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Alphablocks: Phonics and Literacy Videos.

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Alphablocks: Phonics and Literacy Videos.

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Kids learning to read should have fun with `Alphablocks', 26 living letters who emerge from the sky onto an empty world and discover that if they hold hands and make a word, it comes to life. There are also songs, stories and games to entertain and educate the young ones.

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alphablocks "alphablocks cbeebies" alphabet "learn to read" "learn the alphabet" "learn to spell" phonics education "kids tv" "cartoons for kids" "kids shows...

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The Alphablocks are 26 living letters who discover that whenever they hold hands and make a word, something magical happens. With adventures, songs and silliness, it's tons of fun with words - all built on a firm foundation of key phonics skills.

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Enjoy joining the Numberblocks as they learn to count and have fun with numbers!

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Numberblocks - Time for Some Number Fun | Learn to Count | Learning Blocks

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Water Safety Ireland have a wonderful resource PAWS -Primary Aquatics Water Safety for all class levels to highlight the importance of water safety and to give practical advice especially as we enter the summer months.

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In the two weeks of recent good weather, ten people drowned accidentally in Ireland. Their lives stolen in seconds. It’s time to make water safety a bigger part of the national conversation.

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Join Winnie and Wilbur in a brand new stay -at-home adventure. With Wilbur's fun ideas and a flick of Winnie's wand, staying at home can be lots of fun

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Enjoy madcap adventures with Winnie the Witch and her black cat Wilbur!

Valerie Thomas and Laura Owen's wonderfully crafted tales of magical misadventure, coupled with Korky Paul's distinctive illustrations, have inspired millions of young readers around the world. Find picture books, early readers, storyteller videos, and fun activities for your own little misadventurers!

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Enjoy madcap adventures with Winnie the Witch and her black cat Wilbur! Valerie Thomas and Laura Owen's wonderfully crafted tales of magical misadventure, coupled with Korky Paul's distinctive illustrations, have inspired millions of young readers around the world. Find picture books, early readers, storyteller videos, and fun activities for your own little misadventurers!

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We are very conscious that we are directing pupils to a number of sites. Limiting screen-time can be a battle for many parents. Webwise offers some practical advice

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Talk to someone

Worried about something you have seen online or concerned about your child? Childline and the National Parents Council Primary offer free advice and support service.

Childline is a support service for young people up to the age of 18.There is a 24hr telephone, online and mobile phone texting service.

The National Parents Council Primary enables and empowers parents to be effective partners in their children's education.

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Worried about something you have seen online or concerned about your child? Childline and the National Parents Council Primary offer free advice and support service. Childline is a support service for young people up to the age of 18.There is a 24hr telephone, online and mobile phone texting service.

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World Book Online has a huge repository of books available. Voice-over reader option.

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Scroll down on this article from the New York Times to find some recommended podcasts. Great in the car or for a break from the screen.

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A Big List of Podcasts for Little Kids (Published 2020)

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Here’s a list of great shows to keep kids ages 2 through 6, and their caretakers, occupied.

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From the literacy shed. Short animated video any Lego lover will enjoy.

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A true story about the history of Lego which can be used as a model text for writing chronological reports or biographies.

The narration of the text can be used to show directly what these texts look and sound like. Note the use of rhetorical questions in the opening section.
How paragraphs often begin with connectives, words to show when something happened or to show the passing of time. e.g. Many years ago, one day, suddenly etc.
It can demonstrate the links between paragraphs e.g: "It seemed like nothing could go wrong. But a stormy night in 1942 changed their luck.

Writing Opportunities

-Practice writing rhetorical questions for effect.
​-Children could create lego models and write instructions
-Use model to create biography for a similar figure.
-Create an advert for the early toys
-Create biography for Ole Christiansen.
-Map his mood through the events in the story.
-Compare lego with other toys such as meccano or modern games and argue why Lego is best. Maybe worthwhile comparing with mine craft, listing similarities and differences, which is more engaging? Which is best for money? Etc
-Design own lego land - use Lego to build it. Draw maps, write brochures and visitors guides. ​

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A true story about the history of Lego which can be used as a model text for writing chronological reports or biographies. The narration of the text can be used to show directly what these texts...

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Listen to audio book old favourites given the Gaeilge treatment

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Counting, matching and ordering number

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The Gingerbread Man Game - Counting, Matching and Ordering game

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Three fun counting, matching and ordering numbers games can help early years children learn to count objects and recognise numbers 1 to 10 and also number words to 10.

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Counting game in numbers or in words

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Learning to Count up to 15 with Teddy Numbers Interactive Maths Game

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A fun learning to count maths game for early years children by Topmarks. Count out treats to give to teddy.

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Counting game, up to 5 or up to 10

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Learn to Count up to 10 with Underwater Counting Maths Game

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A fun learning to count maths game for early years children by Topmarks. Find the treasure by counting the underwater creatures. Two difficulty levels - counting up to 5 or up to 10.

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Counting, matching, ordering game from the Topmarks site.

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Ladybird Spots - Counting, Matching and Ordering game

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Three fun counting, matching and ordering numbers games can help early years children learn to count objects and recognise numbers 1 to 10 and also number words to 10.

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From the Topmarks site. A game to practice number. Limit it to 1-10 or make it more challenging.

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QR CODE

Scan this on mobiles and tablets to quickly open this web page.

Helicopter Rescue is a mental maths game with different sized number charts and it is designed to help you to identify and work with numbers up to 100. The game works well on an interactive whiteboard.

The game modes include 'Find a Number' and 'Count On & Back'. In the first, you are asked to find a number on the grid, either directly or in between two voiced numbers. The count on and count back games are designed to help you learn some of the vocabulary of addition and subtraction; count on, count back, more than and less than.

