Paul Hollywood Baking Mix

Paul Hollywood Baking Range

Paul Hollywood from The Great British Bake-off (plus other shows about bread, cakes, pies and pastries) has brought out his own bread based mixes so we can knead his dough at home and make masterpieces in our own kitchen.

I have tried:
Luxurious Cheese & Rosemary Scones to which you need to add an egg, 80g butter and 180ml of milk.

White Plaited Loaf Mix to which you have to add 40ml of Olive oil and 340ml cool water.

Garlic & Herb Tear 'N' Share Bread Mix  where you add 50ml Olive oil and 320ml of cool water.

and

Barm Cake Roll Mix which needs 40ml Olive oil and 345ml of cool water.

They are surprisingly easy to make, but you do need strong arms (or a dough attachment for a mixer) and you need to follow the insructions about how to prove the dough.

For a mix they are useful as it saves you weighing and measuring, adding yeast etc... but they do take a while to make.  They are not instant and you have to mix, knead, cover, prove, knead, cover, prove etc... etc.. exactly the same as if you are making bread from scratch.   So put aside an afternoon if you would like to try making your own Paul Hollywood creations.

Tastewise - spot on!  We really liked them.  I wrapped the barm cakes (I call them rolls, my husband calls them baps) in a bag and they did keep for a few days.  The Garlic Tear 'N' Share was eaten by the family in one go (I was quite proud of that one!).

Each mix bag makes one large loaf or 8 good sized scones/rolls/barms/baps.

Please check http://bakingmixes.paulhollywood.com/ for ingredients and allergy advice for each product.  All details for each product are on his website including the nutritional information.

I was impressed, they took a bit of time, but they are quite therapeutic to make and its interesting to see how big they rise as you prove them :) 

Martha White Muffin Mix

Martha White Muffin Mix

Since 1899 Martha White has been a trusted name in Southern kitchens, providing folk with the highest quality products.  Martha White has been a trusted name in MY kitchen since 2016 when I discovered the mixes in Walmart in the USA.  I popped some in my trolley and brought them back to the UK with me, my cousin kindly sends me a few through the post to keep my cupboard stocked.

http://www.marthawhite.com/baking-products/muffin

There are a lot off different flavours and varieties, including Gluten Free mixes and Whole Grain Muffins.  I like the everyday varieties which only require 1/2 a cup of milk to mix them up.

They are simple to make, just tip the contents into a dry mixing bowl, add the milk and mix throughly.  I prefer to use my electric whisk to make sure the mixture is creamy and lump free.

Each pack makes on average 6 large muffins or 10-12 smaller cupcakes.
You have to bake them for 12-14 minutes or until browning, I normally keep putting them back in until a toothpick inserted in the top comes out clean.  It all depends on how big you have filled your muffins with muffin mix.

Each pack is a different flavour I have tried Chocolate Chocolate Chip, (White sponge) Chocolate Chip, Strawberry, Blueberry, Apple Cider, Apple Cinnamon, Wild Berry, Blueberry Cheesecake and Lemon Poppy seed.
The only version that I haven't liked so far has been the Lemon poppy seed, mainly because I don't like poppy seeds because they get stuck in your teeth.  My favourite has been the Blueberry Cheesecake as they tasted like blueberry but had a slightly sour cheesecake taste.  These were lovely warm!

In the USA they eat them warm with butter, I have tried this and it is ok. However in the UK we usually eat them warm or cool just as they are, or sometimes with a swirl of buttercream icing.

On average per pack each serving (muffin) is around 160 calories.  Quite high but as a treat and as part of a balanced diet I can't see an issue.  All packs state that they are a good source of Calcium with 5 vitamins and iron.

Most packs state that they contain Egg and Wheat.  They may contain Milk (well they definitely will once you add in the 1/2 cup milk) and soybean ingredients.   So avoid them if you have any allergies with any of the ingredients.   

More information is available on the Martha White website:
http://www.marthawhite.com/baking-products/muffin

Vinyl Revolution

Vinyl Revolution are a small company based in Oxford. Who specialise in creating artwork on vinyl for business use and normal folk like me! 
Until I discovered Vinyl Revolution I never realised exactly what could be created using vinyl, they have transformed interior design by supplying artwork that is very affordable and simple to use. 

You do not need any specific knowledge or tools and the vinyl will not damage your walls or appliances.

