Bringing education alive

I love this book it is so magical so many can be bought to life with this book it is unbelievable. I use this with the  autistic children I work with in their SEN sessions and it is brilliant.

The family  are going on a Bear Hunt full of bravado and over flowing with confidence!

"We are going on a Bear Hunt,

We're going to Catch a big one

What a Beautiful day !

We're not scared !"

Playing in the mud.
(a Copyright free image from Clare Bloomfield)

 The repartition is wonderful repetition of the "We can't go over it. / We can't go under it. / Oh no! / We've got to go through it" kind, and frequent onomatopoeia ("Swishy Swashy … Splash Splosh … Hoooo Woooo") will maintain interest for even the youngest of listeners. And the poetic language en thralls even the youngest of readers its pure delight.

and also how it encourages the preposition of language ie "We can't go under it"

 The ability to be able adapt your surroundings this to this book are  only limited by your imaginations from having a bear cave play corner to going through  some " Swish Swashy ' long grass.

To going outside when its wet and going through the mud " Suelch Squerch"

To even making  a Bear with two "googly eyes" and a "Wet shiny nose "

Your only limit is your imagination or your childs with is unlimited of course !

And as such with a book like this you can link it to perhaps an activity that you  child is not so keen on. Why not take the activity out and make a bear den?

Make a den outisde

You can even reenact the book as you go! So why not for instance plant some ' Swishy Swashy long grass ' or if its muddy out on some wellingtons and go "Suelch squerch " in the mud. And if its not muddy then why that's no excuse just get a large study box some compost and pour some water in. making sure you support the child whilst doing these activities . Always , always with SEN children talk about what you are doing, you no doubt will have to say the same thing over and over again but it will get through I promise you.

So basically what I am saying is link the activity say numeracy to their favourite book or subject in my instance this is " We are going on a Bear Hunt" . This is what I shall be doing this week outside if the weather is good and inside if not. I shall be linking this book to a Literacy activity.

So go and try something new and see what fun you can have.

Warmth #SnapHappyBritMums

Silent Sunday #SilentSunday 6/5/2012

The joys of Swimming

 Now I can't swim so you might think it strange that I am writing about the joys of swimming. But swimming is a joy for my son and my husband. Myself I really should learn its never too late I hear you cry that much is true but for its my confidence and the trauma of my swimming lessons as a child.

I used to get dragged to the local private schools swimming pool for lessons. I remember this ...

1. There was a nice Ginger cat ( who lived by the sweet counter) there which was very friendly. I loved going to see the cat. I tickled t tummy and stroked its head it purred that made me happy.

2. Complete terror and fear of being in the water with a swimming teacher that was straight out of the army.

3. The sweets after wards  I got a treat and I saw the lovely Ginger cat again.


I remember having to play ' What's the Time Mr Wolf' and to be honest it scared the life out of me ( I hated it ) . I pleaded and cried and that was just to the swimming teacher but this was the late 1970's early 1980's you didn't do soft ! Even crying and pleading with my parents at the time fell on deaf ears.
Any way after a couple of years the swimming pool closed down for refurbishment and so bought an end to my lessons.

And then my I finally had the confidence to go swimming with school I wasn't allowed to because my mother reckoned it would upset my eczema so for the second time in my life I was subjected to complete humiliation by peers and teachers at school because I wasn't allowed to go . The ridicule and teasing was truly unbearable.

So now to be as a adult I still fear the water .. I will go in I just bob in the water I grab a floatation device and just hope for the best.

Me using a floatation device to bob about in the water!

Bow with my son it is a completely different matter I did not want to pass my fears and failures on to him. I know failure is a strong word when it comes to the subject of swimming but if in some way I hadn't help him learn to swim then I would have felt a failure.

So what I did when he was five years old I enrolled him a weeks intensive course to learn how to swim. And he truly loved it , it suited him down to the ground as he was a nervous child recovering from glue year so regular swimming lessons at the time weren't really an option for him.

The confidence and strength it ha given him in his life is unbelievable he is now 13 and it is a skill that will see him through the rest of his life.   Recently  We went to Dubai and stayed at a hotel where there is a water park  where he fed Rays.

My son feeding the rays in Dubai.

And then my son did this he went down the largest water slide in Dubai  The Leap of Faith

And yes that little red speck going down the water slide is my son so I am Thankful for the joys of swimming.

Saturday Caption #satcap 5/5/2012

You wonder around the British Museum and you and feel soooo much thinner !