Ever Curious Magpie

Ever Curious Magpie Ever Curious Magpie offers a range of educational services designed to support learning through thin The more we question and think, the more we learn.

Learning is life long and born from a natural curiosity about the world in which we live. From the start we query and question, pushing ourselves through play to explore and discover the world around us, and our capabilities within that world. Every child has the capacity to learn. As educators, we adapt our teaching to find the key to unlock that capacity. Constantly looking for ways to enable an

d support learning, we aim to build confidence, re-kindle curiosity and develop skills for independent study. With over 30 years of experience teaching students of all ages and managing inclusive practice to enable those with additional needs, Ever Curious Magpie provides a learning experience that adapts to each learner's needs. Whether that learning is the unlocking of early reading or mathematics, the skills and knowledge needed for English and Maths qualifications, or professional development in inclusion, Ever Curious Magpie focuses on developing understanding and the confidence to think, question and learn, finding ways to move from 'I can't do it' to 'I did it!'

05/10/2024

A recent review from Dawn who isn't on Facebook.

"Jo is an excellent teacher, she is both patient and kind with supporting and encouraging my daughter to learn.
She has a brilliant flexible approach to make learning engaging and interesting particularly for a child with additional needs. I cannot recommend her highly enough."

I've been working with Kiah for a couple of years developing comprehension and independant thinking skills. Now she's started college, we are determined to achieve Functional Skills level 2 in both English and Maths this year.

I haven't posted anything for a while but have been busy with:helping a primary 2 pupil understand and learn multiplicat...
27/04/2021

I haven't posted anything for a while but have been busy with:
helping a primary 2 pupil understand and learn multiplication and division facts and about to revisit decomposition in subtraction as this is causing confusion;
building and extending a primary 3 pupil's understanding and manipulation of fractions;
working online with small groups of year 9 and year 10 pupils analysing and using persuasive language techniques;
teaching a year 11 pupil Functional Skills level 1 in Maths and English through 5 online sessions a week;
developing basic literacy skills and confidence with a year 13 pupil;
and working with a young man to help him pass his Functional skills English (hopefully) ready for college in September.
I've just started working with a year 8 pupil on Maths. Though confident with handling numbers in the 4 operations, he virtually recoiled in horror at fractions and algebra .... so there's our starting point. Make them understandable, make them seem easy and make them fun.

The more we think about and question a topic, the more we are able to remember key facts and apply them to new situation...
03/03/2021

The more we think about and question a topic, the more we are able to remember key facts and apply them to new situations and problems.
Investigating patterns and ‘what happens if..’ in Maths builds mathematical thinking skills and develops fluency in handling numbers and calculations, as well of course nurturing curiosity.
Download the ‘Investigate 9 times table’ activity now in the Facebook group ‘Ever Curious Magpie learning materials’ to find patterns and calculate 9 times any number.

Thinking Day, 22nd February, is celebrated by Girl Guides and Girl Scouts worldwide. It is a day to focus on internation...
22/02/2021

Thinking Day, 22nd February, is celebrated by Girl Guides and Girl Scouts worldwide. It is a day to focus on international friendship and the positive change girl guides and girl scouts can make in their lives and the lives of others.

The day was chosen in 1926 as it was the birthday of both Lord Baden Powell, who started the scout movement, and his wife Olave Baden Powell, Chief Guide. Of course, now with access to historical documents including declassified MI5 files, Lord Baden Powell’s actions in the Boer war and his dalliance with the Hi**er Youth organisation have seriously tarnished a life worthy of any commemoration.

But the day is far more than its origins, and over the years has focused on themes that embrace diversity, inclusion, equity, and positive action for global development.

The theme for 2021 is ‘Peace building – to Stand Strong, Stand Up and Stand Together’ hugely needed today.

Head over to the Ever Curious Magpie Learning materials Facebook group for an English activity on symbolism which includes the symbols of peace.

Learning your times tables is an important aspect of early numeracy. Remembering, recalling and being able to apply thos...
17/02/2021

Learning your times tables is an important aspect of early numeracy. Remembering, recalling and being able to apply those key number facts make further Maths such as division, fractions, ratios, algebra, problem solving much easier to both understand and to manipulate.

The emphasis on their importance however so often causes anxiety which only adds a layer to that brick wall of ‘I can’t do Maths.’ I’ve worked with many children and teens whose brick wall is solid and usually one of the foundation bricks is ‘I don’t know my tables. It’s just words I can’t remember.’ Simply memorising and recalling the number fact 5 x 8 = 40 doesn’t help if you don’t know what it means. You can’t apply to problem solving, you can’t use it when dividing and it just adds to the mystery of Maths. It’s far better for a child to understand what times tables are so they can work out the facts they can’t recall when needed. If I can’t recall the number fact 5 x 8 = 40 but I do know 5 x 4 = 20 and I understand what that means. then I can work out that I know 4 lots of 5 so to know 8 lots of 5, I just need to double my answer.

