of a 'Create your own spell' worksheet . I've used his basic idea (with his permission, of course) and tweaked the design a little so that you can enjoy it with your own children. ��

Of course, I was overjoyed that my reluctant writer (and drawer) had found inspiration to put pen to paper...and was even more chuffed for him when it went down well at the group session too. They all had fun drawing, writing and flicking the wands that they had made that day ��

Happy Exploring!

Love, Helen xx

Make a Christmas Bauble

Mon, 05 Dec 2022 14:31:58 GMT

Christmas craft for kids

This is one Christmas craft activity that both my youngest children enjoyed - which is saying something. The Girl has always loved crafting and making whereas Boykin has never been quite as keen. I think he enjoyed this activity because there was no sticky glue involved and minimal cutting ��

Not only is this fun to make, there's actually lots of learning going on during the process. We explored design, colour and pattern. It was a good opportunity to develop fine motor skills and strengthen fine motor muscles - both important for helping with writing.
I took the opportunity to introduce and revise maths language in our conversation as we worked together - length, shorter, longer, sphere, circumference, perpendicular, right-angle, symmetry, centimetres/inches.
They were also working on their maths skills in a real-life situation - estimating how many pins they needed, estimating the length of the ribbon to use, counting pins, measuring lengths of ribbon using a ruler, working out how many lengths they could cut from a metre/spool of ribbon, dividing pins/ribbon length so that everyone had enough, making repeating patterns and exploring symmetry ��

I love this kind of learning - it's relaxed, playful and feels part of ordinary, everyday Christmas life.

This post contains affiliate links, feel free to use them or ignore them. I include them to help show what I mean. If you do choose to use them, I'll get a few pennies at no extra cost to you ��

You will need:
polystyrene ball
satin ribbon in different colours
sewing pins with coloured heads

Organic version:
Choose your colours.

Cut ribbon to desired length - you might want to try wrapping it around your bauble first.
Stick a pin through one end of the ribbon into the polystyrene ball.
Wrap the ribbon round the ball tightly, holding the end firmly in place.
Stick a pin through this end of the ribbon into the polystyrene ball.
At this stage it may be helpful to add more pins along the length of the ribbon to hold it in place.
Keep wrapping lengths of ribbon around the bauble until it is covered.
Use as many pins as necessary to hold the ribbons in place.
Fold a piece of ribbon into a loop and pin this to the ball.
Use the loop to hang your bauble on your tree.

Rotational symmetry version:

Choose your colours.

Measure your ribbon so that it loops around the circumference of the sphere, overlapping slightly at the top.
Wrap the ribbon round the ball tightly, holding the ends firmly in place.
Stick a pin through both ends of the ribbon into the polystyrene ball. This will be the top of the bauble.
Stick further pin through the ribbon into the sphere so that there are pins at the four quarters.
Using the same colour ribbon, wrap a second length around the circumference of the ball so that it crosses the first at right-angles.
Remove the pins where they cross and re-pin to secure both ribbons.
Choose a second colour and add ribbons to the sphere so that they all cross at the top and bottom of the bauble to create a stripey effect.

Consider rotational symmetry as you add the ribbons.
To help keep the ribbons in place, measure a length of ribbon round the circumference that runs perpendicular to the other ribbons. Attach with pins at regular intervals to secure the ribbons and to add to the pattern. You may to remove some of the original pins and re-pin them.
Fold a piece of ribbon or string into a loop and pin this to the top of the ball.
Use the loop to hang your bauble on your tree.

Happy Exploring!

Visit my Pinterest boards for more ideas for Christmas crafts and Christmas themed learning . Pop to my shop to find my Christmas themed resource packs:
Picture Book Explorers ~ The Mousehole Cat
Let's Explore Christmas in Europe Linked Lapbook

Every Day is a Learning Day

Tue, 28 Jun 2022 16:52:00 GMT

Every Day Matters

Silly & serious observances, national & international holidays, anniversaries of historical events and birthdays of famous people can all provide daily learning opportunities. You can pop a daily prompt into your morning basket or set your kids a challenge to find out more, at any time of day. A calendar of events offers so many possibilities to strew, cook, read, watch, play, make, explore and learn. Seize the day - or date - and set off down the rabbit hole of curiosity!

