Rachel Harris Professional Tutoring

We had such a lovely day at today. There was so much for the 1 year old and the 4 year old to explore. They fed animals, watched pigs race, stroked chickens, rabbits and guinea pigs and spent ages playing in the soft play and the park. Top marks!

Where should I take them next?

It’s Friday and I’ve just begun another course. This one is on behaviour that challenges.

Here are the headlines from the first bit of learning.

The courses isn’t just about children, but can definitely be applied to educational settings.

I’ve heard it so many times, but I always think it’s so worth remembering that all behaviour is communication. I try to remember this in my professional life, but also as a mother to two little children! Sometimes, I need to remind myself to take a step back and work out what’s really going on.

What’s everyone else up to today?

I’ve had a few weeks away from social media, but now the New Year has well and truly begun it’s time to get back to it a bit.

We’ve been reading Doodle Bites by Polly Dunbar quite a lot over the last few weeks. Doodle feels bitey, gets her comeuppance and learns to say sorry. A valuable lesson if ever there was one!

What’s your preschooler reading right now?

What do you think of when you think of a child learning?

I think it’s easy to forget that learning doesn’t only take place in classrooms or when a child is sitting down and completing their homework. Children learn all the time, through play and through their other experiences. Here are a few fun ideas to help your child keep learning when they’re not in school.

What would you add to my list?

Oh my goodness, how cute is this toy?!

The eldest got given this for her birthday and she loves it. The soil, the fairy and the mouse, the washing line and - most importantly- the fact that the grass has already grown.

What is your preschooler enjoying playing with at the moment?

Well, it’s been a while since I’ve posted on here. The usual things have been getting in the way - kids illnesses (them and me), kids birthday parties and just the day to day grind.

However, behind the scenes I’ve been working away to set up a class offering small group 11 Plus tuition. Classes start in January and I’m really excited!

It’s spooked season, and we were tempted by Winnie’s Midnight Dragon by Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul.

Winnie goes to bed with Wilbur the cat at midnight only to be woken by a lost baby dragon. Trouble ensues, but she gets the dragon back to his mother in the end. It is beautiful illustrated - there is so much detail and so much to talk about.

The little one loved it so much, she wanted to read it twice.

What do your kids like to read for Halloween?

How do we encourage reading in young children?

Swipe for some tips 👀👀👀

Good morning,

It’s Monday!

I’ve had a fantastic weekend, but today I’m back to reality and am going to spend the day sorting the house and doing some admin.

I just found this lovely rangoli sand art that we made in last week to celebrate Diwali so I’m going to pop it on the fridge.

What are you up to today?

I’m now onto the very last module of my mental health course. This module is all about how to support children who are suffering with mental ill-health.

Swipe for ideas. 👀

Is there anything better than being three and picking dandelions?

I highly doubt it.

Trying to make the most of the weather before it turns really cold and wet!

My youngest is obsessed with our cat, so I’ve been reading her lots of cat books recently. 🐱🐱🐱

She loves this tiny book called ‘Mog Loves’. It turns out Mog loves the same things as us humans!

I love the Mog books too, as does my eldest. I think they are classic and timeless.

What are you reading to your one year olds at the moment?

How can you tell if a young person is distressed?

Distress can sometimes be normal - after all, none of us have perfect lives and there will be bumps along the road.

However, distress can also been a sign of a mental health problem.

Swipe for the latest from my mental health course.

We’re having a day full of crafting. First we went to see and made some spooky crowns, and this afternoon we did even more crafting using this idea from 100 Little Activities. Madam is currently painting and I’m having a cup of tea.

What are you up to today?

Did you know that being outside boosts a child’s vitamin D levels, develops their motor skills and spatial awareness and boosts their mental health?

However, the average child spends just 4 hours a week playing outside, which is about half the amount their parents would have spent.

If you are looking to get out with the kids this autumn, here are a few fun things to try.

What do you like to do outside with your children?

The little one has become obsessed with reading Gloria’s Porridge. It has all the elements of an engaging read - there’s Gloria and her cat, a huge fracas erupts and then everyone explains their point of view before making up. What’s not to like?

What is your little one reading at the moment.

This week my course explored the link between bullying and mental ill-health.

In essence, bullying can be really damaging to those who experience, even into adulthood. Witnessing bullying can be equally damaging.

What steps do you take to inform the young people in your life about bullying?

How often do you bake with your preschooler?

I try to do it quite often as she loves it. She’s a big fan of cracking the egg into the bowl, adding flour through the sieve and mixing it up. She also likes licking the spoon! 🤩

It’s a little messy, but that’s okay. When we made this carrot cake yesterday she knocked a lot of the dry ingredients over and then said, ‘oops, children do that when they learn.’ Yes, yes they do! She’s learning all about her food and practising some of her fine motor skills.

In other news I’m unreasonably excited about the return of this evening. I feel like it always signals the start of autumn for me. Do you watch it?

How can a young persons sense of identity, self-esteem and body image affect them? Here’s the latest from the course I’m doing. 👀

How do you help the children in your lives to form a positive sense of self?

How gorgeous is this book? 🥰

We picked up The Witchling’s Wish from the library the other day. The witchling is lonely and wants to conjure up a friend. She sets out to cast her spell, but instead of using her magic she finds that a chance encounter and a little kindness brings her a true friendship.

What are your children reading at the moment?

How do you help a child or young person to recognise and discuss signs of mental ill-health in themselves?

