EAL: Blog items
Date: 1st May 2020 @ 10:19am
Hi everyone and Happy Friday! I can't believe it's already the end of another week. I hope everyone is working hard and staying safe.
I got the idea for today's wellbeing challenge yesterday when I saw the most amazing rainbow in the sky. It was the brightest colours I've ever seen and I could see the whole arc. There was even a faint second rainbow next to it!
Photos don't really show how amazing it was but you can see how vivid the colours are:
The rainbow made me feel happy when I saw it and I thought it might make other people happy too! So today's challenge is to take a photo of something that makes you feel happy. You could find something in your house or do it on a walk. It could be a person, an animal, an object or even something that you've made. Anything that makes you feel happy or positive. If you don't have a camera, phone or tablet of your own then ask an adult if you can borrow theirs but please be careful with it!
If you'd like to share your happy photo then please e-mail it to EALhomelearning@ravensbury.manchester.sch.uk, I'd love to see it and then I can post some of them and spread the happiness around!
Have a good weekend,
Mrs Glover
Past challenges
Thanks to A who sent a photo of himself doing the breathing exercises I set yesterday, I hope they helped you feel nice and calm.
Try something new this weekend
Date: 1st May 2020 @ 9:03am
Happy Friday everyone!
How has your week been? As well as doing my school work, I decided to try some new activities this week; I went on some new bike rides and walks with my family, baked some new recipes and tried out some online dance courses. I really enjoyed them - especially eating the brownies, even though they didn't turn out quite as they were meant to !
Why don't you try doing something new this weekend and tell us all about it by emailing :
Ealhomelearning@ravensbury.manchester.sch.uk
We can't wait to hear all about it!
Have a great weekend.
Date: 30th Apr 2020 @ 10:01am
Good morning everyone,
I hope everyone enjoyed some relaxing colouring yesterday, here is a picture of mine. It isn't quite finished yet but I had a nice relaxing hour doing it last night:
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Today's challenge is to do a mindfulness breathing activity. Mindfulness can help you relax and be in the moment, appreciating everything that's around you.
Just one breath
Find a relaxing place where you won't be disturbed. Sit in a comfortable position, either with your legs crossed or any comfortable posture. This activity can be done in as little as one minute, but you can also do it for longer periods of time.
Begin by setting a timer for one minute.
Start breathing deeply in and out. Notice how the breath feels as it moves in and out of your body. Notice how the air feels on your skin. Pay attention to any sensations that you notice or any sounds that you hear.
Take another slow deep breath and see if you can imagine how the breath moves down into the lungs and then back up again. Thank your body and breath for giving you life and keeping you healthy.
Take one more deep breath and hold the breath for a moment - then release it.
If any thoughts worry you, try and imagine your thoughts immersed in a white, puffy cloud and push the thought cloud out of your awareness.
Afterward, notice how you feel after taking this one-minute break.
If you want to tell me about your experience or send any photos of yourself doing the activity then e-mail me on EALhomelearning@ravensbury.manchester.sch.uk.
There are more simple instructions below.
Mrs Glover
Date: 29th Apr 2020 @ 10:35am
Hello everyone,
It's a rather miserable looking Wednesday out there so my wellbeing challenge today is an indoor one.
It's actually quite a simple challenge today; I'd simply like you to do some colouring. Colouring is a lovely relaxing activity that you can do on your own for some me-time or together with a family member to make it a more sociable activity.
I think most of you were given some colouring pages when we finished school but if you've already used these and don't have any more at home then good news, there is a website where you can do online colouring:
https://www.online-coloring.com/
Or you could always draw something to colour! Anything you like.
I have a new Enchanted Forest colouring book that my husband bought me (pictured below) that I'm going to do a bit of colouring in later, maybe while I listen to a podcast or to some music to have a bit of a break from staring at a screen. I'll post a picture of my efforts tomorrow.
Remember to send in pictures of your challenges to EALhomelearning@ravensbury.manchester.sch.uk
Mrs Glover
Past challenges
A big thanks to Roderigo from Year 1 who sent me a picture of his crystal ball challenge from yesterday, some fantastic goals there!
Date: 28th Apr 2020 @ 10:55am
Good morning everyone,
Today's challenge is all about thinking positivity and making the most of your time while you're not at school 
.
