The majority of the children who come to my creative writing workshops are girls. There aren’t many boys who come to my courses and workshops purely because they enjoy writing. I think mainly it is their parents who are keen to encourage them to enjoy writing because...
Did your child come home with a recommended reading list for the summer holidays? Mine did and it's always met with a rather large sigh, already too much for her to cope with just by looking at it. For some children, reading is a challenge and because of that, they...
New research shows children who write creatively outside of school do significantly better in the classroom. In an effort to assess how writing enjoyment has changed over the years, along with children’s enjoyment of writing, The National Literacy Trust used data from...
I have a number of four and five star reviews for my children's fiction book. This is what some of my readers have to say: "I am 10 and I usually love adventure stories. The front cover of this book appealed to me .... as did the idea of a mystery! I have laughed at...
Creative writing is not just about language practice, it supports literacy, helps children develop their reading skills and most importantly, it is fun. I am an avid reader and writer so you won’t hear any arguments from me about how important creative writing is....
I’ve written many times before about my children and their reading struggles. The eldest found learning to read difficult and as a consequence refused to even try. The reading schemes did nothing to inspire her and rather than face a daily battle of tears and...
Out with the old, in with the new. I don't know about you, but with the appearance of that big yellow thing in the sky and the lighter nights, I have more energy. That is, once I got over the loss of the hour following the clock changes (when did that start to be a...
It looks as though testing in primary schools may be changing once again, with the abolition of SATS at Key Stage 1. Almost a year ago, my son was due to sit the new-style SATS tests and I was one of the thousands of parents who took part in the Kids Strike in...
Who needs expensive day trips when you can get outdoors and have fun in your own garden? Well, that's what I said this morning and my two little ones looked at me as though I'd gone loopy for even making that suggestion. Regardless of what they may have thought, I...
What are your top tips for keeping the children amused in the summer holidays? This is the first year I haven't arranged lots of activities for the children and I'm going to see how that goes. Wish me luck eh? My theory is, the children are old enough now to be able...
How do you manage your family's social calendar? I don't know what's gotten in to me at the moment, but I can't seem to stay on top of the family's social calendar. I don't work as an executive PA in the real world for a reason, I suck at it. Tell me, what more can I...
Wow, what a day yesterday turned out to be. The Kids Strike against the new SATS testing saw parents up and down the country taking their kids out of school for the day. I was one of those parents and although one person was out to target us with comments about having...
I am not the protesting type. To my shame actually. I'm one of the sheep who just gets on with things. But ever since my son's school called a meeting to show parents the new SATS tests, something has been niggling away at me. First of all, when my older girls sat the...
Read January was so busy and full of illness, that it left me with little energy or enthusiasm for reading. That said, I have an extensive list of books I've read over Christmas. These include: Boston Terrier (Smart Owner's Guide) - As we picked up our Boston Terrier...
As I approach the end of my thirties, I'm beginning to look back and think where the hell did the last ten years go? Of course, it's a fog of babies and young children, from which I've now emerged, sanity just about intact, but memory and body somewhat worse for the...
Juggling work and the school holidays has thrown me and I haven't kept up to my usual Friday Fiction post. Apologies for that. What I did want to get around to writing about though, was an article I read in the Times about getting children to read. This article struck...
I haven't made up my mind whether or not to take a break from blogging over the summer. I think I would rather just see how it goes and not put any pressure on myself. I've edited the first three chapters of my manuscript and it's gone out to readers, so I hope to...
Why is it that schools feel as though they must pack everything in to the last term? Between all three children, my calendar is full of events: ones that we need to attend, others where we need to remember to take in certain things or do something special for. As a...
I watched my daughter read a piece of her work in her class assembly this week and it struck me that it is the first time in her junior school career that she has done something like that. She's in year six and just about to leave to go to secondary school. Being one...
Do I speak for the majority of parents out there when I say this? We haven't had a decent night's sleep in years because of them. Our bodies will never be the same since giving birth. We spend our days running them here, there and everywhere. We are constantly picking...