School News and Head's Blog
Posted on: 22/06/2018Mindfulness For Very Young Children by Mrs. Crehan
Greetings to all from retirement! My life currently is dominated by the very young and the very old as I am caring for my 1 year old grandson, I visit two Homestart families (a charity based locally at All Saints Church that cares for families with young children who are struggling to cope) and I sing and teach Mindfulness to our 2 -3 year old St. Helen’s Ducklings. Also, at the other end of the age spectrum, I take out my ancient parents and visit two old people’s homes locally with a group of St. Helen’s College children, singing songs from the 1940s.
Mrs. Drummond and I attended the Annual Mindfulness Conference on Saturday which was very inspiring. It showed how vital Mindfulness is to all ages but also how important it is to teach at an early age because thoughts are powerful and the longer one believes damaging ideas about oneself, the harder it is to stand back from them and not be affected by them negatively. At the conference there were quite a few young people who spoke of how close they had come to seriously affecting their health through anxiety and how learning Mindfulness had allowed them to calm themselves through daily meditation and through the ability to watch their thoughts and remember that thoughts are not facts and that they don’t have to believe them.
There is a member of Parliament, Chris Douane, who has introduced the practice of Mindfulness to a large number of members of Parliament, who spoke at the conference about his intention to get Mindfulness taught in as many schools as possible and maybe introduce it into teacher training because there are so many young people who are suffering from negative mental health and anxiety in our secondary schools and sometimes at the top end of our junior schools and more teachers are needed to teach it.
At St. Helen’s College, Mrs. Drummond has trained in the teaching of Mindfulness and continued the teaching of two different Mindfulness courses in Year 4 and Year 6, while I am inventing my own course for the Ducklings because there is nothing written by Mindfulness in Schools Project for this age group as yet. The age of two may seem quite early to introduce Mindfulness. However, I think that even if children don’t suffer from too many negative thoughts at this age, the regulation of their emotions is quite important as it is the beginning of their will developing and they can experience quite strong feelings, for instance, when their will is thwarted, otherwise known as the ‘terrible twos.’
I have two puppets: a monkey and a lion. The monkey is supposed to represent the agile mind, flitting everywhere, grabbing onto a particular thought or feeling and dominating one’s emotional realm. The lion is supposed to represent stillness and wisdom.
I invent various scenarios where Monkey is unhappy or over-excited and experiencing all the different emotions. Lion advises Monkey how to feel happier by suggesting things such as slow breathing where one breathes out for a longer count than one breathes in, or shows him a snow shaker where the snow flurry represents the thoughts which eventually rest in stillness or finger-breathing where they run a finger from one hand up and down the fingers of the other hand in time with their inward and outward breaths. I believe that this last practice is now often used by some teachers in the early years to settle children down after they have come in from the playground. The Ducklings also have their own snow-shakers with a photo of their face inside which they can shake and watch as the flakes gradually settle, like their own thoughts or emotions.
I have given each of the Ducklings their own monkey and shown them how to put it onto their chest when they go to sleep and watch the monkey go up and down as they breathe. This concentrates the mind on the breathing which calms the thoughts at bedtime and can help them go to sleep.
So in a very simple way through various breathing practices they will begin to learn that when they experience an emotion it does not have to take over their whole being but they can begin to see it in a more detached way and thus have control over themselves. One parent of a current Duckling told me that her daughter is able to take herself off and sit still to calm herself when she is upset.
The concentration on breathing has a dual purpose in that it takes the attention off whatever is dominating the mind but also it has a physiological function in that the slower breathing also slows down the heartbeat and the body calms down and de-stresses, which counteracts an over-emotional state.
We have looked at the use of the senses in detail with fun games, launching it with a Spiderman toy with 'spidie senses', because awareness of each sense is a great way to access the present moment and thus a way to reconnect with the external world, away from the inward all-consuming thoughts and feelings. Having spent a session on each sense we had a great sensory walk outside today where the Ducklings were able to notice the sound of the birds and traffic, could smell the lavender and the herbs, could watch a spider spinning its web and could touch a cold rough wall or feel a smooth leaf. I’m sure we’re all aware how frequently we can walk without being aware of anything and are totally immersed in our thoughts.
