To celebrate the start of Black History Month, Afrori Books bookstore in Brighton is kicking off with a history extravaganza. Denhue will be doing a fun and interactive reading from a part of our STEM Leaders: Black inventors and innovators who changed the world book, followed by two creative activities related to two inventors from the book. You will also be able to buy a signed copy of the book.
There will be crafts, games, authors sharing their fun history stories and prizes.
There will be tea and coffee for the adults and snacks for the children will be served free throughout the event.
Natalie is the co-founder and illustrator at Little Scholars Playground. She is passionate about literacy, learning, illustrating, black women in STEM and Montessori.
This week is National Coding Week here in the UK and we often get asked by parents how to get their kids into coding. There are many benefits of coding for kids, including improving their; logical thinking, problem solving skills, resilience and their maths skills. Natalie is a coder/developer, so below are her 3 tips to get your kids started with coding.
Our STEM Activity Cards are a great way to introduce coding to your child early on. The pack includes some coding activities. You can buy the pack here.
3) Our STEM Leaders: Black inventors and innovators who changed the world
Our STEM Leaders book includes inspirational leaders in tech and has useful links to help you introduce coding to your child. You can buy the book here.
We hope you found these three coding tips for kids useful. Let us know in the comments below
Natalie is the co-founder and illustrator at Little Scholars Playground. She is passionate about literacy, learning, illustrating, black women in STEM and Montessori.
Black History Month is only a few weeks away (where is the time going? It will be Christmas soon, eek!) Our STEM Leaders: Black inventors and innovators who changed the world book would be a great resource. We all know schools will not be teaching children about these amazing people. So it’s for us all to do this at home.
STEM Leaders will introduce children to important Black inventors and innovators who changed the world. This vibrantly illustrated book is a stimulating reference source; it is educational and includes; Q&A’s, useful links, fun facts and activities to get children started with STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Maths) experiments. You can buy the book here.
We’re so excited about this book. We both work in the STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Maths) industry and we don’t see many people that look like us. So we want to inspire the next generation to embrace STEM subjects. An industry which creates the inventors, innovators and leaders of tomorrow. You can buy the book here.
Natalie is the co-founder and illustrator at Little Scholars Playground. She is passionate about literacy, learning, illustrating, black women in STEM and Montessori.
Is your child starting school soon? Starting school for the first time can be daunting to both parents and kids. It can bring up a lot of feelings. There’s lots of things that might cross your mind, such as will my child be bullied, will they cope with a new routine and will they make friends. It’s always important to keep communicating with your child. Below are some things to do with your child to get them prepared before and during the start of school.
1) Independence the Montessori way: Things like teaching your child to learn to pour their own water, put on their own shoes, or clean their own play area, will help them become a more confident, independent child, which will lead to ongoing benefits throughout their school life.
2) Learn about emotions: Talking about different feelings will help your child talk about different emotions and understand how they’re feeling during this new transition.
3) Hygiene: Hygiene is important at school. One of the best ways to help them is to try and make their trips to the toilet a fun learning experience.
4) Sharing: Encouraging your child to share their toys through pretend play is a great way to help them practice turn-taking.
5) Write down worries and hopes: Get your child to write down everything they’re looking forward to at school and everything they’re worried about. This can help to ease their concerns.
Going to school for the first time can be scary. We hope your child has a great first day!
Natalie is the co-founder and illustrator at Little Scholars Playground. She is passionate about literacy, learning, illustrating, black women in STEM and Montessori.
We’ve been hearing a lot about the childcare crisis. But it wasn’t until it affected us where we had to stop and think about how dire the situation is becoming. Our own little scholar is currently in nursery and we have received emails to let us know that due to staff shortages they may have to start turning children away. We believe the pandemic has exposed the fragility of a system that places the onus of child rearing on women. Childcare is a constant juggling act for many parents. According to the National Childbirth Trust, a week’s care for a child under the age of two in nursery costs between £263 and £321 per week, meanwhile after-school care costs between £60 and £70 a week. Currently, one adult can be in charge of four two-year-olds, however the Government has proposed to increase this to five. We do not think this is a good idea and could affect a child’s safety and level of learning.
It’s important now more than ever to do as much as we can with our young children at home. A child’s brain has reached 80% of its adult volume by the age of 3. This is why it’s VERY important to support this massive brain development in the first 3 years of their life.
We sell books and learning resources, which can help your child’s brain development in the early years. You can shop our products here.
Childcare workers are simply overworked, underpaid and sadly undervalued. What are your thoughts? Has this also affected you? Let us know in the comments below. 👶🏾🧒🏼🧮🎨
Natalie is the co-founder and illustrator at Little Scholars Playground. She is passionate about literacy, learning, illustrating, black women in STEM and Montessori.
