Welcoming bilingual pupils into primary schools

My daughter came to England with us last year understanding a lot of English but Japanese was her first language. Within a year she now uses English predominately, thanks to a year spent in the local school's nursery. Like other  EAL (English as an Additional Language) pupils I've met in my own workplace, her first reaction to a new language in nursery was one of shock and quietness. Children are listening, assessing and assimilating the new language in this first phase, before they start to communicate. I think my daughter spent 6 months at her first nursery doing so. The staff all thought she was very quiet...so NOT true!! At the nursery she started in January of this year, she was also thought of as being quiet but I think they are seeing her true colours now. Her English is also amazing, full of imagination, questions and excitement. She has had some wonderful and sensitive help from her present nursery; we have seen a huge change in her confidence and language since she has been there.
Here's a link to Dorset County Council's EYFS policy for bilingual children:

Welcoming Bilingual pupils into Primary Schools’ – Dorset County Council

What a find!! Japanese style mugs

I've been thinking about giving our home a more Japanese feel to it...after I did live there for 15 years!! We brought back the bare essentials when we shipped our stuff back to the U.K. I feel we can start to add some lovely Japanese nick-naks to our flat once we go back to visit Japan again. However, on my recent stay back home in Lancashire, I was excited to find our local Factory Shop was selling very Japanese-looking mugs. The natural earth colours and glaze are very similar to those found in traditional Japanese pottery.And at one pound a mug, I snapped up several!!!

Princess Smartypants...a girl after a modern mummy's heart!

A little girl in nursery requested I read her this book last week. I just loved it!! A hilarious modern twist on the tired old princess stories. Can't wait to get one for my little girl!!

Jolly Phonics sound and actions

I'm really enjoying teaching phonics to my nursery class. They follow the Jolly Phonics programme, which links an action to the letter sound. All the kids like doing them, and many spontaneously produce them when they hear the sounds alone. I think its a really good way for kids to remember English sounds.
http://jollylearning.co.uk/2010/11/03/jolly-phonics-actions/

Bilingual children in the nursery class

I have been working as a teaching assistant in a primary school's nursery for the last few months. About half of the pupils use another language that they speak at home. We need to actively help these pupils to gain new language skills and not expect that they will just 'pick it up as they go along.'

Ideas for teachers of bilingual learners at nursery 
NALDIC (National Association of Language Development in the Curriculum) 

British Council webpage: Learn English Kids...super songs and stories!

This brush your teeth rap is a huge hit in our house!!
There are loads of songs, animated stories and games to play on this wonderful site!!

http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/songs/brush-bus

Just down our road....Wuthering Heights, Haworth and the Bronte sisters

We live in an area of England where very famous writers once lived.
Charlotte, Emily and Anne Bronte.

They lived in the parsonage (the house for the priest of the town or village) at the top of a hilly village called Haworth. It's about a 20 minute drive over the moors from our house in Hebden Bridge.

Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights is inspired by the rugged and desolate views of the moors around here.

Latest local news tells us that wind farms are to be built on the moors that inspired these women.
Residents are against the plan as the natural beauty of these moors will be destroyed.
Wind farms on Wuthering Heights Moor?