AGE

4-8 Years

SUBJECTS

Maths Number Addition Subtraction

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Helicopter Rescue - Mental Maths for 4 to 8 Year Olds

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Helicopter Rescue is a mental maths game for 4 to 8 year olds which can help you to know your two-digit numbers and help with addition and subtraction skills. It covers different vocabulary such as more than, less than, count on and count back.

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Getting the fundamentals right. Matching sounds and letters.

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Match Sounds (Phase 1) - Online Phonics Game

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A fun online game with animal sounds that helps very young children develop the listening skills essential for success in a phonics-based reading programme.

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In the car or in the house, a great story is hard to beat. Listen to these audio stories

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Storynory has over 1,000 free audio stories for children, including classic fairy tales, myths, world stories, poems, and brand new originals read by professional actors.

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Actors read some great stories. Children (and adults) such to be enthralled

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The SAG-AFTRA Foundation's Daytime Emmy-nominated, Storyline Online, features celebrated actors reading children's books to inspire a love of reading in millions of children worldwide.

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A full gambit of subjects, this link is for emergent readers. One syllable words etc.

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Please review the FAQs and contact us if you find a problem with a link.

This page is just the reading portion of the Getting Ready pages and has three parts: The McGuffey Primer, The McGuffey First Reader, and phonics lessons. Before beginning this page, your child should be able to recognize all of the letters of the alphabet, as well as know their names and their basic sounds. This was created for children needing it who were already beyond kindergarten.

There are 230 lessons. Students start with sight reading, which enables them to read faster and more fluently. Then they will complete a phonics program, and emerge as excellent readers. You can move through these one a day, or you can do as many as your child can do successfully and cheerfully.

If your child isn't getting the sight reading and is at least five years old, consider trying the phonics section, which begins on Day 60 in Getting Ready 2; a dyslexic child will do better with phonics than with the sight reading. My dyslexic boys struggled with sight reading, so we moved on to phonics. Then we went back and went through the McGuffey parts of the Learn to Read with EP book. They both enjoy reading now. I'm using the phonics section of the book to work on spelling, having them read a section of words, write them, read what they wrote, and then check it against the book.

This course in book form.

Note: This is the reading portion of The McGuffey Primer and Getting Ready 2. There is no need to take this course along with those courses. This course is intended for older children who need to work on learning to read.

Now we are going to start reading our first book! You will need to have your child go over the day's words three times a day-maybe after breakfast, after lunch and after dinner. It will only take two minutes. After the third time, your child will read the page for that day. You can print these words out if you would rather not use the computer.

We have an app for that! These word practices and stories are on our EP McGuffey Primer App, available at the Google Play Store.

1. If you didn't get here through My EP Assignments, I suggest you go there and create an account. There is an offline version of this course. Scroll up for the link.

2. Look at your words. The program will show your child each word once and then show them randomly. That means a word may repeat. It changes its appearance slightly to show that you can click it again. This is for practicing. After several times a check mark will appear. That's how you end the lesson. Feel free to end this first lesson before they know all the words perfectly.

3. Look at your words.

4. Look at your words and read lesson I. Your child should be able to recognize the words before reading the lesson. You or an older sibling needs to listen to your child read the lesson out loud from the online book each day.

5. Congratulations on reading your first story!

6. Your child is learning to read by sight. You are not teaching your child phonics. You don't have to teach your child to sound out the words. (That can cause confusion at this point.) Your child is to learn to identify a word by looking at it. That's how you are reading this right now. You don't sound it out. You just know what it says. Your child will learn phonics. It's coming. Doing it this way will give your child more speed and fluency.

Lesson 2

1. Look at your words.

2. Look at your words.

3. Put the starting sound on the word. Even though we aren't learning phonics right now, your child did learn the phonetic sounds of the alphabet. If your child is stuck on a word, the first thing to try is to ask your child what letter does the word start with and what sound does it make. Maybe making that sound will trigger the memory of what the word is.

4. Look at your words and read lesson II.

Remember that 1, 2 and 3 need to take place at three different times during the day. If your child ever feels like the words are switching too fast, you can always teach your child to pause it between words.

Today is review, lesson V. Don't worry about the cursive. Just skip over it.

1. Look at your words.

2. Look at your words and read lesson VI. If your child is stuck on a word, another way to help is to remind your child that the story matches the picture. Maybe the picture has a clue as to what the word is. (This isn't cheating. It's teaching them skills to problem solve when they come across new words in the future. One way to figure out a word is to use context clues. Pictures are part of the context of these stories.)

Read lesson X. Choose one sentence to read again fast!

Read lesson XV. Choose one sentence to read again fast!
Lesson 18 Lesson 19

Read lesson XX. Choose one sentence to read again fast! (Parent: If you are having to tell your child words, please consider stopping and going back to the last lesson he can read perfectly and start from there. It's fine to have to point out a wrong word or to have to remind them by asking, "What letter does it start with?" as long as they can figure it out eventually. You can also encourage your child to use the picture for clues.)
Lesson 21 Lesson 24 Lesson 25

Read lesson XXV. Choose one sentence to read again fast!
Lesson 26 Lesson 27 Lesson 28 Lesson 29

Read lesson XXX. Choose one sentence to read again fast! (Parent: If you are having to tell your child words, please consider stopping and going back to the last lesson he can read perfectly and start from there. It's fine to have to point out a wrong word or to have to remind them by asking, "What letter does it start with?" as long as they can figure it out eventually. You can also encourage your child to use the picture for clues.)
Lesson 31 Lesson 32 Lesson 33 Lesson 34 Lesson 35

Read lesson XXXV. Choose one sentence to read again fast!
Lesson 36 Lesson 37 Lesson 38 Lesson 39 Lesson 40

Read lesson XL. Choose a sentence to read again fast! (Parent: If you are having to tell your child words, please consider stopping and going back to the last lesson he can read perfectly and start from there. It's fine to have to point out a wrong word or to have to remind them by asking, "What letter does it start with?" as long as they can figure it out eventually. You can also encourage your child to use the picture for clues.)
Lesson 41 Lesson 42 Lesson 43

1. Look at your words.

2. Look at your words.

3. Look at your words (mute the audio and read it to the child) and read lesson LII.

4. Listen to a rhyme.

5. Congratulations! You read a whole book!

Lesson 53

1. Read lesson 1 in your new book! A parent or older sibling needs to read the new words (in the box) to the child before he begins reading the lesson. Show the child the word (point to it with the mouse) and read it to him. Have him read the word to you. You can ignore the list of letters. You can also zoom in at any time. After you read through the words, have the child read the lesson story to you. It's very short today!