Here is a list of dates for July to inspire your learning :) If you'd like to receive a copy of this calendar in your inbox, with even more events to discover, complete with links to resources, activities, videos and background information, be sure to sign up for the newsletter. It comes with a regular discount code too :)

JULY 2022
1 ^st – International Joke Day
2 ^nd – National Meadows Day
3 ^rd – International Plastic Bag Free Day
4 ^th – American independence Day
5 ^th – Tynwald Day
6 ^th – Pokemon Go released in 2016
7 ^th – World Chocolate Day
8 ^th – Family Day in Ukraine
9 ^th – David Hockney born1937
10 ^th – Carl Orff born 1895
11 ^th – World Population Day
12 ^th – Johanna Spyri born 1827
13 ^th – Julius Caesar born 100BC
14 ^th – Bastille Day
15 ^th – St Swithin’s Day
16 ^th - World Snake Day
17 ^th - World Emoji Day
18 ^th – Nelson Mandela International Day
19 ^th – Palace Day

20 ^th – World Chess Day
21 ^st – English ships engage Spanish Armada 1588
22 ^nd – Margery Williams Bianco born 1881
23 ^rd – 1940 Britain's 'Local Defence Volunteers' become the Home Guard
24 ^th – Learn Nothing Day
25 ^th – BB born 1905
26 ^th – Andy Goldsworthy born 1956
27 ^th – National Sleepy Head Day in Finland
28 ^th – Beatrix Potter born 1866
29 ^th – International Tiger Day
30 ^th – International Day of Friendship
31 ^st – JK Rowling born 1965

If you find any of these suggestions useful, please let me know. You can drop me a line , find me on Instagram or pop on over and join the Facebook group :)

Happy Exploring !

How to....

Tue, 26 Apr 2022 13:53:11 GMT

...involve your older kids in Picture Book Explorers activities.

I'll let you into a little secret, my children were still enjoying testing Picture Book Explorers packs for me when they were 12 and 13. At the time, they were embarking on more serious textbook study in preparation for exam specifications. Compared to that, Picture Book Explorers were their 'light' learning activities. Don't get me wrong, they were still learning and benefitting from the packs, they were just having a lot of fun while they were doing it :)

Many of the activities in Picture Book Explorers are open-ended so that older children can still join in with the rest of the family and keep working at their own level. Here are just a few ideas to inspire you :)

Exploring The Setting
Older children can be challenged with extra research tasks to learn more about the locations mentioned or an event on the timeline. Instead of using the mini-book templates and other printables, they can come up with their own methods of presentation, a power-point or video, perhaps?
They could set about creating a travel itinerary for a visit to the county or location in which the story is set, paying attention to actual distances and travelling times. This works even better if you can follow their plans and take that trip!

Exploring the Words
Creative writing topics can be extended - can they retell the story from one of the character's point of view? Write a book review? Rewrite the blurb on the back of the book? Come up with a marketing campaign? Turn the story into a play?

Exploring the Pictures
Can they redesign the cover? Write and illustrate a sequel? What sound effects would they add to the pictures?

Exploring Science
They can go more in depth with the science activities. Perhaps they can write up the experiment properly, listing equipment, describing the method, drawing annotated diagrams and stating the results.
They can learn more about the anatomy of plants and animals, learning scientific names, making detailed drawings, keeping a nature journal.

Exploring Maths, Crafts & More
They can work more independently on crafts and cooking, maybe finding alternative regional recipes or hosting a themed meal for the whole family.
They can use the maths activities for revision and consolidation.
They could explore any occupations and find a local place to visit that ties in with what your family has been learning.

These are just a few ideas that worked for my children and others. I'd love to hear if you have anymore. Please email me or pop into the Picture Book Explorers Facebook group :)

Let's Explore Mother's Day

Fri, 25 Mar 2022 11:40:15 GMT

Exploring History and Traditions

These days, Mother's Day is associated with cards, flowers, chocolates and, if you're lucky, breakfast in bed �� It has become a day to celebrate mothers and an opportunity to show our thanks for all they do for us.

