english activities

Sight word flip books

Sight Word Flip Book

Well the new school year is underway, and the homework is already starting to pile up. As well as all the normal things that More

montessori letter flash cards

Montessori Letter Flash Cards

When YC and EC were little I tried to make them some Montessori letters.  I tried making them with glue and sand but wasn’t More

name sensory tray

Name Sensory Tray

The new school year has started and little ones are heading out to nursery or school. When YC and EC were really little and More

Word boxes: To help learn spellings

Word Boxes: To Help Learn Spellings

At the beginning of last school year we had a gentleman come over to help EC with his reading and spelling. He was absolutely More

phonic find game

Phonic Find Game

We have done a similar phonic find game before. Before I would give them a letter and they would have a minute to find More

Making Tape Letters

Learning how to form letters properly takes a long time and needs lots of practice. To break things up a bit, I use a More

Secret Agent: Can you decode the message?

Secret Agents: Can You Decode the Message?

Make sure that you follow our reading board on Pinterest for more ideas, and don’t forget to pin the Pin at the bottom of More

Connect 4: Sight Word Edition

Connect 4: Sight Word Edition

I’m guessing that you know of, or have heard of the game Connect 4…? Well, this is Connect 4: sight word edition of the More

Rhyming Words Match Game

Make sure you are following our reading board on Pinterest for more ideas. An important part of learning to read is learning about rhyming More

digging for sight words

Digging For Sight Words

Make sure you follow our reading board on Pinterest for more ideas. YC’s list of sight words grows weekly, and although she is very More

Minute to win it: Sound Search

A Minute to Win it: Sound Search

Another fun and easy phonics game for children. One of the big parts of learning to read is being able to identify the sounds More

Speed Sight Word Game

Have Fun with This Speed Sight Word Game

I don’t think there is anything better than doing an educational activity that really makes you laugh, I think it stops children from thinking More

Magic E Wand

Magic E Wands – An activity to help with reading

I remember watching those English look and read TV series on the BBC when I was at school (gosh is that showing my age); More

Hidden Sight Words

Hidden Sight Words

Every day YC comes home with a key ring of sight words that she needs to practice. Once she has learnt them, new words More

Scrabble Jr Busy Bag

Scrabble Junior Busy Bag

I’m not sure why I decided to make our own Scrabble Junior busy bag but at the time I must have thought that it More

Wow! Look at my Word Bank

Wow! Look at My Word Bank!

A few months ago we had gentleman come to visit EC from the Lyndhurst Dyslexia Centre. He spent half an hour with EC going More

Dot 2 Dot Letters

Trying to help my youngest charge write her own letters can be slightly difficult.  I sometimes find that the letters in the workbooks that More

Phonic Pairs and Snap by Nanny Anita

I have spent a lot of time over the last two years concentrating on the main 26 phonic sounds, but both my charges are More

Phonic and Picture Match

Whenever we are teaching little ones new phonics we generally will put an example to go with i.e. “a” for apple or “t” for More

Learn Your ABC’s with Letter Sorting

Playing games based on the alphabet is a great way to help young children learn their ABC. For this particular game, children don’t need More

An I-Spy Bottle

An I-Spy Sensory Bottle Game for Kids

I-Spy can either be a great way to pass the time with small children or utterly infuriating. I was playing it recently with my More

Nanny Anita's Popsicle Phonics and Number Puzzle Busy Bag

Turn Ice Cream Sticks into Popsicle Phonics Fun For Your Little Ones

While puzzles are a lot of fun, sometimes taking one on the go can lead to more trouble than it’s worth, especially when those More

Three-in-One Craft Clips Phonics

When I started out making this phonics activity I had only planned on it being just one game, but as I got stuck into More

Learn to Write Using a Salt Writing Tray

One of the biggest barriers to children writing can be the fear of making mistakes.  When they are trying and seeing those mistakes written More

Phonics Activity

“Open Very Carefully: A Book With Bite” Inspired Phonics Activity

While perusing the shelves of my local Waterstones, I came across a marvellous book called “Open Very Carefully: A Book With Bite” written by More

Letter and Sight Word Maze

Letter and Sight Word Maze

During the holidays I try to do a little bit of maths and English with my charges, just to help keep everything fresh in More

Egg Word Spinner

The Most Fun Way to Learn To Read!

Last year we seemed to acquire lots of plastic hinged eggs, I have no idea where they came from, they just seemed to appear More

Nanny Anita's Magnetic Alphabet Fishing

Make Your Own Magnetic Fishing Game for the Kids

While tidying out a toy cupboard, I was inspired to make this activity by an old fashioned children’s game: Magnetic Fishing. (I plan to More

I Can Read by Nanny Anita

I Can Read by Nanny Anita

Since my eldest charge started school I have been finding ways to help him with his sounding out and reading. After bath we would More

kris kross puzzles for children

Kris Kross Puzzles for Children

When I was little my Nana used to spend hours doing puzzle books. I was always fascinated by the puzzles she did. Some of More

Nanny Anita’s I Can Spell…

You will need: Glass pebbles (like the ones you get in fish tanks) or ordinary stones Black

Nanny Anita’s ABC Flashcards

Practicing the ABC’s with little ones can be difficult to fit into a busy daily routine and I

Boggle

Homemade Boggle Game

I am pretty sure that all of you have heard of the game Boggle.  If not, where have you been?  This game has been More

Other words to say

Keyword List: Other Ways to Say …

I will be posting some English activities that were suggested to us by a dsylexia specialist over the next few months. At the beginning More

Plastic Egg Spelling Activity

Plastic Egg Spelling Activity

Make sure you follow my English board on Pinterest for more ideas, and don’t forget to save the pin for later. Over the years More

CVC word building activity

CVC Word Building Activity

Make sure that you follow my English activity board on Pinterest for more ideas, and don’t forget to save the pin for later. I More

Sand Tray Writing

Sand Tray Writing

Make sure that you follow my writing board on Pinterest for more ideas, and don’t forget to save the pin for later. In the past More