I should say that the Mindfulness teaching at Ducklings is only at the beginning of each session and we then sing songs that may be related in subject matter to whatever we have looked at with Monkey and Lion as well as singing traditional nursery rhymes. ‘If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands’ is a regular, and also our senses version, ‘If you look and if you see, use your eyes!’ We sometimes do a little yoga or mindful movement too.
I am grateful to many parents of Ducklings last year and this year who have told me of the positive effect that the Mindfulness course has had upon their children and that it has given their children control over their moods and given them the tool of seeing that, if they are able to identify their mood, then they can step back from it and take the relevant positive action to feel happy again or at least be free from the dominating thoughts.
If St. Helen's College children can learn to identify how they are feeling and take the steps necessary to alleviate the pain that can come from difficult emotions at this early stage, and with the Mindfulness and Positive Psychology that they will practise at school in Years 4, 5 and 6, it will spare them much heartache in the future as well as giving them the tools to help them to avoid the mental illness that seems prevalent in our young people today. They might be able to teach some Mindfulness to their parents too!
Mrs. Crehan
Posted on: 15/06/2018Which School Did You Come From? - Head's Blog
It is such a great testament to St. Helen’s College when our ex-pupils and parents contact us when they have moved on to their new schools and let us know how they are getting on.
‘Which school did you come from?’ is a question which many of our alumni are asked by their new teachers. The reason for this question is that our pupils tend to be ahead in skills, knowledge and understanding in many subject areas in comparison to children of a similar age at their new schools.
We are most fortunate to have teachers with very high expectations and our bespoke curriculum gives your children a depth of intellectual challenge as they develop their metacognitive skills throughout their St. Helen’s College journey. Like building a house, good solid foundations are necessary for the house to stand strong and be extended in many ways!
I could preach about every curriculum subject in this blog but I will focus my attention on two core subjects which often complement each other - maths and science.
Our mathematics programme nurtures confidence in the children so that they are able to work independently, take risks and persevere, and they will experience success. All mathematical learning needs to start with the children utilising concrete objects which will then enable them to move to pictorial form and finally they can apply their skills and understanding in a more abstract form. If pupils believe they are no good at mathematics, they are likely to give up before they have really tried. Research shows a strong link between confidence and achievement in mathematics. By the time our pupils reach Year 6 they are confident mathematicians and are able to access a KS3 curriculum which extends their problem solving and reasoning skills. They make links in their learning by reflecting back to what they have previously been taught.
At the beginning of Year 6 many of our pupils will have completed the 11+ assessments and in their final year with us their mathematical skills are thoroughly embedded as they have the chance to consider more thoroughly the principles that underpin mathematics and which can be applied throughout their mathematical education rather than rote learning of methods to solve specific problems (which can happen in 11+ preparation!)
The use of the flipped classroom also enhances the pupils’ progress as the key concepts are introduced to the pupils before the lesson, with classroom time then being used to deepen understanding through discussion with peers, problem solving activities and plenty of time to practise with the teacher on hand.
The solid foundation in mathematics and the confidence the children have in their ability usually results in them being placed in top sets even in the most demanding of grammar or independent schools.
The St. Helen’s College science curriculum has continued to evolve over the ten years that Ms Gilham has taken on the leadership of the subject.
At St. Helen’s College we have enriched the curriculum with a continuously developing scheme of work and its embedding is strengthened by exciting and applied scientific investigations. Children learn by conducting experiments which cater for all learners. Our lessons are pitched higher than they may be in other schools. We have passionate teachers working as a team from the EYFS right through to Year 6, to support the delivery of the curriculum. We have focus days where science is fun and accessible to all.
By the time the children reach Year 6, they have an appreciation of concepts such as respiration during germination and the sheer fascination conveyed that a seed can do this because of science. Pupils are taught fun mnemonics or even dance moves to help them to remember complex concepts. For example, the five stages of a flowering plant: germination, growth, pollination, fertilisation and seed dispersal. (GGPFS - Good Girls Pay For Strawberries) or the fun dance moves of the water cycle!
We are passionate that the children appreciate and know the ‘awe and wonder’ of science.
As a research scientist, it is Ms Gilham’s goal to impart all manner of skills when performing experiments, drawing from experiences from her previous role such as extracting DNA from skin cells to explain what DNA is. In the past, Year 6 have extracted DNA from strawberries to link to their learning about ‘evolution and inheritance’. I visited an introductory lesson to this topic this week with a prospective family as we toured the school and they were quite overwhelmed by the children’s use of scientific vocabulary and the complexity of the topic which they were clearly understanding and relating to.