Vinyl Revolution provide a wide range of designs from fridge wraps to huge wall art, you could transform your fridge or cover your wall in Banksy art all at affordable prices.  They also have a large range of Macbook covers in a variety of designs.
Their online shop is easy to navigate and the ordering process is simple.  For more complicated designs or custom requests you can contact them direct for a quote or simply for advice.

I own a Land Rover Defender called 'Smurf', it is kitted out for challenge events, off-roading days, events and shows.   I required a large Papa Smurf design for the roof as the vehicle can climb steep inclines spectators get to see a lot of the roof. 
Vinyl Revolution can also create custom designs from vinyl in a wide range of colours and sizes.

I sent my image and size requirement to Vinyl Revolution, after a quick chat about usage, they designed a product custom for my vehicle.  I expected to wait weeks for it to arrive, but my large vinyl Papa Smurf head was delivered within 3 days!

My packaged was expertly packed in a tough cardboard tube and included a small scraper tool to assist when sticking the vinyl to my car.   I checked the website for instructions of how to transfer the large vinyl design to my roof, cleaned and dried the area thoroughly and picked a day with fine weather. 

A few air bubbles

Then came the tricky part, tricky as in I had to climb up on top of my Land Rover to fit it!  As the wheel are as high as my waist - it is pretty high up!

Between my husband and I we placed the vinyl where we wanted it and started to peel the backing off of the vinyl image, I peeled slowly as my husband placed the image onto the metal roof and smoothed out any air bubbles.  We have placed other vinyl images onto the vehicle before and have always had trouble with the product stretching or tearing as we smooth the air bubbles out.  Vinyl Revolution use thick high quality vinyl, we had no trouble with air and as we manipulated the image the vinyl did not stretch or distort at all - we were very impressed!

No air bubbles !!

Since the vinyl image has been on top of the roof in the sun for the past week there has been no fading or lifting, the areas around the ridges have shrunk down by themselves for a better fit - we are really please with the image and ease of fitting.

   

Andy and I are so impressed with the quality of our custom sized vinyl that we are happy to advertise Vinyl Revolutions logo on the doors of the Land Rover. These will be shown to other vehicle enthusiasts at car shows around the country.  

Vinyl Revolution also cater for work vans to show your company logo and contact information.  These will be custom designed and printed to your requirements, please contact Vinyl Revolution for a quote: www.vinylrevolution.co.uk

Vinyl Revolution offer a huge range of designs, pop over to their website to take a look.  Transform your living room feature wall or children's bedrooms with a personalised piece, make a feature of your fridge or just transform your Macbook :)

Interested?  Worried about how to apply?

Please visit: www.vinylrevolution.co.uk for more ideas, quotes, set prices and information.

Dominos BBQ Melt Pizzas

Dominos NEW 

BBQ Chicken Melt and BBQ Meatball Melt Pizzas

I was asked to review the latest BBQ Melt pizzas from Dominos, of course I jumped a the chance as my family love 'pizza night' and Dominos is a bit of a treat for us.

Andy was chuffed as he loves BBQ sauce based pizzas, he finds that the BBQ sauce (instead of tomato) gives the pizzas more depth and oommph when you eat them, so to be told that we were to review their new BBQ Chicken Melt and BBQ Meatball Melt pizzas he was quite excited.

I had to go to my local branch to order as Dominos had kindly sent me some vouchers, I usually order online as their process is really easy.  

www.dominos.co.uk lets you login with your postcode which links you to your local store, you can select your food from a wide menu, view all the offers, mix & match etc.. and see the price of your order as you go along.   After a few clicks to order you can even see which stage your order is at (preparation, baking, etc...) which is handy for delivery. 

I ordered a large BBQ Meatball Melt and a large BBQ Chicken Melt plus sides of a combo chicken strippers & potato wedges box and some whirly hotdog sausage bread things (they looked quite cool on the menu).

The whole shop smelt fantastic and I was drooling waiting for my order.

At home we unpacked the pizzas, sides and dips and tucked in .... this is where things went a bit wrong :(  

For a start the pizzas did not look like the ones advertised, in the adverts they ooze with extra mozzarella and have a lovely thin crust.
Ours were dry, hard, crispy and didn't seem to have much topping to them.

We seemed to have more crust than cheese.

BBQ Meatball Melt

BBQ Chicken Melt

We were disappointed.
  
Usually the pizzas from my local Dominos are lovely, full of cheese, overflowing with lots of fresh toppings, yet today .... I don't know what went wrong???  It could just be my local store or they could all look and taste like cardboard - I don't know??

