Education

Enterprise, I have read that youth vehicle crime is vastly reduced if they are sent on a car maintenance course instead of being given a custodial sentence.
I organised a child development course for my 'ROSLA' girls, liaising with all the nurseries and infant schools in the district. It was hugely popular and all the schools reported that the girls were polite, mature and helpful.
This did not mean that I was not paying attention to their literacy and numeracy skills as well - it does not have to be an either/or situation.
As most of them would be mothers at a fairly young age, I hoped it would help them to understand their own children better.

Galen my daughter is a biochemist and tells me that science is not an exact science educated guess work seems to be the polite description of some of her research.

I know I'm harking back to a slightly old thread, and one where some of us (me) got a bit aerated, but I have just come across this.
If you look at the age groupings along the top, is does seem history is taught chronologically. Seems sensible to me.

And it seems to be taught quite imaginatively.

Seeing as Mr. Men books are aimed at toddlers and small children, might not yrs 6 and 7 be insulted or am I missing a point here?

Merlot I think Mr Men books are not aimed at toddlers. To understand the humour and irony of the books needs a level of sophistication that is beyond most 3 yr olds. They happily watch them on TV as a lively moving image but I suspect many don't 'get' the story.

Isn't WW2 supposed to be a rather serious subject?

My nearly 5 year old grandsons have lots of Mr Men and Little Miss books, but they don't quite get the subtle humour yet and the paragraphs are just that bit long for them to be able to keep up with the stories. They have the toys and DVDs, though, and love those.

I read the original Mr Men books to my children and still have them. They did understand the humour at an early age and loved it. My daughter has a boxed set now and the grandchildren love them too. The original Roger Hargreaves are so much better than the subsequent ones written by family members after his death.

I loved reading them at bedtime as they weren't too long

I think they are terrible stories and I hated having to read them! So many better books I would prefer to read to children and that children enjoy.

Perhaps your kids were particularly sophisticated or mature sel. In my experience most under 5s really struggle to appreciate them properly.

I doubt many children, even unsophisticated or immature ones would not enjoy reading Mr. Tickle with me nanaej as readings became very physical and descended into ticking matches.

Somehow Hitler doesn't quite come across as Mr. Tickle.

merlotgran I'm confused I would have said Mr. Men books were for the under 5s. I did try and keep them going beyond as I loved the length of them for reading at bedtime.

Am I the only one who has read Jingle's link?

I read it, merlot. I think there is some talking at cross-purposes here!

Actually, in my case, you're right, I hadn't. I missed the blue What a bizarre idea. Mr Men and Hitler? Hey ho. I'm not a teacher but would have said by the time children can actually understand what Hitler was about relating that back to their pre school days books and Mr Men is patronising.

I agree - I think the whole idea is bizarre!

That's what I thought, Sel. One of my grandsons is in yr 6 and would be mortified if he was presented with a book portraying Hitler as a Mr. Men character.

You've got to laugh merlot

I am, Sel. You must have thought I was bonkers comparing Mr. Tickle with Hitler.

No, I was puzzled - wondered if I'd made a name for myself My fault for not spotting the blue link - I often do, especially if it's just a one word one. Must get to Specsavers.

Have to say it seems like a strange and rather inappropriate idea to me. It is for the international GCSE and I read somewhere that it was produced by a teacher in an independent International School abroad.

It's a very effective, traditional strategy to ask a learner to teach someone else what they have just learned. But to choose this medium, the Mr Men vehicle, is so wrong in so many ways!

"heptarchy : a hypothetical confederacy of seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of the seventh and eighth centuries"

Yes feetlebaum - King Arthur days. (sigh!) #onceandfutureking

With any luck they will tie the King Arthur stories to the solid history to make it real to the younger ones. But I don't see where the Mr Men can be tied in.