2. Also, parents, if sight reading was hard for your child, you could skip to phonics (Lesson 112) and then come back here. (A dyslexic child will do better with phonics than with sight reading, )

Lesson 54 Lesson 55 Lesson 56 Lesson 57 Lesson 58 Lesson 59 Lesson 65 Lesson 66 Lesson 67 Lesson 68 Lesson 69 Lesson 70 Lesson 71 Lesson 72 Lesson 73 Lesson 74 Lesson 75 Lesson 76 Lesson 77

Read lesson 27 in your reader. (review)
Lesson 78 Lesson 79 Lesson 80 Lesson 81 Lesson 82 Lesson 83

Read lesson 33 in your reader. (review)
Lesson 84 Lesson 85

Read lesson 35 in your reader. Have someone show you the words and then read you the story.
Lesson 86 Lesson 87 Lesson 88 Lesson 89 Lesson 90 Lesson 91 Lesson 92
Lesson 93 Lesson 94 Lesson 95 Lesson 96

Read lesson 46 in your reader. (review)
Lesson 97 Lesson 98 Lesson 99 Lesson 100 Lesson 101 Lesson 102 Lesson 103 Lesson 104
Lesson 105 Lesson 106 Lesson 107
Lesson 108
Lesson 109 Lesson 110 Lesson 111 Lesson 112

1. Congratulations on finishing your book! Now you are going to start to learn phonics. That is how to read big words, really, really long words. It will be easy for you. You will learn how to put the sounds of words together. You'll have to think about how letters usually sound.

2. Read this first page (1 vowels). It is all vowels. Do you remember their usual sounds?

3. If you need practice remembering their sounds, you can play at Starfall. The last row has all of the vowel sounds you will be practicing.

Lesson 113

Read this next page (2 b) by putting each vowel with the letter B.

Read the next page (3 d) in your phonics lessons.

Read the next page (4 f) in your phonics lessons.

Read the next page (5 g) in your phonics lessons.

Read the next page (6 h) in your phonics lessons.

Read the next page (7 j) in your phonics lessons.

Read the next page (8 k) in your phonics lessons.

Read the next page (9 l) in your phonics lessons.

Read the next page (14 s) in your phonics lessons.
Lesson 126

Read the next page (37 lf) in your phonics lessons.

Read the next page (38 sk) in your phonics lessons.

Read the next page (39 four rhyme) in your phonics lessons.

Read the next page (45 ch) in your phonics lessons.
Lesson 157

Read the next page (46 review) in your phonics lessons.
Lesson 158

Read the next page (47 ing) in your phonics lessons.
Lesson 159

Read the next page (48 ung) in your phonics lessons.
Lesson 160

Read the next page (49 verb ing) in your phonics lessons.
Lesson 161

Read the next page (50 ink) in your phonics lessons.
Lesson 162

Read the next page (51 unk) in your phonics lessons.

Read the next page (58 old) in your phonics lessons.
Lesson 170

Read the next page (72 ch) in your phonics lessons.

Read the next page (73 wh) in your phonics lessons.

Read the next page (74 th) in your phonics lessons.

Read the next page (75 qu) in your phonics lessons.

Read the next page (76 review) in your phonics lessons.

Read the next page (77 L blends) in your phonics lessons.

Read the next page (79 L review) in your phonics lessons.

Read the next page (80 sm) in your phonics lessons.

Read the next page (81 st) in your phonics lessons.

Read the next page (82 sc) in your phonics lessons.

Read the next page (83 s blends) in your phonics lessons.

Read the next page (84 r) in your phonics lessons.

Read the next page (85 r blends) in your phonics lessons.

Read the next page (87 ar) in your phonics lessons.

Read the next page (88 or) in your phonics lessons.

Read the next page (89 more) in your phonics lessons.

Read the next page (100 review) in your phonics lessons.

Listen to Harry the Dirty Dog. If you want to read along, click on the "cc" at the bottom of the YouTube screen. It will turn on the words.

1. Listen to the story and read along with "Treasure Pie."

2. What was in the pie?

1. Listen to and read along if you like by turning on the captions (click on cc.)

2. What kind of animal was Guji?

3. Who did he live with?

1. Listen to Tale of Peter Rabbit and read along if you like by turning on the captions (click on "cc").

2. What kind of animal was Peter?

3. Who did he live with?

Write the names of three animals in the book.

1. Listen to Library Lion and read along if you like.

2. What's the new rule at the library?

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Please review the FAQs and contact us if you find a problem with a link. This page is just the reading portion of the Getting Ready pages and has three parts: The McGuffey Primer, The McGuffey First Reader, and phonics lessons. Before beginning this page, your child should be able to recognize all of the...

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Games, Videos, Brain Boosters, for animal lovers.

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Free ebooks for ages 3-11, spelling, phonics, reading, and maths too.

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With a library of activities and resources for every stage of the learning journey, curated by the team at Oxford University Press, we are here with inspiration to help your little ones learn, grow and flourish at home, in the classroom and beyond.