On a plus note the side dishes were lovely! 
The hog dog sausage bread thingys were gorgeous, very soft bread with a garlic & herb dip,very nice.  I would definitely order these again, they also offer lots of different variants of the same product with different fillings.

The combo box I would have liked to be filled with a few more potato wedges but all were cooked to perfection.

The whole order came with lots of different dips which was great, we had Honey & Mustard, Garlic & Herb and BBQ to choose from.

As you can see we polished off the side orders quite quickly, unfortunately the pizzas were not all that great, too much bread/crust, not enough toppings and you couldn't taste the BBQ sauce base at all.

I will return to Dominos as I haven't had any trouble in the past, but I won't be ordering their BBQ Melts again!

English Hero

(Guest Review) 

Review of English Hero,

 Texthelp's English Language Learning software

By Chris Pim, Independent ICT & EAL Consultant

Following the release of English Hero, Texthelp’s latest version of its English Language Learning suite of tools, this article considers what makes this product stand out from the crowd.

The name English Hero conjures up the image of the archetypal ‘knight in shining armour’, metaphorically ready to defend learners in their skirmishes with this ‘new’ language.  Hinting at cultural tradition and the very roots of English, this simple notion will appeal both to international students coming to live in the UK or those living abroad, studying English as foreign language (EFL).

English Hero comprises a set of access tools situated on a floating toolbar that seamlessly integrates with applications such as Microsoft Office and common web browsers. The software is easy to install and upon opening I was immediately impressed by the simple interface, with clear icons and simple explanatory words that pop-up as a user hovers their mouse over the toolbar.

One of the main strengths of English Hero is its flexibility and ease of use. The toolbar is unobtrusive, floating above a working document or docked to the sides of the screen, a click away from a range of tools that variously support speaking, listening, reading and writing. Each tool has its own individual merits; consequently certain tools will have more relevance than others depending upon the context for learning and the individual language needs of the user.

What English Hero does well is to move English language learners beyond acquisition of social and conversational language into more academic realms. The tools can open up texts for learners whose speaking and listening skills tend to naturally precede reading and writing. There are a range of supports for emergent writers as well as those getting to grips with grammar. Teachers will also appreciate the ease with which they can produce learning materials for their students.

One of the most significant features in English Hero is the ‘text-to-speech’ feature which allows a learner to listen to a text read aloud in a natural sounding voice. The clever software can read at a customisable pace and even makes allowance for punctuation. A user can select from a range of voices, both male and female, as well as those with accents from other English speaking countries such as Australia and USA. For those wishing to improve pronunciation, perhaps one of the last linguistic features to be mastered, students can employ the Pronunciation Tutor, which does a good job of orally showing where the phonetic stress within words needs to be placed. 

Students (or teachers) can use the Speech Maker feature to select a body of text and create an audio file that can be played back at a later time. This is particularly useful for 21^st century learners, constantly on the move, who have access to a range of mobile technologies like phones, mp3 players and tablet devices. It also has resonance for the notion of ‘flipped learning’ where students can internalise content and academic language prior to a more formalised teaching session.

Whilst reading, or perhaps listening to a text, a student has access to a full Dictionary that not only provides a clear definition but places the word into a contextualised sentence, which aids understanding. There is also a Picture Dictionary containing thousands of pictographic images that help to convey meaning in a more instantly accessible way. A user can use the Highlight tool to select individual words and passages of text and then click the Collect Highlights icon. This pastes the text into a new document, along with a reference, which is extremely useful for research purposes. Using a similar approach, a teacher can collect individual words and then click the Vocabulary tool to create a revision worksheet containing the words, their corresponding images and a notes column that could, for example, be used to write a translation in a stronger first language.

When it comes to writing there are several tools that can unshackle students from the problem of drafting work that contains a demoralising number of errors, enabling them to tackle the more important aspect of learning how to write cohesively. There is a comprehensive Spell Check that can be used as a student types or employed later, after the initial drafting phase. The Prediction tool is incredibly useful as it brings up a list of potential words as a user types. They can then click their intended word from the list and enter it directly into their text, avoiding the worry of spelling it correctly. The Sounds Like and Confusable Words tool helps students with homophones and homonyms, for example the typical confusion between ‘they’re, there and their’. Finally the Verb Checker allows a student to feel more confident about maintaining tense throughout their writing.

English Hero doesn’t purport to teach English in the traditional sense. What it does well, is to provide a range of tools to support student’s developing use of language across the curriculum. Whether for just one student or perhaps implemented on a site licence basis, institutions finally have an innovative product that can genuinely meet the individual needs of their English language learners.