Imagine looking into a cyrstal ball 3 months from now.
Draw or write what challenges you are facing, what positive changes you want to make and what might be different in 3 months time.
Try to focus on things that seem possible to achieve like starting a new hobby, learning a few words in a new language or getting better at some of your learning like reading or times tables.
I've done mine on the computer (on MS Word) as my paper is in the study where my husband is on a video call for work so I didn't want to disturb him! But you can do yours however you want.
I've included a picture of mine below if you want to have a look!
Please feel free to tell me about any of the wellbeing challenges you have done, I'd love to see what you're all doing in your free time! You can now e-mail me on Ealhomelearning@ravensbury.manchester.sch.uk to let me know (or to contact me or Mrs Harriott about any EAL home learning too)
Have a good day!
Mrs Glover
Date: 28th Apr 2020 @ 8:50am
Exciting news!
Mrs Glover and Mrs Harriott have now got an email address which you can use to let us know all your news (as well as keeping in touch with your class teacher on your usual year group email).
We would love to hear from you if you have tried any of Mrs Glover's well being challenges, would like any more EAL home learning if you usually come to us for learning or have any other news to share with us .
The address is: Ealhomelearning@ravenbsury.manchester.sch.uk
We can't wait to hear from you !
Mrs Glover and Mrs Harriott
Date: 27th Apr 2020 @ 11:16am
Happy Monday everyone!
I hope everyone had a lovely weekend and made the most of the lovely warm weather (I think it might be the last hot sun for a while although it seems nice so far this morning!)
Today's challenge is to do something that I have just discovered myself although my husband has been nagging me to do it for a while - Listen to a podcast.
A podcast is a bit like a radio show that you can download to your tablet, phone or laptop and listen to either while you relax or while you go for a walk. Some include music, some are educational, some entertain you and some are just good for helping you relax. You can listen to them with others or by yourself if you need a bit of me time.
This weekend I have been listening to one called Sounds of the 90s by Fearne Cotton that includes lot of music from the 90s as well as intervews with 90s pop stars. I've been listening to it while I go on my hour long walks every day and I think some of the teachers may also enjoy it!
Here are some podcasts I've found that I think you might all like, the links are under each description:
But Why: A pocast for curious kids
A podcast answering lots of questions that you may find interesting!
http://digital.vpr.net/programs/why-podcast-curious-kids
Storytime
10 - 15 minute stories (mostly for little ones)
http://bedtime.fm/storytime
What if world
With wacky episode titles such as "What if Legos were alive?" and "What if sharks had legs?," this series takes ridiculous "what if" questions submitted by young listeners and turns them into a new story every two weeks.http://www.whatifworldpodcast.com/
Noodle Loaf
A delightful offering from a music education specialist and his co-host daughter will get kids of all ages singing, rhyming, moving, and engaging in all kinds of musical games. The segments, games, and songs are so silly and upbeat that the whole family will enjoy participating. Little listeners can even add their voice to the theme song in the podcast's electronically compiled kid's choir!
http://noodleloafshow.com/
Be Calm on Ahway Island
Includes soothing stories and mindulness techniques
https://www.ahwayisland.com/
History Storytime
Fun, educational and music re-telling of historical events
https://www.historystorytime.com/
I hope you enjoy listening to some of these, please let us know about any that you particularly enjoy!
Mrs Glover
Date: 27th Apr 2020 @ 10:38am
Good morning Mrs Harriott and everyone,
I had a nice weekend thanks. I had a few Zoom chats with different friends, went on some nice walks with my husband and even did a bit of sunbathing. I also made some lemon and orange creams which I've added a picture of below. I've been learning Spanish too and it's getting better but it's very tricky! I've always thought our EAL children were amazing but I'm now realising how very clever you all actually are!
Like Mrs Harriott I've also been discovering some new places that I didn't know existed including some lovely green spaces and pretty canal walks. It's definitely one of the positives of this lock down as well as having more time to bake, exercise, learning new things and being able to relax more with my husband and my bunnies (I've added a recent picture of them too below). Of course the main negative is not being able to go to school every day and seee all of our fantastic children and we really are missing you all.