Just click on the sections in the menu to explore by subject, or use the options below to uncover content by age group.

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Oxford Owl for Home: help your child learn at home - Oxford Owl

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Oxford Owl is packed with expert advice, tips and activities to help parents support their child's education. Help your child with reading, phonics and maths.

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An excellent one stop PDF for infants. Phonics, maths, matching. Ideal if you have a printer and are working from home.

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Do you know how to count? Are you sure?

These tricks require a small prop or two.

A great way to amaze your friends (and maybe win an impossible bet)!

Everybody loves a good, easy card trick.

These tricks will blow your mind!

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Got a little Houdini in the family? Our magic tricks are sure to impress the most skeptical audience. We have Number Tricks, Object Tricks, Card Tricks, Optical Tricks, and a special category called Betcha Can't. Help your child learn these tricks and put on a Magic Show!

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12 easy card games to test the grey matter in a fun way

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Snap! 12 classic card games the whole family will enjoy

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With our guide to simple family card games, your gang will be shuffling, dealing and tallying scores in minutes flat!

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Login and get moving! A great resource the children are familiar with for activity breaks

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Learn how to touch type!

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Learn how to touch type with the BBC Dance Mat Typing game. It’s a fun introduction to touch typing game for kids and covers levels 1, 2, 3, 4.

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Very creative ways to utilise your recycling and spark your creativity.

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Junk Art is open-ended, child-led and creative.Children create their own art using items you might put in your recycling bin.

"Creative play involves children exploring and using their bodies and materials to make and do things and to share their feelings, ideas and thoughts. They enjoy being creative by dancing, painting, playing with junk and recycled materials, working with play-dough and clay, and using their imaginations."

-Aistear: the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework, NCCA 2009

The benefits are numerous. This video from Dr. Jacqueline Fallon explains them .

Sounds a bit ambitious, right?

When I first contemplated Junk Art with my Senior Infant class, I will admit that I was nervous. Would they be able to make anything independently?What about the mess?!It's a lot less complicated than it sounds.I'll outline a gradual approach to it further down if you feel it's daunting.The other thing to remember about Junk Art is that you're doing it as part of your Aistear Play Hour, so you only have one group taking part at a time.Less mess.

So, what resources do you need?

There are a few things you'll need to buy, but you might have them in your classroom already.

Scissors

Pritt-stick

Masking tape (so much easier for children to use than sellotape!)

PVA glue (I store this in cleaned out yoghurt jars)

Glue spreaders

Toilet rolls & kitchen rolls

Egg cartons

Milk cartons

Cereal boxes

Shoe boxes

Cardboard and plastic boxes of all shapes and sizes

Leftover/scrap coloured and white paper and card

Supermarket leaflets

Holiday Brochures

Toy catalogues

Bubble Wrap

Foiled or shiny paper (chocolate and sweet wrappers, wrapping paper)

Gift bags

Ribbon

Straws

Buttons

Scraps of material

Note: The children will bring in lots of toilet rolls, egg cartons and cereal boxes.Keep an eye out yourself for unusually-shaped boxes, foiled, shiny or patterned paper, bubble wrap and ribbon.

The following can be very useful but would need to be bought:

Topic-based Art

A Suggested Approach to Junk Art

This is how I started it with my Senior Infant class this year.

Paper Plates

Toilet Rolls, Egg Cartons and Masking Tape

After working with mostly 2D creations, I then gave the children some empty toilet rolls and kitchen rolls.They stuck paper to the toilet rolls and some of them even made Gruffalo characters (we had read the story that week).

By now we were into October and our topic was 'Houses and Homes'. The children used boxes and milk cartons of all shapes and sizes to create 3D structures, some of them being houses, some of them not!They also had access to all the previous materials they had used.As they became more confident with Junk Art, they were able to look through all our recycled materials to find what they needed.

Paint

Having let the children experience painting the toilet rolls, I then decided to combine painting and construction.The children were able to make their 3D creations as before, and then paint them as desired.

Next up was the introduction of PVA glue.I store this in lidded yoghurt jars, so I don't need to pour it out every day.I use glue spreaders with PVA glue, but they're not a necessity.You can use paintbrushes or scraps of stiff card instead.I gave the children googly eyes, cotton buds and pipe cleaners to stick to their creations with the glue.

Assessment

I try to assess each child around once a week.I do this in two main ways, observations and work samples.

Observations

You can find the document I use to take notes on each child here.I look for children's learning in the following areas:

Dispositions (curiosity, concentration, perseverance)

Skills ( cutting, writing, drawing, problem-solving)

Attitudes and values (sharing, care for the environment, and positive attitudes to learning)

Knowledge and understanding (classifying objects, learning 'rules' for interacting with others)

Work Samples / Photographs

I take photographs of the children engaging in play, and of their finished creations.The children often come to me and request a photo to be taken.I upload all the photographs to each child's Class Dojo portfolio, which is a great way of getting an overview of their play and progress over the course of the year.

A note about Planning & Reviewing

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What is Junk Art? Junk Art is open-ended, child-led and creative. Children create their own art using items you might put in your recycling bin. "Creative play involves children exploring and using their bodies and materials to make and do things and to share their feelings, ideas and thoughts.

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PDST teacher resource for PE. I like to move it move it!

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Official education portal of the Department of Education and Skills in Ireland. Curriculum focused resources and support for primary and post primary teachers.

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Khan Academy provide amazing resources for learners and have a page dedicated to support parents and children with remote learning during the school closures. This is well worth a look.

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Teach Your Monster to Read is a fabulous app and one that I have used for years. It allows your child to move through the different stages of phonological awareness as they teach their very own monster to read!