SprayWhite 90

Guest blog review by Sabrina from http://BESskincare.com

SprayWhite 90

What’s the first thing you notice about someone when you meet them? Is it their clothes, their eyes, the color of their hair? For me, it’s their smile.

There’s something so telling about a person with a beautiful smile. It makes you want to be closer to them, trust them, maybe even kiss them?

With that being said, part of a great smile includes beautifully white teeth. If you open up your mouth and it’s stained yellow, chances are I'm going to assume you don’t take very good care of yourself. Let’s be real, if my boyfriend opened up his and it looked nasty, I wouldn't be going anywhere near it!

I’m not going to pretend that I haven’t spent good money keeping my teeth white. After all, I love my red wine and coffee. I modeled for years, so you can only imagine how important it was to keep those pearly whites, white! This is how I discovered Spray White 90.

A Teeth Whitening Product Worth Purchasing

The Spray White 90 is a home teeth whitening kit that transforms your stained yellow teeth, into a dazzling white smile. The best part is, it only takes 90 seconds!

Now I know you’re thinking it sounds too good to be true, but trust me, it’s not.

This product comes with two powerful teeth whitening agents; SprayWhite 90 Whitener Spray and the SprayWhite 90 Enhancing Rinse.

To use it is simple. All you have to do is directly spray your teeth, swish it around in your mouth then spit it out. By spraying directly on your teeth, you are getting maximum whitening with minimal product.

Next, pour the enhancing rinse on your tongue, swish some more and spit again. The enhancing rinse shuts off surface concentration and neutralizes acidity from oxygen for the duration of the whitening process.

I told you it was easy!

What I Loved

There are so many things to love about this product. First of all, when you buy it off their official website it costs as little as $14.95 and comes with a 30 Day Money Back Guarantee. Since you’re meant to see results in just 90 seconds, you have ample time to return the product if it’s not up to your standards.

The simplicity of the SprayWhite 90 is also something I enjoyed. It doesn’t matter where you are, you can spray, rinse and whiten. It’s compact and comes in a travel case, so why not toss it in your purse for on-the-go whitening?

Finally, one of the biggest reasons I loved this product was because it didn’t leave my teeth feeling sensitive. I’ve tried teeth whitening strips and gels and they left my teeth feeling sensitive to temperature changes and sore to touch. Not only do you not have to worry about messy strips and gels, but you don’t have to suffer from dental pain. Now that’s winning!

What I Loathed

This is what you’ve been waiting for; the catch 22. The only thing I didn’t love about SprayWhite 90 was it’s taste. Let me be clear, it was awful. The first time I sprayed it, the pungent taste made me gag a little. Being the trooperI am, I powered through and eventually got used to it. After all, it’s only 90 seconds!

If you’re smile needs a bit of dazzling, give this product a try. For such a low price, what have you got to lose? As someone who’s literally spent hundreds (maybe even thousands) of dollars on my teeth, I wish I had discovered this product sooner.  

Author Bio: Sabrina is a beauty and skincare blogger for http://BESskincare.com

A DIY-loving, product reviewing jet-setter, you can keep in touch with her on Facebook and Twitter.

http://facebook.com/Lifestylin

http://twitter.com/Life_Stylin

Educational SEN Resources

Educational SEN Resources

I am a Lecturer in the SLDD Department of South Staffordshire College, I teach Life Skills, Literacy and Numeracy to a wide range ages all with different needs.

Recently I have been planning my resources for the coming academic year and looked around for new and innovative products that would stimulate my learners.

Bananagrams  PEARSinPAIRS (rrp £15.99)

Pears in Pairs is a word game consisting of good quality letter tiles in a pear shaped bag.  The letter tiles are fun way for children to develop cognitive skills while learning word construction.

We used the game in groups of 2 - 4 learners for a variety of games.
The aim of the game is to create words that cross through each other from the tiles that you have been given, the first player to create so many crossed words is the winner.  You can gain points by only using tiles with the same pattern on them, although we haven't used this part of the game yet.

I have also used these tiles in the classroom to play 'countdown' style games by giving the learners 11 tiles that they can move around to see how many words they can make out of the letters.  I found that by using the tiles they were more inclined to join in as some find it difficult to just have the letters written on paper.  It also gave me an opportunity to give different learners different letters to prevent 'cheating'.

