Go back to school in style

Here are some fun ideas to make your own funky creations to personalise your stationary and pencil cases or bags.

To make your pencil toppers you will need:

• A pencil or pen
• Silk Clay or Foam Clay

Have a go at making some of your own fab pencil topper pals. What different characters can you create?

We would love to see photos of your creations, please share them on our Facebook page or email hello@thecreationstation.co.uk.

Did you love making your pencil toppers why not have a go at some designer key rings.

You will need:

• Silk Clay or Foam Clay
• Key rings

You can find all the products you need to make these fab creations on www.thecreationstationstore.co.uk.

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Is your child starting school this year?

Here are some top tips to help ease the transition for you and your child.

Before they start school…

• Ask them what questions they have about school.
• Let them know what to expect from the first few days.
• Encourage them to talk to other children and to take all concerns to a grown up, they shouldn’t be worried about speaking up about anything no matter how small.
• Teach them to recognise their own name, they may not be able to read or write but they will need to recognise their name to find their coat peg, tray etc. Write their name out and type it out, then stick those up for them to see so they can still recognise it in different styles. Ask them to find their name amongst lots of other words. Make it fun and turn it into a game.
• In the build up for the first week try to practice the routine with bed times and mornings. Try doing a couple of sit down activities at the table to start to get them used to sitting in a classroom. This could be reading a book together or doing some drawings.

On the day…

• Stay only as long is necessary, once they feel comfortable it is time to go. The quicker you leave the easier it will be for them to settle down and understand the environment without you.
• Try not to cry in front of your child as this could upset and confuse them, especially as you’ve been telling them how great big school is and that they will love it! If needed, say goodbye and go and have a good cry outside with a friend!
• Say hello to the other parents and arrange a meet up, you could maybe go for a coffee straight away. All the other parents are in the same boat as you and also feeling a little unsure, they will be looking to make friendships too. It’s just as important to build solid relationships with the other parents as it is for the kids to become friends, after all, you will probably be around each other for many years if the class moves through the school together.

Going forward…

• Ask your child every day what they did at school, encourage them to share their thoughts and feelings and retell what they have learnt, this helps them to process information and embed it in their mind.
• Keep some of the best drawings and photos of the projects your child completes, in a “My First Year of School” scrapbook, which both you and your child could write in together. They can add more of their own writing and drawing as their ability develops, which in itself will be a fantastic record of achievement! Be sure to add the photo of them on their first day and finish off with another on their last day. They will have grown so much and it will be a lovely memory keepsake of this very special time in their life!

We would love to hear all about your child’s first day. Share your stories on our Facebook page.

6 Creation Station Top Tips To Avoid The ‘Holiday Car Journey Nightmare’ With The Family

After years of travelling with our three boys on exciting trips and holidays… I feel quite an expert on travelling with them being squashed in the back of the car and traffic jams and, I will admit, reverting to ‘If you don’t stop arguing we will cancel the holiday and go home’. So here are 5 tips that have helped my family and I stay almost sane on the journey.

‘Who Am I?’ – The Sticky Note Game

1. On a sticky note write the name of a person or character that everyone else will know i.e.; The queen, a famous singer, a TV character etc.,
2. Give the sticky note to one person to pop it on their forehead without them seeing the writing.
3. They have to ask 20 questions to guess who they are.

Instead of writing a person you could have a picture of “A food item” or “An activity we will do on holiday’.

Create Your Own Car Bingo

1. Think of 12 things you might see on your journey. It could be traffic cones, 50 miles speed limit, yellow car, birds, etc.
2. Draw a table on a piece of paper and draw or write these items in each square to create a bingo card.
3. Give each child a copy of the bingo card and see who can spot these items on the journey and get the first line filled in, and who will get a full house?

Top Tip – you could involve the children in preparing the cards before you go so they are already thinking about the game and looking forward to the activity in the car. Activity Sheets are available to download. 

Creative Car Registration Story

1. Using the last 3 letters of a car registration plate that you see, each person has to think of three words that ‘almost makes sense’ i.e; RNE – really naughty elephant.
2. Then the next person has to try to do the same with another car registration and to make a story i.e. WTP – Went to The Pizza shop.
3. You can decided the rules of how many additional words you can add in, but it can create really funny and weird stories!

Super Story Starters

1. Have a bag of words or pictures. These can be created before the journey as an activity for the children i.e; on approx. 50 different pieces of card draw or stick a picture of places, food, characters etc.
2. Pop all the pieces in a bag and pass the bag round to allow each child to take one out of the bag and to create a story around the theme.
3. Pass the bag to the next child and ask them to add to the story with the picture they selected.

Activity Sheets are available to download. 

In my suitcase I packed…

1. Someone starts with the phrase “In my suitcase I packed…” and then the next person has to repeat what they said and add another item in.
2. The game continues with every person having to remember what the previous person said and adding an extra item. For example – In my suitcase I packed a towel, a hair brush, a cuddly toy etc.

Points mean prizes

When having these games it helps to have some prizes. It could be an ice-cream voucher, or first choice of the bed in your accommodation, or just a special treat that you know your child will love. This will help with the excitement and boredom in the car and help make a enjoyable journey for everyone.

We hope you find this helpful, have a fantastic trip.

Sarah

Activity templates are available to download for free from www.thecreationstationstore.co.uk – Free Activity Downloads.

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