Home Learning Together

Your child looks at the word cat. “C… a… t…” Lovely. “So what does it say?” Long pause. “Dog?” 😂 If you’ve had this moment, you’re definitely not alone. It can be confusing because they clearly know the sounds. They’ve literally just said them. The bit they’re struggling with is blending — joining those separate sounds together to hear the whole word. And that’s a skill in its own right. Knowing the sounds is only part of it When we read the word cat, we don’t think about what our brain is...

There’s something slightly insulting about watching your child behave beautifully for someone else. At nursery or school, they hang up their coat, sit down when asked, tidy things away and move from one task to the next without too much drama. At home, you’ve asked them to put their shoes on four times, one sock has vanished, and they’re now upside down on the sofa claiming they didn’t hear you. Meanwhile, their teacher is somehow doing this with thirty children at once. So what are teachers...

September is getting closer and suddenly someone else's four-year-old can apparently write their full name, count to 100 and read half the signs in Tesco. Meanwhile, yours has put both shoes on the wrong feet, got toothpaste on the brand-new school jumper, and announced with complete confidence that they're ready for school. It's very easy to start wondering if you've missed something. Should they be writing their name? Reading simple words? Counting higher? Do they need to know all their...