How did it all begin?
It's not exactly clear when the celebration of Mother's Day began but, in the British Isles at least, Mothering Sunday has taken place on the fourth Sunday in Lent for centuries. Lent is a time observed by many Christians as a preparation for the mysteries of Easter. It starts on Ash Wednesday (the day after Pancake Day/Shrove Tuesday) and ends on Easter Sunday. Many Christians observe Lent by fasting and taking part in special study groups.

A mother church is the church in which a person is baptised. Historically, baptisms used to take place in the nearest cathedral or the main local church rather than the smaller parish churches that people attended for weekly Sunday service. On Mothering Sunday, it was traditional for Christians to make a pilgrimage to their own mother church.

Mothering Sunday became a day of family reunions. Children as young as 10 often left home to go into service or become apprentices, with very few holidays. Consequently, they rarely saw their families, but they were given the day off work to travel to their mother church. As they walked along the lanes, they picked wild flowers to give to their own mothers and it is believed that this is how the tradition of giving flowers on Mothering Sunday began.

How did Mothering Sunday get its name?
The Anglican church has set readings for the different Sundays of the year and the Epistle for the 4th Sunday in Lent speaks of Jerusalem as the Mother of us all, whilst the Gospel reading for the day is the feeding of the 5,000, or the alternative reading about Jesus giving care of his mother to the disciple that he loved.
This special Sunday is also known as Refreshment Sunday, a day on which the fasting rules of Lent are relaxed and Simnel Cake is sometimes served. (Simnel cake has a much closer association with Easter these days.) Other names for the day are Laetares (Latin for rejoice) Sunday and Rose Sunday.

How did it become the celebration we know today?
Well, by the early 20th century, Mothering Sunday traditions were becoming less and less important in England, much to the dismay of Constance Penwick-Smith, a vicar's daughter from Nottinghamshire. She was inspired by the establishment of an officially recognised holiday for Mother's Day in America. There, this special occasion is celebrated in May and official recognition was brought about by the campaigning of Anna Jarvis after the death of her own mother in 1905.

Constance wrote a book called The Revival of Mothering Sunday in 1920. Along with her friend Ellen Porter, she established a Mothering Sunday movement and revived the special traditions of the day in the UK and across the British Empire. The revived Mothering Sunday celebrations focussed more on motherhood than the mother church and was encouraged by the Girl Guide and Boy Scout movements. Constance aimed to take the observance of Mothering Sunday beyond the confines of the Anglican church and she obviously succeeded as the day is now celebrated widely, within both the religious community and secular society alike.

Get creative with the My Mum Mini Lapbook , perfect for making memories on any day of the year ��

Happy Mother's Day & Happy Exploring!

photo credit: Daffodils by Annie Spratt

Let's Explore Pancake Day

Wed, 23 Feb 2022 13:46:20 GMT

It's P-P-P-P-P-P-Pancake Day ��

Easter is pretty late this year and so, accordingly, is Pancake Day. We love Pancake Day in our house and often have pancakes for breakfast, dinner and tea. We like to start with cowboy pancakes for breakfast, then have scotch pancakes for lunch and finish with bog-standard, run-of-the-mill pancakes-that-need-tossing for tea (recipe down the page). I try to get some savoury fillings in there - cheese and baked beans is always popular with kids, although I prefer steamed leeks covered in a rich cheese sauce myself - but there are always plenty of sweet toppings, for sure.

There's an easy and reliable Scotch Pancake recipe in Picture Book Explorers - Greyfriars Bobby that I always use. I'm lucky enough to own a real, cast iron frying pan that works amazingly well for these smaller, thicker pancakes. The pan has to be very hot before adding the bare minimum of oil. Because it’s a cast iron pan, I use metal tools so the pancakes are easy to turn and don't stick.

I use a recipe for American pancakes made with cornmeal that I came across when we were doing a project on cowboys - hence, they've been dubbed 'Cowboy Pancakes' by my kids. In the UK, you can find cornmeal going by its European name - polenta. The best recipe I found advised soaking the polenta in boiling water for about 10 minutes before adding the other ingredients. We have tried other recipes, but the pancakes were a bit gritty in texture, they were definitely much fluffier after giving the polenta good soak.