The tiles are sturdy and well made, my learners said that they liked the feel of the tiles and how they clink together.  They were also very impressed with the pear shaped bag, although they did sometimes struggle a little to fit all the tiles back into it.

We have also used it to help with letter recognition and pairing for lower level learners, plus creating words such as their name with or without prompting.

Aimed at age 3+ This is the kind of resource that can be used over and over, it is stimulating and educational.  The word building game has appealed to learners from age 16 to 50 in my classes, all enjoyed the game, or gave the game their own twist if they were struggling.

All products in the Bananagrams range are available to on the High Street at independent toy and book stores as well as John Lewis, WH Smith, Waterstones, a range of supermarkets and www.winningmoves.com/shop. 

For more information, visit www.bananagrams.com
www.facebook.com/bananagramsgames
www.twitter.com/bananagrams_uk

SeeSaw IPad Stand from Griffin 

We are encouraged to use ILT in the classroom, we have the interactive white boards but for some learners it is too far away for them to see.

Computers are good in the classroom but learner in wheelchairs (unless sitting at specially adapted desks) cannot always reach the mouse or keyboard.

IPads are a valuable resource to the classroom, their are Apps for all ages and abilities plus with the touch screen nearly all learners can interact with them.

There is one massive problem with IPads and that it they are very easy to drop, break and they lay flat on the desk unless you have a stand for them to sit on.

The SeeSaw Stand from Griffin fits the bill for solving a number of problems for the IPad.  The IPad fits snugly inside the tough foamy-plastic case.  This is soft to the touch and brightly coloured.  It has a space that can be used as a handle and even while inside the case you can reach all ports for charging, volume, headphones etc....

Inside the case is strengthening sections, it is very lightweight but not hollow.  I haven't chucked the IPad and SeeSaw case on the floor as although sturdy the IPad isn't mine to throw about, but I feel the SeeSaw would protect the IPad if dropped a little more than if dropped without a case.


An excellent feature of the stand is that it can be sat on a desk portrait or landscape, this helps with all learners as bending over the desk to read or play can make your neck ache after a while, plus pairs or groups of learners can all see the screen at the same time.

At the back of the SeeSaw is also a space to fit a stylus, this is useful if your learners prefer to use a stylus rather than their finger and it stops sticky finger prints all over the screen.

SeeSaw (compatible with iPad generations 2, 3 & 4) is available in pool blue or citron for £29.99 at store.griffintechnology.com/seesaw-for-ipad-2-3-4th-gen

Pencil Stylus No.2

For years people have used the No.2 yellow pencils at school and home, if you asked someone to draw a pencil they would probably draw you a hexagonal shaped yellow pencil.

The No.2 Pencil Stylus feels like a pencil, it is the same weight and size.  Like any good stylus, Griffin's No. 2 Pencil Stylus gives you more than just fingertip control as you write, sketch, tap and gesture on your iPad, iPhone, or other touchscreen. The soft rubber tip is designed to mimic your finger, but, unlike your finger, it keeps your touchscreen free of fingerprints and smudges.

The Pencil Stylus will not fit into the back of the SeeSaw stand from Griffin, but because it is hexagonal it will not roll off the desk and looks cool in your pocket (or behind your ear like a builder!).

My daughter loves the No.2 Pencil Stylus as she loves to draw, she said that it gives good control when drawing on the IPad (she has the IPad Mini), better than regular styluses.

No. 2 Pencil Stylus is available for £19.99 at store.griffintechnology.com/no-2-pencil-stylus-for-touchscreens.  

3M Post-it Notes

3M Post-it Notes have been around for years, they used to be used to take notes by the phone or to stick on the fridge when you run out of milk.  These days 3M Post-it Notes are used for all sorts of uses, particularly in the classroom.

3M Post-it Notes come in all different shapes and sizes.   I like to use these shapes to liven up my marking and feedback on the learners work.  The shapes and colours are striking and are very positive for the learner to receive on their work.  We used to give stars and stickers for good work, now we can write on a star shaped post-it note to show how good the work is, or if more needs to be added then an arrow shape or speech mark can be used to give tips and hints.

I also like to use 3M Post-it Notes during class discussions.  I hand out blocks of Super Sticky Post-it Notes around the room and ask the learners to discuss in small groups different topics.  I use the Super Sticky as these stick better on the white board when they group comes back together to share their answers.
I also like to photocopy their answers and give all learners a copy for their work book.  I find the Super Sticky can be stuck onto paper after being displayed onto a greasy board so that they can be moved to the photocopier.

