Teatime Tutoring

30/09/2026

Good writing rarely comes from simply being told to “write more.”

Sometimes children need the right prompts, models and discussion to help them see what stronger writing can look like. And almost always, children benefit from saying their sentences out loud before writing them down. In tuition lessons there is so much talking involved before the writing, and what a difference this makes!

In this online lesson, we explored different sentence openers and used them to create more atmospheric writing.

Rather than repeatedly starting sentences with The, He or It, children were encouraged to experiment with openers such as:

Suddenly...
Without warning...
Beneath the moon...
In the distance...

Online lessons give us the chance to model, discuss, edit and improve writing together, while still giving each child time to think independently.

Strong writing grows from strong teaching, careful feedback and lots of opportunities to play with language.

Online English tuition is available across primary, 11+, GCSE and beyond.

29/09/2026

28/09/2026

🌟 WORD OF THE WEEK: PERSUASIVE 🌟

This week’s word is persuasive.

If someone is persuasive, they are good at convincing others to agree with them or do something.

So here’s this week’s family challenge…

🗣️ What is your child most persuasive about?

Perhaps it’s:
🍦 why they definitely need dessert
🐶 why your family needs a pet
📱 why bedtime should be later
🎮 why they deserve more screen time
🛍️ why they absolutely need something new!

👉 What argument does your child use that nearly always works on you?

Pop it in the comments below. Bonus points if you can tell me exactly what they say! 👇

27/09/2026

🌟 Recommended Resource: Following Instructions Independently!

It is all too easy to rush in and help our children with things, whether that means reading the instructions, paraphrasing or explaining them, or gathering everything they need for a project.

However, being able to follow instructions independently is a really important life skill.

So this week, give your child the chance to choose an art project, a craft activity, a LEGO construction, or even something practical like helping to build some IKEA furniture, and let them have a go themselves.

Don’t say a word! 😄

It is harder than you might imagine, but giving children the space to work things out for themselves can be incredibly valuable.

Good luck!

26/09/2026

Fractions without a worksheet in sight!

Matching a written fraction to its visual representation sounds simple, but it develops an incredibly important mathematical understanding.

Children need to know that ½ isn't just “one over two” on a page. It represents a relationship between a part and a whole.

Using visual and practical resources helps children make those connections before moving towards more abstract calculations. We have physical dominoes cards and even have an online version we play through MathsFrame!

Learning it. Seeing it. Handling it. Explaining it.

That deeper understanding is what we are aiming for.

25/09/2026

eading should not always feel like work. 📚

We all know how important reading is. It builds vocabulary, comprehension, imagination, general knowledge and confidence.

The challenge is making sure children still enjoy it.

If every reading experience becomes a set of questions, a reading record, a target or something they have to “complete”, it is easy for the pleasure to disappear.

Sometimes reading should simply be about getting lost in a story.

Read aloud to your child, even when they are perfectly capable of reading for themselves. Take turns with the pages. Choose funny books, graphic novels, football books, mysteries, comics, magazines or stories that are slightly below their reading level just because they love them.

Talk about the characters. Laugh at the funny bits. Wonder what might happen next.

Not every book needs an educational follow-up activity.

Sometimes the most powerful thing we can do for a child's reading is help them associate books with comfort, curiosity and enjoyment.

If we want children to become lifelong readers, we need to give them reasons to want to read, not simply reasons why they should.

What book did you absolutely love being read as a child? 📖

PS: Did you notice the missing letter in my opening sentence? How did it make you feel? Were you able to quickly work out what it was meant to say?

23/09/2026

🌟 WORD OF THE WEEK: PERCEPTIVE 🌟

This week’s word is perceptive.

Someone who is perceptive is very good at noticing things and understanding what they might mean.

So here’s this week’s family challenge…

👀 What is something your child has noticed recently that made you think, “Wow, that was perceptive!”?

Perhaps they:
🧠 spotted a pattern you had missed
📖 noticed a hidden clue in a story
❤️ realised how someone else was feeling
🔍 picked up on a tiny detail
💬 made a surprisingly thoughtful observation

👉 Share their most perceptive comment or observation in the box below.

I'll start. One of my boys was talking about how I will never catch up with my husband in terms of age. Then we went all coy and started talking 'around' the concept that people only catch up in age if someone dies because they remain that age forever, whereas the mortals left behind continuing gaining the years. His perception of how sad a thought this was influenced how he talked around it without directly saying it.

Children often notice far more than we realise, and I’d love to hear some of their best observations! 👇