Pancake Day is also known as Shrove Tuesday. This name indicates the religious significance of this festival. Lent starts on Ash Wednesday, the day after Shrove Tuesday, and people used to go to their local church to 'shrive' themselves – that is, they went to confession. It was customary for Christians to forego fat and eggs during Lent, which runs from Ash Wednesday until Easter Sunday. These days many people observe Lent by giving up chocolate or sweet things as an act of fasting. The fasting is a reminder to Christian’s of Christ's time in the desert where he spent 40 days and nights without food.

There are lots of Pancake Day traditions that take place in Britain. Some of the longest running ones are pancake racing in Olney, Buckinghamshire and a mass football match in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, both have origins in Tudor England. A comparatively new tradition takes place in Scarborough where they skip on the promenade and have been doing so since 1903.

Did you know that there are world records for pancakes?
~ Dean Gould holds the record for the most pancake tosses anyone has ever done in two minutes. He achieved 349 tosses at Felixstowe, Suffolk in 1995.
~ The highest ever pancake toss was performed by Dominic Cuzzacrea in November 2010. The pancake reached a height of 9.47 metres at the Walden Galleria Mall in Cheektowaga, New York, USA.
~ The largest pancake ever made was 15.01 metres in diameter and was 2.5 cm thick and weighed 3 tonnes. It was made in Rochdale, near Manchester, UK in 1994, by the Co-Operative Union, Ltd.
~ The tallest stack of pancakes was made up of 60 large round pancakes and measured 76cm tall. It broke the Guinness World Records in 2012.

One of my favourite pancake picture books as a child was The Big Pancak e . The story is very similar to the Gingerbread Man in that the pancake in question develops a mind of its own and runs away, or rather rolls away, as fast as it can down the street. It is chased by various people and animals before meeting a pig who claims not to be able to hear its explanation of why it is rolling so fast. The clever pig asks the pancake to the speak directly into his ear, at which point the pig gobbles him up. There are many different versions of it around the world and you can read some of them here .

Traditional Pancake Recipe
Ingredients:
4oz/200g plain flour
1 egg
1/2 pint/300ml milk & water mixed together, consisting 2/3 milk to 1/3 water
A little oil for frying
Method:
1. Sieve flour into a large mixing bowl.
2. Make a well in the centre of the flour and crack the eggs into the well.
3. Mix with a balloon whisk.
4. Add the liquid a little at a time until the mixture is a medium pouring consistency.
5. Leave to stand for 30 mins.
6. Then, heat the frying pan and add a desert spoon of oil over a medium heat.
7. When the oil is hot, pour a thin layer of batter into the pan, rotating the pan to ensure it spreads evenly.
8. When the top is set, turn the pancake over.
9. Serve immediately.
10. Add your favourite toppings and enjoy!

Ideas for Pancake Day fun
1. Hold your own pancake race, use a cooked pancake and cold pans.
2. Try setting new World records an have a pancake tossing competition, use a cooked pancake and a cold pan
~ How many tosses can you do in 2 minutes?
~ How high can you toss that pancake?
~ How many pancakes can you stack?
3. Invent your own pancake fillings.
4. Get out your skipping rope and invent your own pancake day skipping rhyme.
5. Read a pancake book (suggestions below).
6. Act out the story of The Big Pancake, use toy animals and a cardboard pancake.
7. Learn this poem by Christina Rosetti and recite it with actions -
"Mix the pancake,
Stir the pancake,
Pop it in the pan;
Fry the pancake,
Toss the pancake,
Catch it - if you can."
8. Find out about local Pancake Day traditions and have a go yourselves.
9. Adjust the above recipe for double (or more) quantities for maths practise.
10. Cut out pancakes from thick card, to use for games
~ How many can you stack?
~ Stick pictures or write names of different pancake ingredients on on side. Put one ingredient on two cards & use them to play pairs or snap.
~ Put a frying pan on the floor and 'toss' your pancakes into the pan.
~ Cut out pictures or draw your favourite toppings on the pancakes.
~ Roll the pancakes on their edges, measure the distance they travel

Books
Mr Wolf's Pancakes (Mr Wolf Series)
The Runaway Pancake: Level 4 (First Reading) (Usborne First Reading)
Ladybird Tales: The Big Pancake
Pancake Pandemonium
Mama Panya's Pancakes: A Village Tale from Kenya
Pancakes for Breakfast
Pancakes for Findus (Findus and Pettson) (Findus & Pettson)
Little Grey Rabbit's Pancake Day (The Little Grey Rabbit library)
Curious George Makes Pancakes [With CD] (Curious George - Level 1)

Printables
Jesus in the Desert cloze activity

Recipe & ordering activity
Cryptogram

Online Activities
Wordsearch
Capitals to lower case matching reading game
Word to picture matching game
Children's Book Quiz
Pancake Day quiz

What is a lapbook?