Swipe for some ideas. 👀

It’s so important to help young people to label and discuss their emotions. How do you encourage it in your family?

We visited the last week and it was absolutely lovely. The kiddos really enjoyed doing the activities and dressing up. They had some really good creative writing ideas, too.

I have mixed feelings about the end of the summer holidays - it’s nice to be out of our routine, but I’m also quite looking forward to having one back!

Are you looking forward to the schools going back?

*SWIPE*

This week I looked at the factors that can help protect a young person’s mental well-being.

As you can imagine they are numerous and often interconnected. I was also struck by how important the overall health of our society is to young people’s mental health, which is worrying considering the news recently.

What would you add to this list?

* SWIPE for more * 👀

My clients often ask what can be done to support a child to expand their vocabulary, so I’ve put together a few of my top tips.

What are yours?

Here’s a little activity I made for the preschooler I tutor. We’re going to identify and order the numbers. Then I’m going to come home and do this with my own child!

What are you up to today?

How much non-fiction does your child read?

A client gave me this book as her children have outgrown it and it’s brilliant. We learn all about walls and what they are made of. I also learnt a thing or two about bricks!

Reading non-fiction and poetry is just as important as reading fiction and I’m definitely going to make a concerted effort to read different types of text to my children. Any recommendations for me?

*TRIGGER WARNING - this post mentions su***de*

This week I’ve been making time to continue with my course on children and young people’s mental health. I’ve been learning about risk factors and protective factors (more on those later), as well as about how to help a young person build resilience and coping skills.

It’s been really interesting and today it was bought home to me just how important mental health awareness is as I had to phone the police when we were driving on the motorway as a man climbed over to the wrong side of a footbridge when we passed by. I’ve been thinking about him all day - I hope he got the help he needs.

I think the more we can discuss mental health and understand to support people who are struggling the better for everyone. How do you discuss mental health with those in your life?

Wishing everyone a peaceful evening - I’m going to tuck into a slice of cake I made with kiddo number 1.

Here’s the latest from my course on children and young people’s mental health.

This lesson was all about well-being.

I’ve now completed the first module and am looking forward to the next. Bring it on! 🙌

Wow the summer holidays are long! Trying to mix it up from the usual painting / colouring / playdough routine, so really glad I came across this activities book the other day. Today we made these binoculars from bits and pieces I had lying about the house.

What are you doing to keep your children entertained?

SWIPE for more! 👉

Does your preschooler know their shapes? 🟣🟨♥️🔷

Here are a few ways you can help them to be more confident in identifying and naming them. The ability to do this will definitely come in handy once your little one starts school!

How do you help your preschooler to learn their shapes?

Here’s a summary of what I learned during Lesson 1 of my mental health course. I’ve got the next few lessons on my to do list this week... if I can motivate myself in this weather! ☀️☀️☀️

What do you have on?

This gorgeous little board book is what I am currently reading to my 1 year old. I got it the other day from a second hand bookshop. It’s older than I am, but still in pristine condition!

I know she’ll be too old for books like this soon, so I’m making the most of it now. We follow the mouse around the house - it’s adorable. 🐭🏡 I love the illustration in this one and so does baby.

What should I read to her next?

My 11+ students are writing fiction today and they are coming up with some fantastic plots, as well as using really good literary devices. This one is about strange going’s on at a zoo! So proud of them!

What are you up to today?

Just me and the 3 year old this morning, and she wanted to do a bit of this book.

I don’t want to put pressure on her, but I know she’s interested as she keeps coming out with questions about which numbers are bigger and what’s more and less. She also asked me how much volume was in her water bottle, which I 100% put down to her Blaze addiction.

I’m tutoring this afternoon and trying to get some exam marking in now, but very glad I got to spend some time with her this morning.

What are you up to today?

Look what I picked up for a quid yesterday! I was rummaging in a National Trust second hand bookshop and came across this pristine copy of Alice in Wonderland by .

The other week I cleared all the baby books out of the 3 year olds room, so I’ve been on the hunt for some more age appropriate stories for her. I wasn’t sure if she’d be able to concentrate for a longer period of time on a book, but we snuggled up and she was completely engrossed in Alice’s tale. So glad I bought it!

What are you reading to your preschooler at the moment? I’d love to know!

Bookings are now open for 11+ tuition with me from September!
Email me at [email protected] or direct message me for more details!

Good morning! It’s Monday!

I’m currently sitting in the lobby, waiting to start standardisation for exam marking. I’ve never marked exams before, and to be honest I am dreading it! I know it’ll be good professional experience, but I’ve worked out how many scripts I need to mark a day and it’s a lot!

Does anyone have any tips to get me through? It’s A Level Politics, by the way, so at least I’m comfortable with the subject matter!

What are you up to today?

I purchased this first writing book for the bargain price of 99p the other day and the 3 year old has been loving it!

She has really enjoyed connecting the dots and adding the stickers onto each page, and it’s so lovely to see her begin to write.

What are you up to this week?

All my tutoring this week is on Thursday, Friday and Saturday so I’m enjoying the sunshine and a few days off! 🙌

How’s your half term going?
I’m taking a break from tutoring and spending lots of lovely time with my family.
Me and the eldest kiddo sowed some peas back in February and we’ve been harvesting, picking and eating them. So tasty! And lovely to teach her about getting outdoors and growing food.
Wishing everyone a lovely bank holiday!