I just wanted to update you with some more ideas for Home Learning and that might keep the learning spark flickering, inspire some interest and enthusiasm, or at very least help fill the time at home.
Of course, at times the Show My Homework tasks will be a slog, especially for some children who have lost their routine over Easter, so the following examples may offer a bit of variety that might hook them back in.
As always, especially for those not doing exam courses, we encourage a sensible, moderated, balanced and realistic approach. Clearly exam-based work is a different issue, but there is always room to pick, choose and prioritise, there will be no dreadful judgements or sanctions, and you as parents are going to be best-placed to judge the mind-set of your children. You will know best when to push, when to draw back, and when home-fun is needed more than home-schooling.
Anyhow, just four shorter sections this time:
ONLINE FRIARY VIDEO LESSONS
Microsoft Stream
We are putting an increasing amount of online video lessons on Microsoft Stream. Some are specific to lessons and linked from Show My Homework, others are more generic such as audio books and cooking lessons.
If student access their emails via the school website then they can access them:
Go to the school website – www.friaryschool.co.uk
Click on the Student Tab
Click on Student Email
Type in your School Email Address
Type in your Password
Click on Stream (not Outlook)
Click on the Discover Tab
Click on Videos
DAILY ONLINE LESSONS…
BBC Bitesize – Daily Education Programme
Fantastic online lessons come up each day for 5-14 year olds… and thanks to Ms Young for her part in this national provision:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/z6vpnrd
Some of the lessons are presented by celebrities: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-52351131
There are lots of other options and there are 20 great websites available via: https://www.learningliftoff.com/20-best-homeschooling-websites-and-learning-resources/
FREE BOOKS & TEXT-BOOKS…
Classoos
We have been working with a company called Classoos to make a number of texts and textbooks free for students to use online – though they will be more suitable for Year 9-13 students.
Teachers may start advising you to use these online textbooks to help with tasks they have set. If you are a Year 12 student, these will be useful for your revision. Year 11 students expecting to progress onto post-16 courses next year may find these textbooks provide a useful introduction to these courses.
A list of the available texts, and instructions of how to log into Classoos, have been sent to students via Show My Homework. It will appear as a ‘Notice’.
Logging into Classos can be done via the internet or by downloading their App.
Use your school account details to log in (the same username and password you use to access Office 365 and Show My Homework).
FREE AUDIO BOOKS…
Audible
Audible, the paid-for audiobook subscription service owned by Amazon, has announced it was making more than 200 titles for children and young adults free to listen to without the need to sign up.
Among the free stories for younger children are Timeless Tales of Beatrix Potter, a range of Winnie-The-Pooh stories and The Owl and the Pussy-Cat.
It also announced that Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (read by Stephen Fry in English and Bernard Giraudeau in French) was being added to the free library for older children.
See https://stories.audible.com/start-listen for more details
LEARNING ACROSS THE WORLD…
The Guardian – ‘The World’s Your Classroom: 10 Fun Ways to Home School
There are lots of ‘virtual experiences’ available online and this link offers tours, safaris, diving and even space travel:
https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2020/apr/20/10-fun-ways-to-home-school-virtual-learning
AND FINALLY…
We’ve no secret source of information on a return date so we watch the news headlines just like you do. Hopefully, a safe return will be sooner rather than later, but for now we are grateful for what you are doing at home.
On that note, I wanted to just say ‘thank you’ from all of the staff at school. I have lost count of the number of staff members who have called home and then commented how amazing you as parents are. There are lots of people doing extraordinary things at the moment, but you being the Maths teacher… English teacher… PE teacher… Mum… Dad… mentor… coach… carrot… stick… and so on is right up there. Again, from us all, ‘thank you’.
Take care.
Matt
