December 18, 2017 / Ben / 0 Comments
Historically the pre Christmas sales always used to start on January, but with companies realising that people tend to spend a lot more of their money in November and January, many of them are opting to start their sales early. This November saw many of the big retailers offering customer huge discounts on their items and tempting people in to early Christmas shopping. This has definitely helped ease the shopping centres in the run up to Christmas and can be great for people looking to spread their shopping out a bit over a matter of a few months.
The issue with buying present that early is you may forget that you have already bought something, find that the prices come down closer to Christmas and you have paid over the odds, or if buying for children, find out that there is a new toy on the market which has suddenly become top of the Christmas list. On the other hand, if you leave you shopping until the last minute then you may struggle to find stock of the item and end up having to either go without or pay over the odds.
November 15, 2017 / Ben / 0 Comments
For many years there has been a discussion as to whether young students should receive homework on a regular basis from school. Some schools introduce homework right from reception age and this carries on throughout their education. Some parents and teachers feel that there is too much responsibility out on children already with exams and therefore homework is not essential or required.
Over the 12 months many schools have chosen to drop homework completely in favour of reading. All teachers will agree that reading is a vital part of a child’s education and often schools feel that it is more important that a child reads than to do homework. Some schools that have taken this approach, instead set a termly topic homework that is optional. It will be a task based around the topic they have been learning about.
If your child is at one of the schools that no longer gives out homework then you should try and get your child to read to you every day if possible. They do not just have to read their reading books though, reading a section out of the paper or directions on the side of a product will all help towards their overall understanding, reading and writing skills.
October 30, 2017 / Ben / 0 Comments
If your child is at primary school, then you may notice that they are often given a variety of books to read at home. Some books may be fiction, some nonfiction stories and others may be fact or reference books. It is important for your child to have the opportunity to read a wide variety of books to allow them to explore without just being restricted to one type. As a parent, it is easy to get in to the pattern of reading one type of book to your children as it may be the style that you like, but by doing this, you are limiting your child’s reading materials and they may miss out on a genre of type of book that they would enjoy more.
Regardless what they read, it is very important to get your child to read at least a few times a week, if not daily as this will help them in all areas of education and their overall academic ability. If you are struggling to find books at home that are suitable for your child, then why not in role them in the local library so they can swap books more often.
September 29, 2017 / Ben / 0 Comments
If you are shopping for an outfit to wear for a specific occasion then you will probably want to do it as early as possible. Looking for the right outfit can be tricky especially if you are in between sizes. Not knowing exactly what size you are or finding that you are often different sizes in different shops can make online shopping a lot harder, which is a shame as often online shopping can be cheaper and certainly less stressful especially if you have children tagging along.
If you do find an outfit you like online and have the money to do so, you could order it in two different sizes and return the one you don’t want. Be sure to check on the returns policy as you may be surprised to find that some stores will only offer an exchange or credit note and some will only give you 14 days if the item is in the sale.
Make sure you pick a colour that you can match accessories too if this is important to you and wait until you have your outfit to buy matching hair pieces etc, as you can take the outfit with you to get the exact colour.
August 30, 2017 / Ben / 0 Comments
Reading has always been a popular pastime but with people now being able to download books to read on their phone or tablet more and more people are getting hooked on books. Some people say that they do not enjoy reading and find it boring but often the reason is that they have just not found the right genre of book. Unlike a film, you have to use your imagination a bit with a book and often this can be quite difficult to start with. If you are someone who likes a good thriller or horror film then the chances are you will like a similar genre of book.
Some books are more easy reading and again, for some, this is just what they need when they are drifting off to sleep. Also it may be that you only like books from certain authors, so once you have found a book you enjoy, try reading a few other titles by the same author.
If you had given up on books then why not give it a go again, but try something totally different to anything you have read before. You may prefer to use a tablet or Kobo or you may find that you actually like to be able to physically turn the page.