I am very grateful to JK Rowling for making the answer to the question, “Why do we have to learn Latin?” so much easier to answer. The plethora of phrases from various different languages, but mostly Latin, that adorn every page of the Harry Potter books, makes it all the more appealing to children! Fascination... Continue Reading →
Engaging Classroom Games for Language Learning
Games have always been at the centre of my teaching. Children learn best when they are relaxed, engaged, and having fun — and games make that possible. They allow everyone to take part, from the loudest extrovert to the quietest introvert, and help children absorb new vocabulary almost without realising it. Here are a few... Continue Reading →
A taste of German
A couple of years ago, with great excitement, I started teaching German again, in Year 6. Having taught it for 15 years to A Level, I was missing those sentences filled with words that stack on top of one another like Lego until you’re gasping for breath at the end of a phrase, and the... Continue Reading →
Do we have to eat the snails?
Yesterday, I received an invitation to book some dates for our next trip to France. We only returned from this year’s trip on Friday. I am still recovering from the sleepless nights and the weeks of preparation that cast every other task on my to-do list into oblivion. Do I really want to start another... Continue Reading →
Online learning
“Baby shark, du du da dudadu, Baby shark du du da dudadu!” I turn round to see my 10-year-old with a big smile on her face, singing inanely. Clearly, she’s finished her lesson and by the sound of it, she’s quite pleased with herself. Unfortunately, I am not in the same merry position. I started... Continue Reading →
Just a fun quiz…
The class stride in, oblivious to their fate, expectant faces waiting to see what fun activities lie in store today. “Where’s the learning objective, miss?” “What’s the mystery word?” “What are we doing today, miss?” Already they sense that something is amiss. Their rituals are missing. They start to shift uneasily, eyeing me in their seats. ... Continue Reading →
Do we praise our children too much?
We all welcome praise, but are some types of praise better than others and would it be better if we could all find incentives within us rather than relying on outside factors beyond our control? My son's history homework recently was to produce his own family tree. I sat down with him and we talked... Continue Reading →
Gifted and talented?
If Einstein couldn’t talk until he was 4 or read until he was 7 (which is apparently the case) and Didier Drogba studied accountancy before finding himself playing for Chelsea at the mature age of 26, how can we hope to spot the gifted and talented amongst the cherished progeny that walk through our gates? ... Continue Reading →
Grandparents Day
It is the Friday before half term and we have opened our school gates to 180 grandparents who, having been revived from their journeys with refreshments, are entertained with a varied concert and then given a tour of the school. Grandparents Days are becoming an ever-increasing feature of the calendar in many primary schools and... Continue Reading →
From alcohol to cuddly toys: different experiences of residential trips
When I moved from secondary to primary teaching 5 years ago, I had, for obvious reasons, only ever taken children over the age of 11 abroad. Girls creeping through windows to meet boys, (aided by our irresponsible German assistant at the time), boys smuggling alcohol into their dorms, and teenagers texting anxious parents back home to tell them horror stories... Continue Reading →
Adventures at the chalk face 