25 Feb
News, Products

‘Learn to Read with Decodable Books’ By Playful Classroom

 

What is a decodable reader?

A decodable reader is a book that only contains words that can be ‘sounded out’ and the letters use their most common sounds.  Usually, they are part of a set, where more sounds are added gradually.  Children can use their letter-sound knowledge and read a book independently from an early stage (sometimes after only learning the first 6 sounds).

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01 Feb
Products

What is Flexitable & Why Do I Need It?

The look of the squares, particularly the multiplication squares, might be familiar to some parents. But it’s not the layout of these that makes Flexitable so unique – it’s the soft, flexible scored plastic material that they are made from. Each table is made from white, flexible plastic that is scored between the gridlines, allowing children to fold and manipulate the table to more easily locate the information they are looking for. This is fantastic for kids who might suffer from information overload, or who struggle to follow lines and grids. Dyslexic children often report that text appears to jump around on the page when they look at large amounts of information, so being able to fold the table and just focus on the key information is massively helpful.

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27 Jan
Products

What are Decodable Readers?

As most of us know, learning to read isn’t always that simple. Many (if not most) children will benefit from using a systematic phonics-based approach when learning to read. As children learn using a phonics based approach, decodable books become a key component of this learning process.

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13 Nov
News, Products

ABC’s November Book of the Month

Where Snow Angels Go by Maggie O’Farrell and Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini (illus.)

Have you ever woken up suddenly, in the middle of the night, without knowing why?

Where Snow Angels Go has been chosen as the Independent Bookshops’ Children’s Book of the Month for November. Read more here.

 “Daniela Jaglenka’s shimmering watercolours bring an extra layer of magic to O’Farrell’s comforting fable, as Sylvie’s snow angel wraps his soft wings around her like a blanket when she is ill, or appears as feathery sea foam when the sea overcomes her. This is O’Farrell’s first book for children but it is an assured classic.” – ‘Childrens Books’, The Irish Times (Weekend)

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06 Jan
Ideas

Sensory Room: How to Build a Successful Sensory Room for Greater Brain Development

Many parents, professionals, Pediatric Therapists and Occupational Therapists have asked what items to use for a sensory room. While it may take many months, even years, to acquire the equipment needed for your students, there are a few key items you can add to your sensory room without breaking the bank. All the other items, you can add to your sensory room over time to help your child or student with sensory integration.

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