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Infant phonics practice

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Starfall Education: Kids Games, Movies, Books & Music for K-5 and above

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At Starfall, children have fun while they learn - specializing in reading, phonics & math - educational games, movies, books, songs, and more for children K-5 and above.

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The amazing people at Dabble Doo are offering parents a month long subscription to their excellent music resources.

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Music at Home

Radio Shows

Each month we choose a new theme to discuss and select our favourite music. We cover topics from musical instruments to our favourite artists and genres. Expect chat, quizzes and loads of great tunes!

Tin Whistle Lessons

Learn the basics of Irish tin whistle with expert musician and teacher Thomas Johnston. This video course will take you from learning basic fingering to playing your first tune.

Artists in the Classroom

This video based course features some of our favourite artists performing in schools across Ireland. Enjoy everything from classical guitar to techno.

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Music at Home Radio Shows Each month we choose a new theme to discuss and select our favourite music. We cover topics from musical instruments to our favourite artists and genres. Expect chat, quizzes and loads of great tunes! Tin Whistle Lessons Learn the basics of Irish tin whistle with expert musician and teacher Thomas Johnston.

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This resource was created by @niamhbrady

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Junior Infants - 2nd Class (KS1) Home Survival Kit - Wakelet

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Here you will find a list of websites to support your child's learning.

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Twinkl are very kindly offering parents and teachers month long subscription free of charge during the school closures. Twinkl has a wealth of resources across all primary class levels. Plenty of bright visuals, presentations and activities.

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Schools across the globe are responding to the outbreak of the Coronavirus. In some cases schools have closed or are making preparations for a potential closure.

At Twinkl, our mission is to help those who teach and we are therefore taking steps to support continued learning at home.

We've put together a simple, step-by-step guide about how to use our site during Coronavirus. This guide is not designed to supercede or replace any official guidance, but is intended to advise on using the Twinkl website during this period.

How can I help parents to use Twinkl independently?

We have a number of really helpful guides, designed for parents, for different areas of the curriculum. You can direct parents towards our dedicated Parents' Hub which contains hundreds of educational activities designed for use at home. Or, browse this area yourself and hand-pick individual resources to share.

For parents with children in EYFS, take a look through our EYFS for Parents area to find some really useful guides and activities to share.

For primary-aged children, take a look at our 5-11 area. Again, this was created with parents in mind so it's filled with guides and information about what children should be learning in each year group, for each curriculum area.

For parents with secondary-aged children (for ages 11 to 16), take a look at the Beyond area of the website. Resources are available for English, Maths and Science, as well as languages, art, humanities and other curriculum areas. Lots to keep older children occupied.

Our Parents User Guide and general Twinkl Membership guide are both useful documents to refer to for general information about the site, our content and how to find it.

What can I do to support learning at home?

There are a number of simple ways you can curate and share content from the Twinkl website, as well as many useful areas that parents can easily use.

Using our Home Learning Packs

We've put together Home Learning Packs from Year 1 to Year 6.

Our EYFS Home Learning Packs can be found here.

Our KS1 Home Learning Packs can be found here.

Our KS2 Home Learning Packs can be found here.

Our Secondary Home Learning Packs can be found here and here.

Our SEND Home Learning Pack is available here.
These packs are available as ZIP files. For guidance about how to download and open this type of file, take a look at our FAQ.
We're also putting together Interactive Learning Links resources. These are interactive PDF resources which link to other helpful materials on the Twinkl site that you can use without a printer:

We've also added a new feature to our app, where you can annotate PDFs in the app with any info you like.

Sharing from the Site

Share a resource directly using our sharing tools, found at the top-right of a resource preview. You can share to a class Facebook group or send via email to multiple addresses. Or simply copy and paste the URL and pop it into a class blog. Use our Save For Later feature to organise resources into folders on site to make sharing resources linked to a topic or theme easier.

Using Google Classroom

Google Classroom is designed to upload resources, create deadlines, mark work and start discussions with your class online. This way they're still learning and not falling behind whilst not in school. We've made it easier for you to work with Google Classroom by including a Google Drive Button next to all our resources, where available. This allows you to download the resource straight to your drive, which can then be uploaded into Google Classroom.

Read our guide to Google Classroom here.

Creating Lessons in Twinkl Go!

Twinkl Go! is a really useful tool that can be used to curate our interactive content. Within the Twinkl Go! area of the site, you can find online games, self-marking comprehensions, audiobooks and more.

If you're teaching a particular topic or area of learning, you can group together all related activities in a lesson, then share this lesson with parents using a code. It's really easy to do and a very efficient and effective way to create online lessons for your pupils. Again, lesson codes can be shared through class blogs, email, your website or printed out to send home at the end of the day. A video tutorial for how to do this can be found here and we also have a Twinkl Go! user guide for further information.

We've also put together a selection of lessons within Twinkl Go! for different age groups. Check them out here. Really useful, really simple and available to anyone who has full access to the site.

Using Twinkl Originals

Parents may feel more comfortable and confident in using books as a starting point for learning. Our Twinkl Originals books were created to encourage a love of reading and enhance curriculum-wide learning through accompanying teacher-created resources. Each book is available in different formats - PowerPoint, eBook or audio book (available through Twinkl Go!) - and has been written using age-appropriate vocabulary and themes. Books are available for EYFS, KS1 and KS2 and each comes with ready-made resources to support writing, maths and other curriculum areas. Once you've found a book within the Twinkl Originals page, click to see all supporting resources. If you're covering a particular topic at school, this is a great way to continue this learning at home.

Imagine

Twinkl Imagine gives you a different photo every day with a range of activities for KS1 and KS2 children designed to be done independently or with an adult. Activities cover English, Maths, Art and Design, research challenges and engaging discussions. There are also topic webs with ideas on how each topic can link to a child's learning across different subjects.

With over 400 photos to choose from, there are lots of different topics to explore.

