Jj is for Jottings 124.  Neuroplasticity, Power and Children. This article follows on from the previous article on neuroplasticity and power.  However, I just want to mention a couple more points before moving on to the subject of neuroplasticity, power and children.  These points include people’s differing needs for power, and avoiding the negative effects […]

Jj is for Jottings 119.  Types of Listening and Nonlistening. Following the discussion on hearing versus listening, I promised to discuss more aspects of listening in the next article.  We have established that hearing is a simpler process than listening, so there is more to be said about  listening.  We will look at the listening […]

Jj is for Jottings 67.  Reading Comprehension – Is Your Child Barking at Print? When your child is reading to you, are you sure they (I’m using “they” to cover both boys and girls) are actually understanding what they are reading, or are they just barking at print? i.e. Reading the words correctly but not […]

Jj is for Jottings 116.  Children Who Own Books Read More. OWNING BOOKS BENEFITS READING. Children who own books are six times more likely to read.  And they are more likely to read above the expected level for their age.  The UK-based charity, The National Literacy Trust, did a survey of more than 56,000 children […]

Jj is for Jottings 114.  Digraphs vs. Diphthongs. Digraphs vs. diphthongs – what exactly are they and how do they differ?  They both begin with the same two letters, but then they diverge (get the pun?) THE ROOTS OF DIGRAPHS AND DIPHTHONGS. It is always helpful to understand the roots of words, because then we […]

Jj is for Jottings 113.  Neuroplasticity and Complaining. Following on from the previous article on neuroplasticity, we will now be more specific – how complaining rewires the brain for negativity.  Research shows that most people complain once a minute during a typical conversation.   Although complaining might feel good, but just like smoking or eating a […]

Posture affects mood and cognition. Nina’s posture is upright, and she looks happy and alert as a result. Jj is for Jottings 103.  Posture Affects Mood and Cognition. How many times were you told as a child:  “Sit up straight. Don’t slouch.”  Or in my mother’s case, “You’ll get a dowager’s hump.”  As is so […]

Jj is for Jottings 101.  Vowel Shapes. When I say “vowel shapes”, I am referring to the shape made by the mouth when saying a particular vowel.  We have talked earlier about discriminating between vowels and vowel discrimination activities, but I didn’t mention vowel shapes because we were talking about auditory discrimination.  The visual aspects […]

Jj is for Jottings 99. Print Books are Better than Digital Books for Toddlers. The question of whether print books are better than digital books for toddlers is a concern for many parents who are looking to do the best by their children.  Here are two pieces of evidence, one anecdotal and one from research, […]

Jj is for Jottings 98.  Reading Difficult Words. Reading difficult words is not an issue with this book! When your child starts to read aloud to you, they will often have problems with reading difficult words.  These words may be just long, or tricky in other ways, such as having several consonants together.  (See consonant […]

Jj is for Jottings 97.  Reading-Aloud Games. Following on from interactive reading with children, here are some ideas for “reading-aloud games” which you can play with children while reading stories with them.  The idea is to be spontaneous, just playfully engaging in banter whilst actually providing wonderful learning opportunities as a bonus.  It may sound […]

Jj is for Jottings  58.  More Reading to Dogs. The other reason for children reading to dogs (see previous article https://educatingalpacas.com/reading-to-dogs/)  was intended to benefit the dogs, but turns out to be a two-way street, as you will see.  The Humane Society of Missouri trains children aged 5-15 years to sit in front of shelter […]

From the colour I thought it was Geisha on the shearing table (she’s medium fawn), but when I saw her face on the next frame it turned out to be Nina – white! I should add that the alpacas are not suffering whilst on the shearing table – not keen, but not suffering, and the […]

Jj is for Jottings 73.  Prince William on Punctuation and Social Media. Prince William addressed a group of female students at a London school on the issue of cyberbullying.  He talked about the stress of trying to live up to all the faked “perfection” seen online, and he urged students to put down their devices, […]