Home Education Resources

We have a good collection of these books now and, although we have had some of them for 4 or 5 years now, everyone still seems to enjoy reading them.  It is a graded scheme with about 18 stories in each stage. The idea behind the series is that children start by 'reading' the books from memory after having them read to them previously.  They follow the words with their fingers and gradually link the words they are 'reading' to the words they are saying. 

The stories are based around two families.  The children in one family are called Biff, Chip and Kipper and they have a dog called Floppy and the other families children are Wilf and Wilma.  Our children like looking out for the pair of broken, discarded glasses that can usually be spotted somewhere in each book (there are other things to look out for too).  I have seen them at Waterstones individually priced at £1.99 but, if you find that you like them, it is more economical to buy them in sets of six.  We ordered them through Waterstones for £8.60.  A catalogue can be requested through their careline on 01865 267881 and their internet site can be found at http://www.oup.co.uk/ort/
(update 17.9.00: I recently ordered some books directly from their website).

A series of seven board books that show 43 sounds of English.  The letters are cut into the board so that they can be traced by a finger to help with writing the letters, Montesorri style.  Each sound gets a double page and the book also suggests an action to go along with each sound though my children did not seem interested in that.

This book is sub titled "A practical guide to teaching your child to read" and is a phonics based approach to teaching your child to read.  I have not used the book as the author suggests as it appears rather rigid with set times etc.  I have used it more for background knowledge as it does seem to teach the sounds in a logical order.  My daughter, Emily, has enjoyed typing out the silly phonic sentences from the book as I dictate them to her.

This is another book that I dip into for ideas now and then. It is aimed at parents of children who are struggling with maths. Diana Kimpton's method is to take them right back to basics as she has found that many children who struggle with maths have been taught it faster than they can understand it. It gives some useful ways of explaining concepts like place value and fractions. I like the emphasis on the parent being next to the child all through the teaching session and that the sessions are kept short. It is a flexible approach that builds confidence in maths. One of our children tried it for a few sessions but has not been interested since. The other likes the sessions and goes through phases of asking for them regularly.

A catalogue, aimed at schools, sub-titled 'Design and Make with over 7,000 items for School Leisure Education".  It is full of project kits including kits to make wooden gliders, toys, kites, technical models like the Thermo fan set and hot air motor, building with miniature bricks, telescopes, a compass, a chess board, a CD stand, a sand timer, electronics kits, solar power, and arts and crafts materials.  There are age guides though it must be remembered that these are for classes of children with one teacher - we have found that as we can help one to one they can attempt kits aimed at older children. The kits range in price from about £1 to £25 though most are at the lower end of the range.

To order your catalogue send £1.50 to Opitec, 7 West Road, Woolston, Southampton, SO19 9AH. We ordered by phone and were sent an invoice with the order. They also have a web site now at http://www.opitec.co.uk/.

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