Lapbooks and Workbooks

For parents who may prefer a topic-led approach, we have a fantastic range of lapbooks to choose from. Browse the options online - again, these might align with topics being learnt at school. There's also a helpful guide which explains how to make a Twinkl lapbook. Super simple and a really enjoyable activity for children and parents alike.

Our maths workbooks offer a really simple solution. They're organised by age group and topic, and are available with answer sheets for easy marking. Use ready-made workbooks from the site, or create your own to print out and share with parents.

Other Useful Resources

Twinkl Boost offers step-by-step lessons and interventions. Designed for use in class, there's lots that parents could select for their children at home.

Our Maths Mysteries are incredibly popular, self-led activities. Perfect for use at home.

For hands-on, fun science activities, take a look at our Awe and Wonder collection.

How can we discuss Coronavirus with children?

Inevitably, children will have questions about the Coronavirus and want to find out more. To support parents and teachers with these conversations, we have a range of suitable materials on site. Discuss good hygiene and hand washing using our display packs, or take a look at our child-friendly news reports in Twinkl Newsroom - designed for use in KS2 (ages 7 to 11) with new stories added each day. Or search 'coronavirus' on the Twinkl site to find other related materials.

As ever, if schools, teachers or parents have any questions, we're always here to help. Contact TwinklCares using the help icon at the bottom of the page to send a message to our experienced team of teachers. Our Facebook communities are a fantastic source of ideas, knowledge and support for parents and teachers alike. Furthermore, we'd love to hear any other ideas you might have which we can share with the wider Twinkl network.

In unexpected times, we all play our part in helping in whichever way we can. The help we are offering would not be possible without the continued support of our members - thank you. We're hopeful that we've been able to make a challenging situation a little easier and our thoughts are with anyone who has been affected.

Jonathan Seaton

Twinkl CEO

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How to Utilise Twinkl during the Coronavirus Shutdown: A Guide for Schools

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Schools across the globe are responding to the outbreak of the Coronavirus. In some cases schools have closed or are making preparations for a potential closure. At Twinkl, our mission is to help those who teach and we are therefore taking steps to support continued learning at home.

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The lovely people at Nessy are offering their services free for a period of time because of the school closures.

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Improve Your Spelling, the latest book written by Nessy founder Mike Jones, explains the rules of reading and spelling. It will help teachers teach, and parents to understand how to help their children.

By the end, you'll be a master speller!

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You've found Nessy; World leader in helping children who learn differently. Founded and run by educators and dyslexia specialists, our award-winning programs are guided by the Science of Reading.

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Babbledabbledo.com have a great range of art activities to keep creative little hands busy!

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If there is one age that I patiently waited for my kids to reach, it was 3-4 years old, the preschool years. If you are a creative type, you probably are also excited about these years because it's the age kids can really start trying projects, particularly ART. Engaging art at this age sets the stage for a lifetime love of creativity, in fact I believe the best preschool art projects are the foundation for creative thinking, exploration and problem solving.

I urge anyone working with kids this age whether they are your own or those you teach or care for to make sure that when choosing art projects for 3-4 year olds you select ideas that are open-ended with plenty of opportunities to explore. What you really want to foster at this age is a love of play and creating, avoid projects with complicated steps or things that are too crafty, instead try process art, and art projects with a science twist to make them even more magical.

Top Tips for Art with Preschoolers

Embrace the mess. The best way to be able to embrace messes is to plan for it. Cover work surfaces in butcher paper or take really messy ideas outside. No one will enjoy a project if you are stressed about the mess which at this age is inevitable and should be a welcome part of the exploration.

Step Back. Adults should set up the projects and facilitate them as needed but please take step back and let the children explore on their own. Let them take chances and play with the materials at hand. In fact doing this often yields off-shoot projects that are just as fun!

Keep it short! Preschool aged children are like whirlwinds of energy and interests. Don't expect them to sit still for long so choose projects that can be accomplished quickly.

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Some of these projects are best suited for older preschoolers because they involve more advanced fine motor skill development; I have noted them Pre-K.

(Pre-K) These suncatchers have a magical outcome for a minimum of effort! All you need are glue, food coloring and a little patience...

A great introduction to process art, gather up an old sheet, paint and rollers plus some textured items and stencils and have fun!

This super simple project doubles as a lesson in color mixing and absorption.

I cannot tell you how worth the prep and mess this is! My whole family had a blast with it!

(Pre-K) A fun use for dyed pasta- turn them into colorful suncatchers.

The next time a large branch falls in your yard, save it! This is a wonderful group art project and lasts for years if you use acrylic paint (just be sure to wear smocks or messy clothes as acrylic permanently stains clothes). You can substitute washable paint for a non-permanent version.

Paint your patio! Or the driveway! This will work on concrete as well and washes off in a few good rains.

(Pre-K) Totally irresistible... Adults will need to prep the tops, but kids can help mix the paint and spin the tops for some crazy spin art fun!

(Pre-K) My daughter invented this project! You can do this in groups by spreading a thin layer of salt on the bottom of a tray.

A classic art project for a reason! This process makes lovely marbled paper.

This produces a massive amount of art very quickly! I love how it encourages children to think about creative ways to make art.

Pulled string art is one of the coolest classic art projects you'll ever try! And it doubles as a wonderful math art project for kids.

This doubles as a snack idea! First use your fine motor skills to cut and create mosaic piece of art, then eat it!

A classic art project that is always a hit with kids!

Everyone LOVES this project! Kids can create art without even touching the paper! See the picture above.

(Pre-K) Using oil pastels makes this easier to apply the two layers of color. This is fun for all ages!

