June 29, 2019 / Ben / 0 Comments
When you go
on holiday you may decide to treat yourself to a new gadget. Often you may find that prices are cheaper
abroad then they are in the UK especially for electrical goods. It is important to remember that not every
country has as strict safety checks on electrical goods as we do here in
England.
You may find
a lot of counterfeit goods abroad which may be sold to you as genuine. This is not only very often illegal but may
mean that you end up with something that does not work properly or worse still
is dangerous.
When buying
electrical goods abroad be sure to check for all the safety standards marks. If the item is supposed to be genuine but is a
lot cheaper than you would expect to pay the chances are something is amiss.
If you do
wish to buy electrical goods abroad then be sure to buy it from a reputable
retailer ideally one that has branches in the UK also. Check to see if you have any warranty with
the manufacture as you may struggle to return the item if it becomes faulty or
damaged.
May 28, 2019 / Ben / 0 Comments
Education is
massively important to a child. Not only will it help them progress through
their school life and on to finding a career but it will also help them in
general with many day to day activities that they will have to do.
As a parent you may think that education is for school but you may not realise the impact home life can have on. Children whose parents spend a little bit of time with them on a regular basis, reading, writing and doing maths often excel in these subjects at school.
If you want
to help with your child’s education but do not want them to have to do
worksheets or working out of a book then why not try some games? There are a
number of games on the market which are aimed at being educational as well as
fun.
Orchard
games are a popular choice as they create fun and stimulating games for
children that can be easily set up and are enjoyable. They range from counting
and simple maths to problem solving and spelling.
Find a game
that is age appropriate to your child and have a go. You may be surprised how
much they enjoy it, spending time with you, whilst not really realising they
are actually learning at the same time.
April 30, 2019 / Ben / 0 Comments
Key stage one stats are due to be completed in June and many parents worry about what they need to do in order to help their child prepare for it. Your child should not have to worry about these early assessments but preparing them and talking to them about it can help to give them more confidence when the tests are placed in front of them. You can print off copies of old test papers from the government website that you can go through with your child so they can see what types of questions they may have to answer.
The most important thing is to teach your child to read the questions properly. In the maths SATs paper for example, the questions can change quickly from addition to subtraction to divide etc. If they assume that all the questions are addition they may lose out on marks for questions they knew the answer to.
If your child is really concerned about the SATs, speak to their teacher who will be able to talk to the child or give you advice on what you can do to help. SATs in key stage one are often more a reflection on the teacher than the pupil as it shows how well they have been taught.
March 11, 2019 / Ben / 0 Comments
With hoarding becoming a bit of an issue in the UK, we may all need to take a step back and look at our shopping habits. Retailers are very good as enticing us in with sales and discounts and we can often find we leave a shop having spent and bought far more than we intended too.
This can be
a dangerous game and if you are not carefully your shopping habit can quickly
spiral out of control. Not only can you get your self in financial difficulties
but you may also find that you simply run out of room to store all your new
purchases.
It is
important to have a good clear out once in a while and either chuck or donate
some of your belongings to stay on top of your home. Before going shopping, try
to make a list of what it is you actually need to buy. Having a look round your
home first will allow you to truly see what is needed and importantly what is
not needed. Make sure that you stick as close to your list as possible so as
not to overspend and bring home items you don’t really need.
February 28, 2019 / Ben / 0 Comments
So many
directors and choosing to recreate popular books as films. Recent examples
include films such as The Hobbit, Goosebumps and The Gruffalo. If these films
are done well, they seem to be hugely popular but many films seem to not follow
the books accurately causing upset amongst avid fans.
Sometimes film-makers need to add or remove material from the book in order to make the film the correct length or even split the book into a series of films. If you struggle to finish a book and often get bored halfway through then watching a film can be a great way of getting to discover the whole story. Also some people like to watch a film after reading a book as it literally brings their favourite characters to life and can give them a greater understanding of the book.
It really is
an individual choice, and some will chose to never see a film based on their
favourite book in fear that it will spoilt it for them. Sometimes the
characters may be portrayed differently to how they remember them and this can
sometimes cause upset.
You can
expect to see more and more of these types of films being released over the
next decade.