I always teach times tables with multiplication and division at the same time. If I am learning 5 x 8 = 40 and I can see that with counters, blocks, sweets, crisps (great for prompting memory trough smell and taste), then I can also see that 40 ÷ 5 = 8 and 40 ÷ 8 = 5. Showing learners that once they know one fact 5 x 8 = 40, they actually know 4 facts can be a significant boost to their number confidence.

Head over to Ever Curious Magpie Learning Materials www.facebook.com/groups/121802953173057 to download a set of worksheets for the 5 times table. Reinforce the activity with grouping counters, lego, sweets, anything to hand, so the number fact is seen, experienced and is not just words.

Today, 14 February, is International Book Giving Day. https://bookgivingday.com A worldwide initiative whose aim is to s...
14/02/2021

Today, 14 February, is International Book Giving Day. https://bookgivingday.com A worldwide initiative whose aim is to spread enthusiasm and increase access to books by encouraging people to give books to children. Books help develop children’s language and vocabulary, nurture their imaginations, and introduce them to environments and experiences they wouldn’t otherwise know. Based on brain and behaviour development research, the Book Trust recommends sharing books with babies as young as 3 or 4 months when they benefit from the sensory experience in preparation for the huge language and communication skills benefits that start around 8 months old, www.booktrust.org.uk.

However, the National Literacy Trust annual survey in December 2019 reported that more than 380,000 children in the UK do not have a book of their own. When they considered the number of children who can read above the expected level for their age, 22% of children who own books could do but only 3.6% of children who do not. Easy access to books and a home where books are present is not though just about literacy. A study published in 2018, ‘How books in adolescence enhance adult literacy, numeracy and technology skills in 31 societies.’, having analysed data from 31 countries, concluded that growing up with books in the home boosted not just literacy skills but also numeracy and ICT competencies.

Although digital books don’t have the continual presence or tactile input of the physical versions, these websites give access to free books to share and enjoy.

www.booktrust.org.uk/books-and-reading/have-some-fun has links to online books to listen to as well as book-linked activities.

https://library.thenational.academy will provide a free book each week from popular children’s authors.

www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/find-a-book/library-page wide range of free e-books for children aged 3-11

www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/bookshelf/18 Project Gutenberg’s mission is to encourage the creation and distribution of free eBooks and have a range of classic children’s books in e-book form.

February 11 is International Day of Women and Girls in Science. A day to not only celebrate those women already working ...
10/02/2021

February 11 is International Day of Women and Girls in Science. A day to not only celebrate those women already working in the science fields, but to encourage girls to pursue science in school and into STEM careers.

In 2015 all UN member states agreed on 17 Sustainable Development Goals to end poverty, protect the planet and improve the lives of everyone with the ambition to deliver by 2030. Science is vital for many of those goals, and we need the potential of everyone to understand and work with the science. Yet less than 30% of researchers worldwide are women, only around 30% of all female students select STEM-related fields in higher education (UNESCO data 2014 - 2016), and female students’ numbers are particularly low in ICT (3%), natural science, mathematics and statistics (5%), and in engineering, manufacturing and construction (8%). The world of TV and film does little to encourage with only 12% of women characters having an identifiable STEM role (2015 Gender Bias Without Borders: Geena Davis Institute).

Key to any application of a scientific way of thinking is curiosity - asking those questions, looking for answers; imagination - what if; collaboration – helping each other; and communication. Watch a small child learning about their world: asking questions, trying things out, asking for help, and showing everyone what they’ve done. A mini scientist in action regardless of gender. We need to nurture our mini scientists, encouraging their observation, questioning and experiments, and make sure our girls have the confidence to continue that thinking through to a STEM career.

Go to the Ever Curious Magpie Learning materials group (click/tab on the 'More' tab and select Groups) to download a set of simple Scientific thinking question prompt cards to encourage your ‘scientist’ to query the world around them.

06/02/2021

English, Maths and primary subjects tutoring, workshops and resources. Check out the services tab above or message for details and a consultation to see how our education services can be tailored for your learning needs.

Why Ever Curious Magpie? Curiosity is the key for all learning. Studies have shown that curiosity not only readies the brain for learning but when we are curious about a topic, we usually learn quicker and remember more. Think of a young child and the constant curiosity that drives their learning about their world in those first few years.

Curiosity should be nurtured and encouraged. It motivates and creates life-long learners. Welcome the What? Where? When? Who? Why? and How? Join in and enjoy the gathering of more knowledge, more skills and inevitably more questions.

As Einstein said, “The important thing is not to stop questioning; curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when contemplating the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of the mystery every day. The important thing is not to stop questioning; never lose a holy curiosity.”

And as for the magpie – it is simply one of the most intelligent animals that exists.

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Saltwood
Hythe
CT214BX

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