A simple color mixing experiment featuring science!
Get the recipe for ice chalk here
18. Ice Chalk Painting

You will also need squeeze bottles filled with a mixture of vinegar and water. SAFTEY NOTE: Vinegar can sting the skin so be sure to let your children know to only squeeze the vinegar/water onto the chalk.

We placed an old white sheet on a table and the kids dissolved the ice chalk using a mixture of water and vinegar. Bonus: When everything is melted the chalk turns into oobleck!

(Pre-K) To make this easier to prep, substitute inexpensive air dry clay for the wood blocks.

(Pre-K) A great way to develop fine motor skills. WARNING: You'll probably start hoarding styrofoam trays just for their awesome textures after this....

Not only are these three paints taste safe, kids can help make them. The pudding paint makes a wonderful homemade finger paint!

A great STEAM project for preschoolers that asks them to problem solve. Set out some clothespins and assorted materials and ask them to make and paint with homemade brushes. Check out some of the fun materials we tried here.

Sidewalk chalk on black canvas. A wonderful alternative to the typical blank white canvas.

(Pre-K) A simple introduction to sewing using shoelaces and burlap.

One of our favorite ways to explore color mixing! Squeeze the primary colors onto a coffee filter, spin them in an old salad spinner and BAM you have new colors!

I hope this list of preschool art projects gets your children interested in creative exploration.
In fact join the Babble Dabble Do community and I'll send you 5 secrets to connecting with kids through creative projects.
You have been waiting for this age, time to start making! And don't be dismayed if your kids aren't interested in a particular project, it doesn't mean they don't enjoy art.
Send me awesome creative project ideas!

Join over 14,890 parents and educators who want connect with kids and nurture their creative process through magical, easy projects you can do TOGETHER.

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Colorful and engaging art projects perfect for preschool aged children.

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Some great ideas here and you might have some of the necessary materials around the house already.

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Earth Day is fast approaching (April 22), though there really is never a bad time to celebrate Mother Earth. It's important to teach students the environmental benefits of recycling, like conserving energy and natural resources and reducing air and water pollution, all year long. While recycling breaks down old items in order to create something new, upcyling makes something new from an existing object in its current state. Challenge your students to create something unique and wonderful from preexisting items like magazines, plastic water bottles, tin cans, egg cartons, and more. Check out our list of the best upcycled crafts for Earth Day or any day, and give some of them a try!

1. Make wildflower seed bombs.

Give back to Mother Earth with these easy-to-make seed bombs. Blend together used scraps of construction paper, water, and wildflower seeds in a food processor, then form them into tiny muffins. Let them dry, then toss them in the ground. As the seed bombs receive sun and rain, the paper will eventually compost and the seeds will germinate.

2. Create nature wreaths.

Take your kids on a nature walk to gather interesting leaves, flowers, berries, etc. To make the wreath forms, braid together strips of old T-shirts and form them into a circle. Then attach natural items into the crevices and secure with clear fishing line or hot glue. Attach a ribbon at the top to hang your wreath.

3. Construct a bug hotel.

Create a cozy place for all the creepy-crawlies to hang out. Cut a two-liter plastic bottle into two cylinders, then stuff it with sticks, pine cones, bark, or any other natural material. Make sure to pack the organic material tightly. Then loop a piece of twine or yarn around the two cylinders and hang your bug hotel from a tree branch or fence.

Learn more: Red Ted Art

4. Make a quilt.

Textiles make up a huge portion of municipal solid waste- over 16 million tons per year. Teach your kids to repurpose old material that would otherwise end up in the landfill by putting together a cozy quilt.

Learn more: Teach Student Savvy

5. Use magazines to create a bowl.

We love Earth Day crafts that result in a practical object you can use around the house. This project is best for older students who have the patience and dexterity necessary to carefully roll their magazine strips and glue them together.

Learn more: DIY Joy

6. Create Earth moss balls.

Pay tribute to our lovely planet on Earth Day with these fuzzy moss balls. Kids who love getting their hands dirty will particularly love this craft. All you do is squish pre-soaked sphagnum moss into a tight ball, wrap it tightly with blue yarn or strips of discarded T-shirts, layer more moss and more yarn, etc., until you've created an Earth-shaped orb. Finish with a loop of yarn and hang it in a sunny window. To keep your moss ball healthy, simply spray it with water every couple of days.

Learn more: Mother Natured

7. Create a hanging garden.

Large plastic bottles become beautiful hanging planters in this green-living and green-thumb project. A great way to make a gorgeous hanging garden.

8. Upcycle trash into flower art.

Scraps of paper are the only supplies you need for this recycled-flower-garden activity and lesson. The measurement and math element is an added bonus.

9. "Grow" an egg carton tree.

Save those egg cartons! This simple project only requires a few supplies to make a recycled egg carton tree.

Learn more: Glued to My Crafts

10. Create binoculars using paper towel rolls.

Save those paper rolls so your class can customize their own binoculars! Have a variety of paints, stickers, etc., on hand so your students can really personalize their bird watchers!

Learn more: Today's Parent

11. Create your own flexible seating.

One of our favorite Earth Day crafts has to be upcycling tires into comfy seating for our reading nook.

Learn more: Hanging With Mrs. Hulsey

12. Fashion a pop-top bracelet.

Aluminum beverage pop tops become wearable jewelry thanks to some ribbon ninja work. Put this video onto your interactive whiteboard to give your students the full 411, and then get crafting!

13. Chime the wind.

Go outside for a nature walk and gather sticks, weeds, and pickable blooms, then bring the treasures inside to be showcased in recycled jar lids. With some wax paper and string, your students can craft this surprisingly beautiful recycled wind chime.

Learn more: Hands On as We Grow

14. Paint paper bags.

Brown paper bags become eco-canvases for artwork and a perfect way to adorn fridges for Earth Day. Bonus points if you can source handled bags, because the handles serve as built-in artwork hangers.

