Looking for support with homeschooling during the Coranavirus crisis? Children's authors are here to help
Our thoughts go out to everyone in these very difficult times. We very much hope that you all stay safe and well.
With UK schools now closing, there are lots of children’s authors and poets who are giving their time and material free to teachers and parents to help keep your kids engaged and entertained.
Here are some we’ve come across so far.
Ed Boxall’s daily activities
From Monday 23rd March Troika author and illustrator Ed Boxall will post a daily creative activity every day on his website at 9am. The activities will be mostly aimed at primary aged children but hopefully might be enjoyable for anyone. They’re all based on tried and tested things that have worked in schools. There will be a weekly theme and each activity will be broken down into simple instructions and should fill two low stress hours.
No special materials are needed, but if you like the sound of joining in you’ll need pencils, biros, plain paper, scissors, some kind of paper glue and masking tape.
You’ll find all the details on Ed’s website at edboxall.co.uk and you can also follow along on Facebook and Twitter.
Neal Zetter’s free help for home schooling
Award-winning Troika author and poet Neal Zetter is offering free help for home literacy plans and lessons. You can email him using the contact details on his website at cccpworkshops.co.uk
Bocchi and Pocchi activities online
Noriko Matsubara, author and illustrator of the Bocchi and Pocchi picture book series about a pair of socks who are great pals, has created a new website with lots of free resources.
Visit www.bocchiandpocchi.com for Bocchi and Pocchi colouring sheets, homeschooling ideas - and a sock knitting pattern.
Read, write and have fun at PoetryZone.com
Poet Roger Stevens’ PoetryZone website is filled with all kinds of poems, ideas and resources from poetry workshops to top tips.
Head on over to poetryzone.co.uk
Selkie, a Scottish Folktale featuring Gillian McClure
Author Gillian McClure has made a video with the National Association for Primary Education where she works with a group of year 3 and 4 children in a primary school using her book Selkie as a teaching resource.
Having a laugh at Liz Brownlee’s PoetryRoundabout.com
Liz is posting a funny poem a day on her blog - with the help of her assistance dog Lola and a number of guest children’s poets.
Check it out at www.poetryroundabout.com
A.F. Harrold’s Limited Edition Kids Poetry Podcast
Just spotted on A.F. Harrold’s Facebook page: “From next Monday I'll be releasing a kids poetry podcast three times a week for seven weeks (which by my maths is 21 episodes, which is how many I've made). It's called the A.F. Harrold Limited Edition Kids Poetry Podcast (or AFHLEKPoPod for short) and each episode is about three or four minutes long, consisting of a fake sponsorship message for the intro, a single poem, and a suggestion of what to do if you didn't enjoy it by way of outro.”
We’re not sure where it’s going to be just yet, but a good bet’s to keep an eye on AF’s website at www.afharroldkids.com
CLPE free resources
The CLPE (Centre for Literacy in Primary Education) is all about helping schools to teach literacy in the most effective way. Their website includes an excellent collection of free resources with all kinds of teaching and learning prompts, ideas and exercises, along with some videos of poets and authors performing their work.
Hop over to clpe.org.uk/library-and-resources to take a look.
Radioblogging.net
Have a listen to RadioBlogging.net – featuring daily shows with interactive activities to keep everyone busy and engaged, brought to you by Pie Corbett, Deputy Mitchell, Ian Rockey and Russell Prue.
Just listen in, or join in… it’s live, fun and interactive with new educational tasks each day for young students whether at home or in school.
If you’re a children’s author, librarian or teacher with some online ideas and resources to help parents and kids during school closures - or a parent who’s discovered something worth sharing - why not Tweet them and tag us @TroikaBooks we’ll help spread the word. Many thanks!