Preparing your child for school

Anxious parents of 4 year olds up and down the country will be attending meetings at their new school's this week and will no doubt be bombarded with information. There is so much to take in - uniform, lunches, holidays, homework.......it can be overwhelming for any parent. If it feels like a lot to take in for you, imagine what it must be like for your child as they take a huge step into this new independent phase of their life.

Every parent hopes that the transition to full time school will be a smooth one and I believe that preparation is the key. Use the 6 week Summer holidays to gradually prepare your child and hopefully their first day will go well.

Usborne provide a wide range of resources to help prepare your child for School and they are perfect resources to use in the run up to September. The first resource I would recommend is this fantastic Get ready for school wipe clean set which is currently on offer at only £7.99. The kit contains 4 reduced format wipe clean books that can be used over and over again with the special pen provided. In it's own carry case it is great for taking to a grandparents house or to use on a long journey. These books concentrate on learning ABC's and 123's.

If your child is a fan of sticker books, this Going to school sticker book is for them. Priced at only £3.99 it contains over 50 stickers and addresses every part of the school journey which will help your child when their big day arrives.

This Starting school sticker book is a best seller. Priced at £4.99 it goes through every aspect of an average school day - from hanging a PE kit on their peg to break time, this book is a great tool to use and talk your child through what to expect when they start school.

If you would prefer a story book to sit and read with your child, Max and Millie start school is a great choice. It is a gentle story which will prompt questions and discussion to help put your child at ease. This board book is £5.99 and a great book to pass on down the generations when the time comes.

If you are looking for an activity book your child can dip in and out of, Lots of things to spot at school is fab. There are hundreds of familiar items from school for your child to spot on every page and this book will also improve their counting skills. £5.99

Finally, you really cannot go wrong with Usborne's exclusive Hand picked starting school collection which offers a huge 40% saving on RRP. This set has been hand picked by experts to provide all you need to help your child prepare for starting school. It contains a wipe clean first letters, starting school sticker book and very first reading ABC's and 123's all for the bargain price of only £12.

For further reading try The Netmums guide to settling into big school and for specific information with regard to reading, try our guide to teaching your child to read.

All books are available to order via my website www.onceuponastory.org.uk. UK Delivery is free if you spend £25+, otherwise it is £3. I aim to provide a personalised service so please do get in touch via my website if you have any questions or would like any recommendations or advice. Alternatively, get some mummy friends together and I'll bring a selection of my books for you all to browse through and you will get some of these books for free! Again, get in touch for further information.

How to teach your child to read

Most school's now use the synthetic phonics  method to teach children to read. This method will teach your child to read quickly and skillfully.

Children are taught to:-

-recognise the sounds that each individual letter makes

-identify the sounds that different combinations of letters make such as 'sh' or 'oo' and then how to blend these sounds together to make a word.

Children can then use this knowledge to read (or de-code) any word that they see.

As a parent, it is important to encourage and develop your child's reading at home and support what they learn in the classroom. There is a wealth of research supporting how reading at home with your child is so important for their development and it can be difficult to know how to help. Hopefully, you will find some answers and resources in this post.

There is a wealth of information relating to phonics on the internet. You can read the essentials on this Government information sheet for parents and on Usborne's very first reading mini site.

The phonics method of teaching children to read had received lots of praise. This guardian article cites a 7 year old who has a reading age of 13 years due to using phonics.

Your child will be required to take part in a national phonics screening test during the summer term of year one to check their knowledge and progress. This test will be repeated in year 2 if necessary. 

Usborne provide a wide range of fantastic tools and resources to help you assist your child's learning of phonics at home. A good starting point is this award winning teach your monster to read game which is both free and fun!

Usborne provide a fantastic start to read pack (available to purchase here) which contains everything you need to help your child on their reading journey. This pack is only £19.99 (RRP £32) and contains:-

*8 individual phonics books

*write in workbook

*alphabet poster

*reward stickers 

*parents notes to check progress

Reading and writing phonics go hand in hand. This Usborne phonics activity carry pack (available to purchase here at only £7.99) is designed to help little ones write letters and simple words using the phonics system. The carry case contains 4 individual workbooks that your child can work through at their own pace.

Phonics doesn't have to be baffling, you can read about and buy further resources  including these fantastic phonics flash cards (£5.99) via my website.