Oh dear, Mrs Harriott asked me about the different birds I can see or hear near my flat but I'm not very good at identifying birds at all! I do like hearing them through the window when I wake up though and sometimes they like to perch on my balcony, especially since I've planted some lovely flowers on there. I think I've seen and heard robins, blackbirds and pigeons (we have a lot of those in Manchester city centre!) but I daresay there'll have been a fair few others as well, expecially on my walks.
Exciting news!
We've asked our technical expert Mrs Thewlis about setting up an EAL home learning address which you can use to keep in touch with me and Mrs Harriott and she's going to set it up for us hopefully this week so look out for updates about that as we would absolutely love to hear from you all!
Stay safe,
Mrs Glover
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Date: 27th Apr 2020 @ 8:50am
Morning everyone ! Hope you have had a lovely weekend and were able to get out and enjoy the sun on a walk, bike ride or in your garden if you have one.
What did you get up to over the weekend? I explored the paths around my house with my family - we went on a walk on Saturday and on Sunday we went on a bike ride. We found some amzing new places that we never knew existed!
I also sat in my garden and listened to see how many birds I could see or hear like Mrs Glover suggested. How many birds can you hear or see where you live Mrs Glover ? I could see 12 different types of birds (a robin, a blackbird, a jay, blue tits, long tail tits, a crow, jackdaws, magpies, a song thrush, a dunnock , a nuthatch and surprisingly a few sea gulls).
How many birds can you see or hear near where you live ? Let us know - we love to hear from you!
Date: 24th Apr 2020 @ 10:21am
Hi, Mrs Glover here again!
If you enjoyed Chester zoo being live a few weeks ago then good news, it's back again! Starting at 10am they'll be showing many different animals. I've added a picture of what is happening and when underneath and here is the YouTube link:
https://www.youtube.com/c/chesterzoo/live
Date: 24th Apr 2020 @ 10:08am
Good morning everyone, another lovely sunny day! I can't wait to get out there in the sun for a bit.
Fot the last day of the week I'm giving you a slightly different wellbeing challenge today and it's something that always makes me feel happy and a bit better if I'm feeling a bit low.
Today's challenge is to do something nice for someone. Here are some ideas below although feel free to do one of your own ideas!
1. Read or tell a story to a younger brother or sister
2. Tidy your room
3. Do a chore or job for someone at home
4. Give someone a compliment
5. Share a toy or some food with someone at home
6. Make someone a present, picture or card
7. Offer to help an adult with the cooking or washing up
8. Write someone a poem or story
9. Tell someone a joke
10. Phone a friend or send them a nice message
See how many of the 10 you can do and remember to let us know what you have done!
I'm going to do some baking for my husband for my good deed and maybe make him a nice dinner as well. In fact, I might go and take him a cup of tea while he's doing his work! :-)
Have a lovely weekend,
Mrs Glover
Date: 23rd Apr 2020 @ 11:07am
Hi everyone,
I hope everyone is finding ways to enjoy this amazing weather, I don't think we've ever had such a nice April before!
So today's wellbeing challenge is another way to make the most of the weather and get out in your gardens and do some gardening!
Here are some nice ideas for things to do that you don't really need many resources for: https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/grow-plants/10-gardening-projects-for-kids/
I bet you'll already have a lot of the things in your house or garden or you could collect some of them like twigs etc while out on a walk (make sure you wash your hands after if you do that!) My favourite is the fairy garden.
Alternatively you could plant some seeds from something that you've just eatedn such as tomato seeds.
If you don't have a garden then why not design and draw your own garden (or fairy garden!) instead? You could maybe try and re-create it when you're older and have your own garden!
I have a balcony rather than a garden and had never done any gardening until a few weeks ago but below are a couple of pictures of the things I've planted! I'm watering them every day and the sun is making most of them grow nice and tall.
Have fun and remember to let us know what you've done!
Mrs Glover
Date: 22nd Apr 2020 @ 11:29am
Good morning, Happy Wednesday everyone! I can't believe it's already the middle of the week.
Since we have such lovely weather today (and for most of the week!) my challenge for you today is to get outside and enjoy the sun and see what you can see!
Some of you may be lucky enough to have a garden and if you do then you can do my challenge from there but a walk would be even better and then you can be more active too. Yesterday I went for a lovely walk to Philips Park as I'm lucky enough to only live a 20 minute walk away, see some of my pictures below.
