The Clara James Approach

Happy Easter from Everyone at Clara James Tutoring

I was just making this for a lesson. The idea is that you draw the second half of the egg and colour it so that it is a reflection of the first side.
If you want the PDF just send me a message

This was an idea I had a couple of years back if you are practicing the times tables. Create a wreath of Easter eggs, each one displaying a specific times table that you are practicing . The idea being both the creation of the wreath, then having it displayed over the Easter weekend will create another method of memorising the times tables that you find the most difficult.

If you have a go, I'd love to see what you create

Morning, we have another free lesson this morning at 9:45, based on negative numbers. If you would like to join us, the link is in the comments.

I've started to create a series of spelling books based upon various themes. Each book starts with a selection of ideas to help you to support your child with spellings. These range from just using different colours and fonts to write them, to using your non-dominant hand, to various games that you could play.
The idea is to make spelling easier and more interactive making the words easier to recall when needed.
The following pages are to keep a log of the words you find tricky so that you have your own dictionary to help to remind your child of the words they are less confident with.
This one is now available on Amazon at just £4.97, the link is in the comments below

If you're free at 10, come along and join us

Good morning, for the past couple of weeks we have been doing free short (30 minute) lessons online to help with an element of maths.. Today at 10, we will be doing substitution. For anyone who wants to join us, the link is: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84614491388?pwd=cFhhUFk1MEJwMTkzakVXSW42dGdnQT09

The new April bundle is now live within the membership group. The games revolve around converting mixed and improper fractions. There's a game of Ludo, snakes and ladders, a board game, and a 4-in-a-row style game alongside the explanation.

If you want more details about joining us for just £4.95/month, you can find the details here: https://theclarajamesapproach.co.uk/cja-info-page

Hi, I had a message from someone asking about fine motor skills, this is my response. I don't know if it's relevant to you, but I hope it helps somebody:

Playing Jenga (this is my favourite idea out of all of them): The action of pulling out bricks from the tower and carefully balancing them back on top requires care, precision, and a steady hand. What we often do is write a number on each brick so that if we are practicing times tables you need to multiple the number written on the brick by your chosen times table before placing it back on the top. Other times well use a grammatical technique that has to be defined, or just a general word. Then we jot them down as we play and at the end use them to write a completely random story.

Squeezing stress balls or therapy putty: These help to strengthen the hand and finger muscles needed for pencil control and endurance.
Using tweezers in games: Picking up small objects with tweezers enhances precision and grip strength, both of which are essential for neat handwriting.
Tracing shapes or letters on textured surfaces: This activity reinforces muscle memory, making letter formation more natural.
Also, things like threading, sewing colouring, mazes, etc will quite possibly help.
I hope this helps and isn't just repeating what you already know.

Yesterday's free lesson was based on adding double digits. One of the tasks was a word search which I have shared here. The idea is that you answer these questions
56+42
61+24
12+54
25+46
31+29
27+66
15+43
37+18
69+21

Then find the answers in the word search.
Enjoy and have a great weekend

Did you know that each week we do a free maths lesson?
Tomorrow morning we will start at 11 and will be looking at adding 1 and 2 digit numbers. The lessons last about 30 minutes and involve practice through games.
If you would like to join us, just let me know and I will send you the link.
Hopefully see you there

#

If you would like the link to join us, just let me know. I'd love to see you there

There are 3 differences between the images below. 1 is fairly obvious, the other two are much more discrete. Can you find them?
Activities such as this is that it will support your child in learning to recognise letters and numbers. It is also fun (though often frustrating).

Enjoy let me know how you get on (1 thing has changed, 1 has been added, something else has moved)

It is starting to feel like spring!

So, here's a spring themed word search to help you to procrastinate away the day (or lead to a spring themed topic). The hidden words are:
spring
daffodils
lambs
sunshine
blossom
butterflies
rainbows
chicks
tulips
grow

Good luck in finding them all

We're doing the free lesson on simplifying fractions this morning, I hope you can join us.
We'll start at 11 and my guess is it will probably last for about 30 minutes(ish)

I've made a top trumps simplifying fractions game for tomorrow's free lesson. it took a lot more faffing about than I anticipated. I hope those that play it enjoy it.

When I was away in January, a friend suggested that we should create books to support learning based on various themes. It was something that she had always considered doing and just never gotten around to.

So, over the past few weeks Hannah has been creating this for me. (She is incredibly talented).
It starts with a story of a football being kicked off of the pitch and into a park, it is then caught by a dog and goes on a mini-adventure before finding itself back on the pitch to score a winning goal.
It is then followed by a couple of additional pages including colouring, dot-to-dot, designing a badge for your own football team, matching the lowercase and upper case letters, etc.

I love it when an idea becomes a reality.

I've just done an audible recording of the first chapter of The Lost Whale, so that if you haven't got a copy of the book, you can still do the resources.

I will get the 2nd and 3rd chapters done before the week is out and try and catch up with where we are in the resources, as soon as possible

I am a firm believer that when we enjoy ourselves we are more likely to want to participate. The more we participate the better we get & the more confident we become, building a spiral of positivity.

A game I often play in the lessons is Jenga. On each brick of the tower I have written a number. As a brick is removed you must multiply that number by the times table that you am focusing on. The person who makes the tower fall loses.
We often also play tic-tak-toe. Write a number in each square of the grid and prior to claiming your square, you must again multiply the number written in it by your chosen times table. The person who gets a line of 3 in any direction wins. It's quick, easy, and great fun!

Use the link below to purchase the book for just £9.97 and receive the course for free!