We encourage the children to talk and discuss their learning with their parents and other family members and make scientific terms part of their everyday language because everything we do can be explained and linked to science!
It fills me with such a sense of pride when I speak with senior school heads and alumni to know that our pupils are so well prepared academically and socially as they move forward on their learning journey to senior schools. Our Year 6 pupils are currently meeting with senior school staff and attending move-up mornings as part of their transition process and they feel secure and confident in the knowledge that they are so well prepared.
Mrs. Drummond
Posted on: 8/06/2018Quality Early Years Provision - Head's Blog
Many parents I am sure will have read the damning reports in so many newspapers from Amanda Speilman, Ofsted’s Chief Inspector, when she addressed hundreds of Early Years leaders and teachers at the Pre-School Learning Alliance's national conference on Friday 1st June.
Ms Speilman recognised the increased need for parents to have early years childcare with so many families now having both parents working full time, but she criticised parenting skills and commented on the rising number of children who enter schools with poor language skills due to the lack of involvement and interaction of some parents with their pre-school children. One Early Years specialist even went on to blame the era of the mobile phone for the lack of engagement between parents and children.
I have linked at the end of this the government’s official blog for your perusal - a very modified and edited version of some of the Twitter discussion and reports I have read!
As I read a range of tweets and articles over the weekend, I could physically feel the tension building in my body. I felt angst for those parents who might be sending their precious children to an environment where perhaps the care is not as one would expect, but also a sense of angst and sorrow for those parents who might not quite understand the huge importance of their children’s early years in their development.
I myself was a full time working mum and had to hand over my precious baby at only 10 weeks old (in Japan we only had 10 weeks maternity leave!). My husband and I chose our nursery very carefully and visited so many different ones - we opted for one where nobody spoke English! However, the love and care that was given to our daughter was outstanding. They helped to wean her onto solids and with a staple diet of fish paste and tofu it is now no wonder that she will eat absolutely anything! On return to the UK the search started again for a nursery school where I felt confident that Kiera’s care and development would be outstanding - and luckily we chose well.
However, many families are not quite so fortunate. I have visited settings over the years where the nursery staff stood back from the children, never engaging in their play or discussions. I even took my mobile phone out in one setting and asked if I could make some notes on my app which was allowed by staff, even though this should be a complete No! in any Early Years setting! I have almost cried when leaving some settings as I watched the young children occupy themselves.
I am so thankful to Mr. and Mrs. Crehan for their deep rooted love of education and for understanding that there is such a need for outstanding provision for the younger years. Setting up our Ducklings back in January 2018 has ensured that even more families are able to benefit from the unique care that we provide, and also from the support that we give our families in understanding how parents and school can work hand in hand to give children the best start in life. Our pupils start their formal schooling (in their Reception year) having experienced one if not two years of exceptional nurturing. All our staff in Ducklings, Wrens and Robins give your children an exceptional start in life but of course this is only possible if home and school are working together. As a school we work in partnership with you all to ensure that there is consistency and continuity in your child’s development and learning. I know that Mrs. Haar and the Ducklings staff are working very closely with Ducklings parents as they go through the toilet training transition in preparation for starting nursery (an area of great discussion with Amanda Speilman!). The introduction of our online platform Tapestry also gives parents of the EYFS children a greater understanding of what we are trying to achieve within the seven prime areas of learning and staff and parents can all work to the same end goal.
Communication lies at the heart of all learning - with clear communication skills relationships are built (this is true of children and adults!) Children will learn to read in their own time but the most precious thing that parents and carers can do for children is talk to them, read them stories, encourage children to ask and answer questions.
We will soon be meeting our new Ducklings and Nursery children and parents who will be joining us as part of our St. Helen’s College family from September and I know that they will be welcomed into our community and I cannot wait for another little brood to join us!
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/parents-ofsted-amanda-spielman-nursery-children-toilet-potty-a8379046.html
https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/amanda-spielman-at-the-pre-school-learning-alliance-annual-conference
Mrs. Drummond
Posted on: 18/05/2018Celebrating Success And Dealing With Disappointment - Head's Blog
Throughout my career, I have often had to bite my tongue when I have heard of schools banning competitive sports days or stopping class assemblies/plays because pupils who did not have the ‘big’ parts felt undervalued and could not accept that the part they had longed for was given to another child.