Thought showers, ideas, quiz answers and even a 'voice' to shy learners can all be enhanced with 3M Post-it Notes.  Some learners do not like to call out answers, they prefer to write down their ideas.  3M Post-it Notes are brilliant for showing if a learner requires help or support by sticking different colours to the edge of the desk (Pink I need Help, Orange I am OK, Green I am fine), this gives a visual insight for the teacher or support worker without having to ask, check or miss a learner who doesn't like to show they are struggling.

I love 3M Post-it Notes!!  They are a major part of my lessons.  I even allow the learners to use the shapes on posters (sometimes they need a little glue on the back unless you use the 'full adhesive' styles) to give their work more pizazz!! 

For more information and ideas please visit www.3m.co.uk  or follow @3m_uk on Twitter.

Command Brand Damage Free Hanging

In my classroom we have a lot of displays and wall space.  Some are on pinboards where I can attach work with a staple gun, but other areas are smooth surfaces.

In the past I have refrained from using these areas as if the items fall off in the middle of the night (which is what happens when using sticky tack) the falling item will set off the alarm calling the police.

Command hooks and picture hanging kits are different.  They are really strong and unlike sticky pads they do not mark the surface if you want to remove them.

I have used the hooks on the back of the classroom door to allow the painting aprons to be hung up, this makes it easier for the learners to fetch their apron, they dry quicker (even after being washed, I just hang them back up to dry) and also as they are always in the classroom it reminds the learners to actually wear them.

I am planning to use the picture hanging strips on clipboards.  On the clipboards we can display ideas to create a daily changing display area or just store the boards for use during lessons.  I haven't had chance to clear a good sized area or buy 'nice' clipboards yet, but this is in the pipeline.  

The strips are strong enough that the learners will be able to take down and replace the boards without the worry of the whole lot coming down or the learners catching themselves or clothing on nails hammered into the wall.

When I have created my clipboard display I will post a photo to show what it looks like and update on if it has worked the way I wanted it too.

Command products are available from: Amazon.co.uk, Asda, B&Q, Homebase, Robert Dyas, Ryman, Sainsbury's, Staples, Tesco, WHSmith and 3MDirect.co.uk

Please visit www.commandstrips.co.uk for more information and ideas for uses.

Dockside Reading Scheme

Dockside is an accessible, but tightly structured, new reading scheme that builds confidence and motivates even the most 'switched-off' beginner or catch-up reader.

Each level has a set of books and worksheets that compliment the stories. They look at word matching, word building, repeating phrases and words to build confidence.

I gave three of my learners a book each and the sheets that went with the book.  Two of the learners go stuck in and started reading, a little slow, but they managed it.
The third was really trying to not do the work, making up excuses etc.... about reading the book "Its for babies!" and "Urrggghh reading! I had enough of that at school!".

I took the learner aside and sat in another room with him, it turned out that he could barely read (do not fear, this is a new lad who has only just joined the college).  Together we read the book and I talked through the worksheets with him until he was happy to continue alone.

At the end of the session I collected in everyone's work and he was still scribbling away, he wanted to finish the sheet before the end of the lesson!!

 The books are based on teenagers and the antics they get up too.  The illustrations are like large comic style, one scene per page with little text and repetitive words.

Each set of books come with a set of worksheets and a CDRom.  The worksheets are literacy based and have good sized text with simple instructions.  The company have remembered that if the learner is struggling to read then its not worth filling the worksheet with tons of difficult words. 

I am really impressed with this set, so far all 3 of my groups have read the books that I had to review and have enjoyed them.

For more information please visit: www.risingstars-uk.com  

Royal Mail in association with iChild.co.uk

The Royal Mail in association with iChild has created some wonderful work packs full of stimulating lesson ideas, plans, worksheets and resources.


I have been using the Doctor Who education resources and the Sporting Dreams (based on the Olympics) in my tutorial lessons.  

Each pack has blanks for learners to design their own stamps, games, worksheets to make them think or use their imagination etc...

Each pack can also be downloaded for FREE here:

http://www.ichild.co.uk/tags/browse/282/Doctor-Who

http://www.ichild.co.uk/tags/browse/275/Royal-Mail-Sporting-Dreams



Both packs are highly recommended by my learners, they have created some lovely ideas and work based around the themes.

There is also a Ben & Holly's Little Kingdom pack but I haven't used this as it is a little too low for my level and age of learners, however its great for younger children.



Please visit www.ichild.co.uk for more information and other educational ideas.