Hannah McCarthey

Too Much, Too Young?: Moderating Children's Computer Use

Many parents worry about their kid's computer use, but are there any clear-cut guidelines as to how much time kids should spend on computers? As a general rule, child development experts suggest a child should only have 1 to 2 hours 'screen time' a day, b... Read >

Learning Foreign Languages In The British Education System

The last decade has seen an enormous amount of flux in terms of language teaching trends in British schools, stemming from a 2002 change in education policy that had major implications for both primary and secondary schools. At one end, plans were put in ... Read >

Non-Native English Speakers In The Classroom: How Teachers Are Coping

Recent figures have shown that 1 in 6 primary school children in the UK have English as a second language. This has led to some concern that teachers are becoming overburdened with the pressures brought by a multi-lingual classroom. Schools, too, are said... Read >

Simple Solutions To Summer Learning Loss For Kids

While all kids invariably look forward to the summer as a time of fun and relaxation, away from the stresses of school work, it's increasingly believed that long holidays have a serious impact on their education. The phenomenon of 'summer learning loss' i... Read >

A Guide To The Importance Of Music And Movement In Early Childhood Education

A child's early years constitute a period of rapid intellectual, social, and emotional development. Integrating music and movement into children's education at this point in their lives is well-established as a great way to maximise this golden ‘window of... Read >

10 Techie Tips For Introducing Preschoolers To The Wonders Of Technology

A child's early years are a time of rapid development and learning. It is the time when their creative, social, intellectual, and communicational skills first start to take shape and research has found that technology can play a great role in a child's ea... Read >

Using Learning Styles Could Lead To More Effective Learning For Students

We all have certain preferences when it comes to receiving information. Some of us like to learn exclusively by reading books, while others favour discussing ideas with other people to help themselves understand a topic or problem. Recognising what your p... Read >

How e-learning Can Help Early Years Foreign Language Learning (Part 2 of 2)

Having established the merits of teaching modern foreign languages (MFL) to Primary school children in a previous article, it may seem strange that some continue to oppose its implementation. However, there are some valid concerns about the establishment ... Read >

How Foreign Language Teaching Benefits Young Learners (Part 1 of 2)

There has been a great effort over the last decade to embed the teaching of MFL (modern foreign languages) in Primary schools. Seen by the Labour government of 1997-2010 as an essential element of the curriculum, learning a language at an early age can ha... Read >

Maths For Kids (2 of 2) - The Relevance Of Mental Arithmetic To The Real World

In the previous article of this series, we discussed the relevance of maths to the real world. This time the emphasis is on the narrower field of mental arithmetic games. Mental arithmetic involves solving mathematical problems in one's head. It is a c... Read >

Maths For Kids (1 of 2) - The Relevance Of School Maths To The Real World

The origin of mathematical thought lie in the concepts of number, magnitude and form; a way to quantify and make some sense of a confusing world. Such concepts would have been part of everyday life of hunter-gatherer societies where social organisation an... Read >

Safeguarding Your Children Online (Part 3)

Parental control available from other Internet browsers. In the last article we looked at the parental controls available through the ever popular Internet Explorer browser and IE7 and IE8 in particular. In this article we are looking at the most popular... Read >

Safeguarding Your Children Online (Part 2)

Parental control available from Internet Explorer. In the first article, we looked at what can be done to set up the operating system in order to control the content that younger users are able to access. This time we are looking at the controls availabl... Read >

Science for Kids (3 of 3). The Danger of Underestimating Today's Young Learners

Over the past 20 years there has been a digital revolution, so most homes now have internet, mobile phones and specialist television channels which are geared towards young learners. This can be both an opportunity and a threat, depending on how these inf... Read >

Science for Kids (2 of 3). The Challenge of Teaching Young Children About Food Chains.

Over-simplification is a danger in science education. While over-simplification might get the point across, it can imprint on the young student a false knowledge that can remain for a long time. This impression in turn can cause resistance in later learni... Read >