Learn more: Small for Big

15. Make a recycled city.

Create an adorable village using little more than paper rolls, paper, scissors, paint, glue or tape, and your imagination!

Learn more: Today's Parent

16. Create pebble art.

Take students outside to collect small rocks and pebbles. Have them arrange the rocks into a creative pattern of their choice. Get creative, and try for as many different designs as you can! Once you're finished, simply leave the rocks where you found them.

17. Use old crayons to make new ones.

This isn't just any recycled crayon. It's a gorgeous Earth crayon! You can make these with your kids using a muffin tin. You just need to sort out the right colors.

Learn more: The Gunny Sack

18. Use upcycled objects to make mazes.

STEM and recycling go together wonderfully! This idea is a great way to challenge kids to make mazes or something else entirely.

Learn more: Hello, Wonderful

19. Make a rope snake.

Recycling projects that use objects you may have laying around your garage or shed are some of our favorites! Grab that old rope you've been saving and create these adorable rope worms/snakes with your students.

Learn more: Make Film Play

20. Feed the birds.

Herald spring with this easy crowd-pleaser: the large plastic bottle bird feeder. This short video will teach kids how to get started constructing their feeders.

21. Get organized with old cans.

Tin cans are easy to get your hands on, and they can go a long way in organizing supplies. Get your kids involved by having them help decorate the cans. They'll really take ownership of this, which will hopefully help them want to keep supplies more organized.

Learn more: Sandy Toes and Popsicles

22. Make papier-mâché pots.

Cut off the bottoms of beverage bottles or reuse food containers and jazz them up with bright-colored paper scraps. Except for the glue, these papier-mâché planters are composed solely of recycled materials.

Learn more: Childhood 101

23. Make a necklace out of junk.

Earth Day art that is wearable is a bonus! Use found objects or some string to create these unique necklaces.

Learn more: The Awesome Childhood Project

24. Make chair fidgets out of old tees.

Give old T-shirts new life with this craft by making chair fidgets. This uses a simple braiding technique, and your kids will love helping out.

25. Collaborate on an aluminum can recycling bin.

Kids can work together to create an aluminum-can recycling center. Watch the video above to get the simple instructions and learn how your school can make recycling fun and rewarding.

26. Create tin can robots.

Recycling projects like these are the best since kids love robots. Be sure to have an extra pair of adult hands around to help with the hot glue.

Learn more: Creative Jewish Mom

27. Fashion fairy houses.

Are these the sweetest Earth Day crafts ever? Plastic bottles from home become homes for fairies, thanks to paint, scissors, glue, and real or faux greenery.

Learn more: Crafts by Amanda

28. Create a giant upcycled art wall.

This is an amazing recycled wall masterpiece. You could set it up on a cardboard backing and then let students add to it, paint it, and create with it whenever they have free time throughout the day.

Learn more: Art Bar Blog

29. Make your own games.

Use bottle caps in a game of tic-tac-toe. They can also be turned into checkers. This would be a great makerspace activity. Give your kids several upcycled items and challenge them to create games!

Source: Reuse Grow Enjoy

30. Make a treasure magnet.

These treasure magnets are just so beautiful! Recycle a bottle cap and glue a variety of gemstones and beads inside. Finally, add a magnet to the back.

Learn more: Hattifant

31. Turn old magazines into art.

We love how this upcycled magazine cut-paper art project can be modified for primary students or used to inspire sophisticated art by high school students.

Learn more: Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom

32. Build beautiful terrariums.

A bottle gets a second life as a museum-worthy terrarium as well as a home for an environmental science project. Be sure to add the activated charcoal and moss for plastic bottle terrariums that flourish.

Learn more: Adirondack Girl at Heart

33. Paint with corks.

This is the perfect kind of Earth Day art since you use recycled material (corks) to paint your favorite scene from nature.

Learn more: 30 Seconds

34. Set up a self-watering planter.

Your classroom studies of plant life, photosynthesis, and water conservation will get a boost with this hands-on crafting of a self-watering planter. The base? A good ol' large plastic bottle.

Learn more: ehow

35. Form flowers from water bottles.

Upcycled water bottle flowers are an easy craft that can be sourced directly from your recycling bin, with the help of some paint.

36. Build cardboard castles.

Gather all your recyclables and put those tiny engineers to work. You'll be amazed by what they create!

Learn more: Fun-a-Day

37. Make these newspaper owls.

Old newspapers find their spirit animal when they become recycled newspaper owls. All you need are markers, watercolors, and paper scraps to make them come alive.

Learn more: I Heart Crafty Things

38. Construct a plastic bottle recycling bin.

Water bottles come together, as do your kids, to make this water bottle recycling center. This project combines teamwork with respect for our environment, a double win.

39. Create genius ideas out of cardboard.

Cardboard is one of the easiest, least expensive materials you can get your hands on. Grab a ton of it and challenge your kids to make awesome creations. You never know what they might come up with.

40. Make an instrument.

There are no limits to the recycling projects you can create using paper rolls. We especially love that this DIY instrument will teach kids about vibrations and sound.

Learn more: No Time for Flash Cards

41. Create a spinning top.

Do you have a bunch of CDs lying around that never get played anymore? How about a box or drawer of markers that barely write? If you answered yes to these questions, then this is the perfect project for you.

Learn more: Artsy Momma

42. Fashion lady bugs from bottle caps.

These little ladybugs are so cute and yet so, so simple. Grab some bottle caps, paint, googly eyes, and glue and get ready to make some adorable friends!

Learn more: Love and Lollipops

What are your favorite Earth Day crafts? Share in the comments below!

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42 Earth Day Crafts and Classroom Activities That Use Recycled Materials

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Raid your recycling bins for supplies and then try one of these eco-savvy Earth Day crafts that is sure to be a hit with students.