School staff are educators who facilitate in preparing your children to be able to participate in our future world. We play such a precious part in the cultivation of learning from a very young age. That learning is a cognitive, emotional and social activity and, here at St. Helen’s College, we believe that learning to cope with disappointment and to celebrate success (your own and that of others) is crucial to a happy future life.
This term we have so many wonderful events on the school calendar where we celebrate the success of the pupils. The most recent was the Musicians’ Concert, where I was utterly delighted by the phenomenal calibre of performances throughout the evening. I was mesmerised by the focus and concentration of the performers, but also by the supportive environment that the children created for their peers. Their love and support for their friends were evident in their celebration of each other’s performances. I am assured by the pupils from Year 4 upwards that their Mindfulness training courses help them in these challenging situations, and I must admit that I did not notice any errors that evening despite being told by a couple of children afterwards that they had stumbled!
Later this term, we will have the major production of a child’s St. Helen’s College journey...the Y6 production. I had the delight of attending some of the auditions for singing and acting parts for this year’s show. Oh yes, the pupils have to audition, just like in the West End! Even our current West End actor Kai (who is currently playing young Simba in Disney’s worldwide hit The Lion King) had to audition just like his peers! There were no exceptions made. What was lovely about this process was that the children recognised each other's efforts and talents and congratulated each other on whatever part they were given. The enthusiasm from every child has been quite overwhelming and Mr. McLaughlin is brimming with pride in how this cohort of Year 6 pupils are working so collaboratively in preparation for this year’s ‘Wizard of Oz’ spectacular!
Our Year 1 and Year 2 children are also busy preparing for their big summer productions - and it is in these younger years where we start that process of celebrating the success of everyone who contributes to a year group production, regardless of what part they have been allocated.
I do recall a nativity play I was once casting where the part of the donkey became the starring role….it was the donkey who enabled baby Jesus to be born! In this particular production, the donkey was the real ‘star’ of the show! The child playing the donkey had no words and no dancing to do - just the odd hoof scuff, head jerk and the occasional ‘Eeew-awww!’ How we all loved that donkey part! The child who played it was so full of pride for many a year to come as she knew she played her part to the best of her ability. Her pride was sparked by the manner in which her fellow pupils and the adults embraced the importance of the ‘donkey’ part in that child’s ‘learning’. In fact, I bumped into the ‘donkey’s’ mother quite recently in Intu shopping centre and we reminisced on how that lowly part of the donkey was so embraced by parents and staff! ‘Donkey’ is now in her mid 20s and her dad is very successful behind the camera in the film industry. It is lovely that her parents knew that all those years ago that their daughter would be able to deal with disappointment with grace and resilience. Yes, she had wanted to be Mary, but she was not cast as such and she shone in her own way for the part she played. She continues to shine in her learning journey of life!
One of the joys of being an educator is the relationships that are built with families. There is a beauty in shared moments where we are able, together, to support children in coping with what they may see as failures or disappointments, and in celebrating all the good times too. School is like a practice for life; there will be challenging times when a child may not be cast in the role they had their hearts set on, or may not come first in the race they had been practising so hard for. Every child will inevitably suffer little knocks, which may seem massive to them. Part of our responsibility as teachers and parents is to help children learn to respond to these disappointments positively. We can teach them not to react in a negative way, but to step back from the situation, acknowledge disappointment or upset and be able to move forward despite these feelings, so that they may make a positive contribution towards the end goal and experience pride in doing so. This is all a crucial part of helping every child on that cognitive, emotional and social journey of life!
So as we prepare for the final busy half term, please do help us to support your child in celebrating their successes and efforts and in helping them to deal with any disappointments in a sensitive, kind but pragmatic way - the St. Helen’s College way!
I shall not be blogging next week as I will be on the Year 4 residential trip at Flatford Mill.
I wish you all a super half term holiday when it comes.
Mrs. Drummond
Posted on: 11/05/2018Outdoor Learning by Miss Walker
No doubt many of us were outside with our families enjoying the long bank holiday weekend last week. Being outside in the fresh air, engaging with our surroundings and being away from ‘screens’ I’m sure made us all feel good. There is a growing awareness of the benefits of the ‘outside’ in society and in particular for our wellbeing. For example, patients with a natural view from their window recover more quickly and require fewer painkillers than those who look out onto cityscapes. Being outside reduces the production of stress hormones, lowers blood pressure and boosts our immune system. Being exposed to the ‘outside’ as a child develops and instils lifelong benefits which are not developed if children remain inside too much during their formative years.