Thu, 10 Feb 2022 13:23:16 GMT

10 reasons to make lapbooks with your kids.

What is a lapbook?

At first glance, a lapbook looks like it's just a cardboard folder with different shaped paper booklets glued inside it. But don't be deceived, lapbooks help to provide a personalised education that nurtures a love of learning in millions of homes around the world.

It's an effective means of displaying and recording a child's learning.
It's a way of breaking big projects up into smaller, more manageable chunks.
It's more versatile than a workbook or worksheet, being more hands-on and more creative.
Children can decide where to put the minibooks to make their own unique layout.
Lapbooks can be adapted for each individual child by selecting the minibooks that best suit them.
Minibooks can be completed in a way that builds on each child's strengths.
It's a learning tool that can be re-used again and again.
It's a project to be treasured rather than trashed.
It's something that will give your child a sense of achievement.
It will encourage your child to take a pride in their work.

Lapbooks played a big part in my children's learning journey for nearly 15 years. They treasure their lapbooks and have kept every single one. The same cannot be said for the various workbooks and worksheets they completed. Not only did lapbooks help them to retain information, make connections and enjoy learning, they also provided us all with happy memories to carry through their childhood and beyond. What can be better than that?

Have you made lapbooks with your kids? I'd love to hear about your favourite lapbook topics. Drop me a line via the contact form or join Picture Book Explorers on FB

Have a look at the Let's Explore lapbooks available in the Beyond The Book Education shop :)

JRR Tolkien

Mon, 27 Dec 2021 13:58:49 GMT

Happy Birthday, Mr Tolkien

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, Orange Free State (now South Africa) on 3rd January, 1892. He had a younger brother called Hilary. Whilst his mother Mabel and her sons were visiting family in England in 1896, news reached them that his father, Arthur Tolkien, had died. Consequently, Mabel decided to stay in England and initially stayed with relatives before moving to Sarehill, then a Worcestershire village, that later inspired the landscapes of the Shire and Hobbiton in his books. Mabel home educated both her sons, with a focus on botany and the rudiments of Latin. Sadly, she died of diabetes in 1904. After that, Tolkien lived with relatives in Edgbaston, Birmingham and attended King Edward's School.

After leaving school he went to Oxford University where he initially studied Classics but later changed to English Language and Literature. He earned a first class honours degree in 1915. On finishing his degree, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant with the Lancashire Fusiliers and fought in World War I.

Tolkien married Edith Bratt in March 1916 after a three year engagement. They went on to have four children together and were married for 55 years.

After the war, he began working for the Oxford English Dictionary mainly working on words of Germanic origin that begin with the letter W. In 1920, he became the youngest professor at Leeds University where he became a reader of English Language. In 1925, He returned to Oxford University as a Professor of Anglo-Saxon. It was there that he joined the Inklings, a group of writers that included CS Lewis, amongst others.

JRR Tolkien is best known for The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings trilogy , all of which have been made into films. He originally write The Hobbit as a story for his own children. It took him almost 10 years to complete The Lord of the Rings. Both these works became global best-sellers.

Tolkien retired in 1959. He and his wife moved to Bournemouth, but he returned to Oxford when his wife died in 1971. He himself died on 2nd September, 1973 at the age of 81.

You can read a much more detailed biography at the Tolkien Society website . They also have some resources for studying The Hobbit with essay title suggestions, a guide to runes, an introduction to Anglo-Saxon and suggestions for a dramatic walk-through of the book, which sounds fun ��

Why not follow the Tolkien Trail and journey through Middle Earth with Gandalf as your guide? The site contains games, fan fiction, artwork, music and a discussion board.
*Parents, please check suitability before letting your children on this site. Supervision is recommended.