You will be amazed how quickly your child learns to read using the phonics system. My son has been a free reader (which means they can tackle anything) from the beginning of year 2 using this system which is an amazing achievement and as a parent it is really lovely watching him picking up History books, encyclopaedias and even Harry potter and being able to read and understand then straight away. All thanks to phonics!

For all your Usborne phonics resources and books visit Www.onceuponastory.org.uk

June's Bumper Joining offer - too good to miss

If you've ever considered selling Usborne books before, June is the month to take the plunge. We are offering a starter kit containing a huge £220 worth of books!

It is simple and easy to join online via my website www.onceuponastory.org.uk (click join now). It takes 2 minutes and your starter kit will be with you within the week.

The starter kit costs just £38 and contains all of the kit you need to get started - the books in the kit show off the diversity and quality of our range so there is no need to order anymore for your stock. You will also receive summer special offer leaflets which will entice your customers, party invitations, full catalogues (Usborne publish over 2000 titles) and order forms. 

There are no targets or any pressure with Usborne, all we ask is that you place a £100+ order within your first 12 weeks. This is very achievable and I am available to help. A launch party at home or a friends house to show everybody what you can offer is the easiest way to achieve this. Once you have placed this initial order there is absolutely no other commitment to Usborne and you are free to dip in and out of your business as you wish which means it works perfectly if you already have a busy/hectic lifestyle or other commitments.

You can sell Usborne books via social networks, at parties, playgroups, to nursery, help schools fundraise to stock their libraries, at charity events, at school or local fairs, at soft play centres and more! The list of opportunities is endless!

The benefits are:-

*very flexible, take your children with you (they make great ice breakers at softplays/playgroups)

*earnings start at 24%

*amazing incentives including the chance to win your start up fee back or even a once in a lifetime trip to Dubai!

*for every order over £100 you place yu can choose 20% in free books for yourself or stock (10% after first 6 weeks).

*you will be promoting literacy and surrounding. Your children with award winning books as they grow.

*opportunites to progress to team leader or more with increased bonuses and commission.

You won't be left to get on with your new venture by yourself (unless this is what you want). As soon as you join you'll be added to our facebook support groups where you will find helpful hints and tips from established organisers and leaders as well as being a place you can form new friendships and bonds with new organisers who are just starting out like yourself.

There really is no catch! I love working for Usborne and if you love books, I bet you will too. Here are all of the books you'll get in your starter kit this month:-

That's a lot of books for only a £38 investment!

To read more about this opportunity, join online or ask me a question, please visit my website www.onceuponastory.org.uk

Offer ends June 30th!

The very best baking book for children

I wanted to tell you about my personal favourite Usborne book: The very best baking book for children.

From the moment I had my hands at this at Usborne HQ I knew I needed a copy in my life and it was the first book I ordered when I arrived home. 

The book is 400 pages long and the most comprehensive children's baking book I have ever seen. I own a lot of baking books (including Mary Berry's) but none of them come close to the quality and variety of recipes that this book contains.

This hardback book contains over 200 child friendly recipes. 

Contents:-

Getting started

Baking basics

Biscuits and cookies

Iced biscuits and cookies

Filled biscuits and cookies

Tray cakes and bakes

Bars and brownies

Meringues and macaroons

Muffins and Whoopie pies

Little cakes

Big cakes

Breads and scones

Pastries and tarts

Baking tips

Toppings and fillings

Icing and piping tips 

Chocolate skills

Decorating ideas

Templates

Allergy advice 

As you can see, this book is very comprehensive and would be a fantastic gift for any beginner baker.

I love the baking basics section which includes advice on how to beat and seperate eggs.

The book is beautifully written and illustrated and the photographs are gorgeous. Knowing how much work and research goes into an Usborne book, I can guess that this book contains years and years of hard work.

The recipes are so tempting I just don't know where to begin! I know that this book will be a form favourite in our house for years and years to come.

The above is just a tiny snapshot of some of the recipes you will find in this book. There are recipes for everyone from toddlers helping to stir through to teens attempting a master piece for their friends birthday.

This high quality book is definitely worth the £17.99 price tag as it is a book you will come back to time after time. These pictures really don't do it any justice and once you have a copy in your hands I promise you won't regret buying it.