Research into the educational benefits of outdoor learning is growing too, with studies suggesting that outdoor learning can enhance cognitive abilities. This may lead to improved understanding of concepts and ideas, promote collaboration and meta learning, foster engagement, creativity and innovation and allow pupils’ confidence to flourish. We are proud that St. Helen’s College has, for many years, led the way, with an extensive co-curriculum programme of opportunities for our pupils to experience outdoor learning, including residential trips, day trips and visits to the local park. In fact I write this blog after another fantastic day spent outside on a residential trip, this week with Year 3!
However, over the past 18 months we have been incorporating more and more outdoor learning opportunities throughout the school and across all curriculum areas. We are determined to make the most of the beautiful school grounds we have at our disposal to support and enhance a creative and engaging curriculum through outdoor learning. As part of a UCL leadership course I completed in 2017, I ran a 12 month project to assess the impact outdoor learning had on our pupils and the results were compelling. 89% of pupils reported learning outdoors made them feel happier and more confident and 96% felt they learnt better outdoors. In interviews, pupils’ comments included, “examples in the playground were exciting, challenging and fun and helped me understand”, “you actually know how to do something because you get to do it”, “we get more involved together” and “fresh air stimulates my brain!”. Teachers also reported increased motivation and accelerated learning, progress in attainment and improved pupil self esteem.
As I walk around the school now I often see maths lessons investigating and measuring angles in nature, art lessons using natural materials to make pictures or sculptures and music lessons where children are making and recording compositions created using natural objects. Amidst it all, I see happy and engaged children and our teachers’ passion for teaching. It is little wonder then that we are taking part in Outdoor Classroom Day next Thursday, 17th May. This is a day to showcase and celebrate our commitment to outdoor learning but also share common goals with schools across the UK and the world in promoting the benefits of outdoor learning. Throughout the day our pupils will be challenged and inspired whilst learning outside the classroom. For more information about Outdoor Classroom Day please visit the website here.
Today as I watched our Y3 pupils’ growing sense of wonder and awe as they soaked up being in nature and learning through nature I was reminded of the William Henry Davies poem ‘Leisure’. In an ever busy and stressful world, its words resonate as a call for us all to be outside more and to find the time ‘to stand and stare’.
Leisure - By William Henry Davies
What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.
No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
We hope that parents, too, will find time to enjoy the beautiful outdoors with children, friends and extended families.
Miss Walker
Posted on: 27/04/2018The Positive Ps of PREP - Head's Blog
PRACTICE *** PARTICIPATION *** PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
PARENT-CHILD RELATIONS *** PARENT-TEACHER COMMUNICATION
PEER INTERACTIONS
There have been years of debate in educational forums regarding the value of homework. In some maintained schools they have stopped giving pupils homework, claiming that it puts pupils who do not have support from home at a disadvantage. I am not about to be drawn into the debate as to whether children should or should not be ‘learning’ outside of school. I believe that children are naturally inquisitive and will learn if the learning is relevant, interesting and they are able to make connections to their prior learning or it prepares them for future learning.
Over the years I have worked in schools who have called ‘homework’ various things. ‘Home learning’ which perhaps takes the stigma of the labour of ‘work’ away from its name (work is something adults do to earn a living). In other schools it has been called ‘Prep’ - namely because it is ‘Preparation’ for the next day to further develop knowledge, understanding and skills.
Here at St. Helen’s College for pupils in Y3-Y6 we are now offering supervised ‘Prep’ as part of the Funtasia routine. The pupils have some down time after school, play with their friends, have some tea then go upstairs to one of the Year 6 classrooms where they have a calm, peaceful environment to ‘prepare’ for the next step of their learning, for the next day at school. Pupils have access to the chromebooks/laptops if needed and a member of our staff supervises and supports the pupils as necessary.