Of course, you could celebrate Tolkien's birthday by watching all the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings films, but I don't think there's enough hours in the day. Hmmm, could lead nicely into a maths activity there. IMDb the films to get the running time and challenge your children to work out how long it would take to watch them all, back-to-back ;)

Extras:
Colouring pages
Hobbit worksheets
Hobbit copywork
Ideas for a hobbit birthday party
Hobbit wordsearch
Complete course for secondary age children

My Tolkien Pinterest board ��

Book List:
The Hobbit

The Hobbit Graphic Novel

The Lord of the Rings

The Tolkien Treasury
Recipes From the World of Tolkie n

John Ronald's Dragons
Little People, Big Dreams JRR Tolkien

JRR Tolkien for Kids

Film List:
Tolkien
The Hobbit Parts 1 to 3
Lord of The Rings 1 to 3

Visit my Tolkien Pinterest board for more ideas :)

Reindeer Christmas Craft

Wed, 08 Dec 2021 17:26:53 GMT

How to make a reindeer

Try this simple paper craft with your little ones this Christmas. Kids love drawing round their hands and feet at the best of times and it's even more fun when they use the cut-out shapes to make pictures. I've included a list of supplies, but at bare minimum you need only paper, pens, glue and scissors.

Supplies list:
~ dark brown and light brown paper or card for a sturdier reindeer
~ felt tip pens
~ pre-cut shapes/ stickers
~ googly eyes / glitter etc.

~ glue

1. Take the dark brown paper and draw around one foot to make the reindeer's head.
2. Take the light brown paper and draw round both hands to make the reindeer's antlers.
3. Glue the hand-antlers to the wide, toe end of the foot-head.
4. Add eyes, nose, mouth and any other decorative bits.
5. Put on the wall and enjoy :)

As you can see, I still have the reindeer that Boykin made when he was 2. I get it out every Christmas and stick it up on the wall amongst the other trimmings. I wish we'd made one of these little reindeer every year as a kind of Advent growth chart. I have heights marked on a door frame but seeing hands and feet adds an extra dimension. Just imagine, we could have a veritable herd of reindeers on the wall by now :)

Top 10 Tips For New Home Educators

Mon, 30 Aug 2021 15:23:12 GMT

So, you've decided to home educate...what now?

Sending in the deregistration letter, or making the decision to home educate from the outset, can feel very daunting. I see a lot of posts on social media from parents asking for advice on how to start 'home schooling' and the comments are often full of people offering tutoring services or a range of resources. Before you rush into hiring tutors or buying resources - and, yes, I do include mine in there- take a deep breathe and consider how you have helped your beautiful brood to learn what they know up to press.

If your children have never been to school and you're just starting home ed, it's very likely that they're young enough for you to be able to remember fairly well how you started helping them along the path towards writing - from making their first marks on paper to the stage they are at now. You've probably still got nursery rhyme earworms buzzing around your head, full of rhyme and number to help them with counting.

However, if your children have been in school for a few years, those early education memories may seem a little blurry, having been superseded by more recent memories of school runs, after-school clubs and homework. You may have subconsciously relegated 'learning' to the 'school' box. But take a moment to consider all the things your children have learnt outside of school - the skills and knowledge that are important to your family's culture. Either way, you've got this :)

So, where do you start? Exactly where you and your family are right now. Each family is different, each child is different. Your kids are learning so much from you and with you all the time - this is a journey that started the moment they were born :)

In case you still feel like you need a little help, please feel free to join the Picture Book Explorers group on Facebook.

In the meantime, m y Top 10 Tips for new home educating families are:

1. Try to contact local home educators for real life support, meet ups and information about dealing with the local LA. In Facebook search, type 'Home Education [your town/county]' to find them.

2. Don't buy anything yet. Yup! That's right. Buy nothing, unless of course you don't own a pen, pencil or single piece of paper ;)

3. Don't panic. It's natural to be nervous at the beginning of the journey....and at the end! In fact, 'having a wobble' can happen at any point in your home ed journey. Fortunately, it can often be easily cured by talking to fellow home educating parents :)

4. In the UK, you have to provide an education from day one. BUT it doesn't have to look anything like school, so please, try not to buy every workbook going just because it's what they'd be doing at school.

