SCHOOL LIFE

After a fantastic long and hot English summer, the morning to go back to school has finally arrived. For almost 10 weeks James and I have adventured at theme parks, museums, palaces, zoos and parks. We've visited beaches, towns, cities and the countryside. It's been a blast and I'm going to miss h

We're now well and truly in to the new school year, so much so that Half Term is already fast approaching. Where does the time go? On that theme my son made the transition from lower to middle school this year and with that comes some pretty significant changes. Longer Maths and English lessons, m

In a previous post, I recommended the book Bounce. It tells how greatness comes not from nature, but nurture and, most importantly, practice. I shared how my Son had consistently failed his school2 star badge test for times tables and how we practised every night to the point he could successfully

I recently read a great book by Times journalist and one time Olympic Table Tennis star Matthew Syed called Bounce. I highly recommend it to all dads. Through a long study Mr Syed concludes that it is nurture not nature that determines talent. It's not that we're born to be brilliant, we become b

Quite often my 8 year old son will ask me a riddle on the school run home. I love the fact he is learning to think creatively and to solve problems that may appear simple but are actually more tricky. They're often short and easy to share/ remember, but less easy to work out, especially for a youngs

When I was a kid, I dreaded parents evenings. As a parent my feelings haven't changed much at all. Don't get me wrong. I haven't heard any stories of how my little boy is the class terror, bringing missery and havoc to teachers and classmates, but there's just some sense of trepidation before I mak

By Prasad Gurav Problem solving is one of the 6 most important life skills that kids need to learn to grow into healthy individuals and live a full life. Problem solving is a skill that kids need to learn on their own and requires a lot of guidance from the parents and family as a whole. As a skill

There's many ways that children learn. So if your child doesn't get something first time, try a new approach and then another. Be patient and they'll get there.

I can't believe it's half term already and my son is now half way through Year 4. It only seems like yesterday that I was taking him for his first day of middle school after the long summer break. Time goes by so fast, maybe too fast, but that only makes me realise how important it is to appreciate

With what seems like the blink of an eye another school year has come and gone and I've been reflecting on all that's happened in what seems like a very short period. On a rainy afternoon at the start of the holidays, my Son took me through all the school work he brought home on his last day. Going

2017 Sports Day has come and gone, and so have my legs. I really didn't fancy the Dads race this year, especially after last year's exhaustion, and I tried to convince my 8 year old Son that it wouldn't be a good idea. "What if I come last?" I asked. "Won't you be embarresed?" "Of course not," he re

Summer half term has come and gone and we're in the final throws of the school year. That means lots of fun. School trips, school plays, open days and of course sports day. For me, it's the dread of knowing that the annual Dad's race is fast approaching. I loved sports day as a kid. I was a House

I used to worry that on the rare occassion my son voluntarily told me about things that happened during his school day it is always something that happened whilst playing during break time. But it seems I shouldn't be concerned. According to various scientific studies, play time and the creativity t

School life isn't just about the kids and their education. There's also a social minefield for Dads to carefully navigate around the school gates and beyond. It can be pretty daunting. As a dad you're highly likely to be outnumbered by mums who all seem to know one another intimately. It's natura

I've been recently studying the impacts of technology on the workforce of the future. Already it's acknowledged that Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality and Big Data will bring mass redundancy for roles in almost every profession and job. Not even lawyers or accountants are safe. Millions and m

I've just seen some great advice and thought I'd share it... Instead of asking your kids how their day at school was try something different. Like, "What can you teach me that you learned today?" Or "What made you laugh at school today?" Or "What was the crazziest thing that happened today?" It migh