This week it was delightful to hear that some children had wanted to start their ‘Prep’ as soon as they arrived at Funtasia - so eager were they to continue their learning! On Tuesday I joined about 16 pupils during ‘Prep’ and was so impressed by their dedicated participation and by the pride they were all taking in their tasks. There were pupils writing their spelling sentences, researching WWII evacuees and making notes, using their flipped learning resource to practise some mathematical concepts….the tasks were wide ranging but each task was preparing the children for what lies ahead. ‘Prep’ at Funtasia is not compulsory; however, as a parent myself with a child in a Preparatory School some time ago, I know that it took a lot of pressure off us as a family. We would arrive home from our busy days and as parents we would still engage in what our daughter had completed in ‘Prep’ but we never had what can be for some families a ‘battle’ to start homework at perhaps 7 p.m. These situations are not constructive or useful to anyone!
For younger pupils, the Funtasia staff are always happy to hear the children read for some of the time too - but this does not replace the daily reading which is still expected at home between the adults and children.
'Prep’ should be completed in a quiet, calm environment. Do praise your child's efforts in their ‘prep’ but keep expectations high! If you know they really have not focussed or the task has been completed in a slapdash manner - do feel free to jot a note in their homework diary. (Mmm! Perhaps we need to rename them for next year to ‘Prep Diary’!)
You may find this blog of further interest:
http://blog.teamsatchel.com/research-into-the-importance-of-homework
Mrs. Drummond
Posted on: 19/04/2018Nurturing The Love Of Writing - Head's Blog
There has been recent debate in the news on the detrimental effects of touch screen devices on the development of young children’s handwriting skills.
Over the past ten years there has been a rapid increase in the use of ipads and other touch screen devices and young babies and toddlers are amazing parents with their incredible use of swiping actions as they navigate the apps on their parents’ phones or tablets.
Personally, I am saddened when I see youngsters in restaurants glued to tablets while the adults engage in social conversation. Don’t get me wrong – I am not against the use of technology! Indeed, some of the games and apps being developed for young children are super for encouraging the development of certain skills. However, recent research has seen a decline in children’s handwriting skills caused by the lack of dexterity and movement skills needed to hold a pencil.
Traditional craft activities such as playdoh, drawing, painting, cutting and sticking, threading beads or doing jigsaws seem to be disappearing with the influx of technology. These activities can play a crucial part in developing the fine motor skills needed by children as they grow, including their handwriting skills.
Handwriting skills are important and I am sure that many of you will fully support me in this. There are some people who feel that it does not matter if you are able to have good handwriting or not as the use of technology increases. However, I am pleased to say that here at St. Helen's College we pride ourselves on teaching the children handwriting skills and there is great excitement as they work towards gaining their ‘pen licence’ in Middle School. I am sure many of you were impressed at the quality of the handwriting and writing on display at Exhibition Day recently.
Over the Easter holidays I was touched as I received several postcards from children who had written to their classes from their holiday travels. I urge you as parents to continue to encourage all of your children to take pride and joy in the art of handwriting. I hope that many of our children still write thank you letters to family and friends for gifts that they receive on special occasions. You could also encourage your children to keep a diary and/or reflections book, to compile written fact files or to have a go at writing stories...writing should be enjoyable, relevant and fun!
Our Year 3 pupils and Year 6 pupils have the opportunity to write penpal letters to children in Spain and France – and so practise not only their handwriting, but also writing in a foreign language!
I have fond memories of writing activities as a child. I kept a diary from about the age of 8 right through to my teenage years! I recently found these in my mother’s attic and spent hours reminiscing, laughing and cringing about some of what I had written!
There was a magazine called ‘Blue Jeans’ which had penpal pages and for over three years I wrote to a lovely girl in Zambia who lived in a convent school. Sadly I have lost touch with her but the joy of receiving her air mail letters I still remember. I was fortunate to keep in touch with my childhood French penpal and met up with her and her family on a holiday to France some 20 years later.
My husband seems to have forgotten that we spent several months in different countries many moons ago when we were dating – but I still have all the lovely handwritten letters we wrote to each other!
These are all examples of such special memories, all kept on paper for years to come, and of relationships built by the power of the pen. And all this before the influx of technology.
Last term we discussed how we need to model reading to children and to be seen by our children reading a book for pleasure, relaxing and enjoying texts. The same could also be said for writing.
So this term, I challenge you all to share the love of writing and to show your children that you still value the skill of handwriting. Write a letter to someone who you have not seen for a while, start a reflective journal (these are really useful for the work place!), or write with your children on a shared writing activity: a poem, a shared family travel journal over the duration of a holiday, or a story/play that you create together.
Happy writing!
https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2018/apr/05/putting-pen-to-paper-instilling-a-love-of-the-written-word
Mrs. Drummond
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