5. In the UK, you don't have to follow the National Curriculum, or any curriculum for that matter. You can be totally child-led, if that's what suits your family best. You are free to make up your own curriculum and deliver a fully personalised learning journey for your family :)

6. Read up on the different Home Ed philosophies. You don't have to stick to any single style - you're free to mix and match - or you may come across the one that's a perfect fit for your family and find real joy from it.

7. Prepare to be flexible, what works this month might not work next. Be prepared to take a break when you and your little ones need it. There's no need to be tied to term dates, school hours or school holidays.

8. Spend some time deschooling your children and, most importantly, yourself. Try some hands-on learning together to help the process along - read aloud, bake, play board games, go for walks, chat, do art projects, make things, build Lego, read aloud, watch documentaries, chat, do some gardening, read aloud, have some days out, listen to your children and read aloud and chat some more. Learn to see the learning that's going on every day :)

9. Keep a diary of all the learning that's been happening in your family, not just the academic stuff, but the hands-on stuff, the hobby stuff, the life-skills stuff and the fun stuff. Not only will it be lovely to look back on when your kids are grown and flown, it can be very reassuring for those days when the wobbles strike and the inevitable question 'Are we doing enough?' rears its ugly head :)

10. Be prepared to learn alongside your kids. Enthusiasm is catching and that's what makes family learning so much fun :)

Welcome aboard! It's going to be a great adventure :)

Lewis Carroll & Alice In Wonderland

Sat, 17 Jul 2021 15:51:36 GMT

Unit study ideas

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was written by Lewis Carroll His real name was Charles Dodgson and he was born on the 27th January, 1832 in Daresbury in Cheshire. The family moved to Croft, Yorkshire in 1843 and he moved to Oxford as an adult in 1851. He attended Richmond School, Rugby school and Oxford University. He picked his nom-de-plume in 1856 and became a deacon in 1861. His other most famous work is Through the Looking Glass .

Lewis Carroll first told the story of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland whilst on a rowing trip on the River Isis (Thames) in Oxford on 4th July 1862. The book was published in 1865. The sequel, Through the Looking Glass , was published in 1871. Charles Dodgson was a keen amateur photographer and a skilled mathematician. He invented the Carroll diagram which is used to sort items into categories based on their attributes. He died in Guildford on 14th January, 1898.

It can be quite a challenge for today's young readers to tackle classic children's literature by themselves due to the differences in language and sentence structure. This makes them a good choice for a family read aloud so that younger children get the chance to hear stories that have stood the test of time without being put off by the challenge of having to plough through unfamiliar language. Personally, I've found that reading books like Alice's Adventures in Wonderland out loud to my children has given me the motivation to read the children's classics that I couldn't face as a child. I have always been glad when I've finished them, glad because the stories are so good and glad that my children get to hear them when they are still children. And, of course, my children have been glad I read them aloud to them too :)

I first read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland to my eldest son when he was about 4 years old. He thoroughly enjoyed it. I've since read it to my two younger ones, albeit when they were a bit older. My youngest son enjoyed it so much that he asked me to read Through The Looking Glass straight after.

There's a lot of scope to explore more with Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, here are just a few i deas for activities to try with your family:

- Make some biscuits and ice them with the words EAT ME

- Make some bottles of juice and label them with the words DRINK ME

- Hold a Mad Hatter's Tea Party

- Play croquet

- Find Daresbury, Croft, Oxford and Guildford on a map

- Invent your own pen name

- Go rowing

- Make an origami boat

- Have a picnic

- Learn about rabbits

- Learn about caterpillars and butterflies

- Make jam tarts

- Play Old Maid with a pack of ordinary playing cards and use the Queen of Hearts as the Old Maid

- Work out how much 10/6 would be in decimal currency

- Work out how many old pennies were in 10/6

- Draw a big mouthless Cheshire cat. Make a grinning mouth and play 'Pin the Grin on the Cat'

- Watch the first film version of " Alice in Wonderland " made in 1903

- Print out and colour these pictures

- Enjoy these paper crafts

- Visit All Saints' church in Daresbury, Cheshire. home of the 'Alice window'

- Celebrate Alice's Day with The Story Museum in Oxford

What other ideas can you come up with?