While you're out either in your garden or your walk, have a spring scavenger hunt to see what you can see. Why not get an adult to take a picture of the list on their phones so you can take it with you and see what you can tick off? Or maybe write them on a piece of paper and take it with you so you can tick off the items as you go!
On my walk I saw grass, bird nests, yellow flowers, clouds, worms, sticks, green leaves, dandelions and some beautiful blossom trees too. I didn't see any bunnies unfortnatey but I did see some cute little squirrels!
Make sure you e-mail your class e-mail addresses to let us know what you found and maybe even some photos too.
Mrs Glover
Here are some pictures of my walk:
Past challenges
Thanks to Mrs Iqbal's son, Adam for his picture of his happy place.
And also to Tomasz in Reception who also sent his picture. They both look lovely and very cosy!
Date: 21st Apr 2020 @ 10:31am
Hello and welcome back after the Easter holidays, I hope everyone had a good Easter! My husband bought me a delicious unicorn Easter Egg although I haven't finished it yet!
Today's wellbeing challenge is to design your own Happy Place. Here is an online game where you can build your own virtual happy place by just dragging and dropping objects into your room.
https://www.childline.org.uk/toolbox/games/build-your-happy-place/
You even get to choose your own wallpaper! Or if you don't fancy that, why not draw and colour a picture of your happy place? Or you could even do both!
Here's a picture of the room that I built, I wish could build a real room like it!
Please send any pictures of your happy place rooms to your home learning e-mail addresses, I'd love to see them.
Mrs Glover
Past challenges
Thanks to Riley in 5CB who has sent in a picture of his delicious looking chocolate brownies, yum!
Date: 20th Apr 2020 @ 2:15pm
We are now at the start of our Summer term after the two week Easter break. We hope you had a rest over the holidays and feel ready to start your home learning again now.
If you are coming to the end of your home learning pack , why not have a look at the BBC Bitesize lessons on their web site, red button button on your television or iPlayer if you have it. There's lots of lessons on there that you can do - just click on the right year group for you and choose a subject.They even have fun games you can do to use your new knowledge!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/dailylessons
Remember to keep connected with us by emailing your work , ideas and questions using your yera group's email address.
Date: 6th Apr 2020 @ 11:35am
Hi everyone,
Happy Easter holidays!
If you're still looking to stay busy over the holidays then I know the teachers are setting some fun activities but you could also give this exciting project a go!
Liverpool Museum are asking children between the age of 4 and 11 to create their own exhibition or gallery all about you and your favourite things. The project involves creating a project, designing a poster and then creating a video and some of them will even win the chance to have their exhibition feature on their website as well as spending an afternoon at the museum and getting a behind the scenes tour.
There is more information here : https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/my-home-my-museum and in these pictures below. Please send us pictures or links to your home e-mail addresses if you do this!
If you missed any of the wellbeing challenges from last week then why not give them a go too?
Happy Easter!
Mrs Glover
Date: 3rd Apr 2020 @ 10:54am
Happy Friday everyone and well done for learning at home for 2 whole weeks! As strange as I've found it not being at school, the time has flown by for me so I hope it feels the same for you.
I'm going to do one final wellbeing challenge for today and then take a break for the next 2 weeks for the Easter holiday. However, check back on Monday morning as over the weekend I am going to set you a little wellbeing project in case anyone wants an Easter challenge.
Since it's the end of the week, today's challenge is to relax and get ready for the weekend so I want everyone to do a guided meditation. This is when you close your eyes and listen to a lovely soothing voice transport you to somewhere new. They are great for helping you to sleep or if you just want to relax at the end of your learning.
There are plenty available on Youtube, here are a few of my favourites:
Secret treehouse - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWOHcGF1Tmc
Spaceship to the moon - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mV9BBR1RoGg
Hot air balloon ride - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlv6Y1tq1sQ
Have a great Easter holiday and don't forget to check back for the challenge next week if you think you'd like to do it. I'll be back with a daily challenge from Monday the 20th of April if we're still at home then.
Past challenges
Thank you to Mrs Ganner for sending me a photo of her daughter completing the baking challenge from earlier in the week, it looks amazing and has made me want to bake something chocolately myself this weekend! I think I might make some brownies as a treat for my husband!
Top tips for the Easter holiday
Date: 3rd Apr 2020 @ 10:28am
Well done everyone, we've made it to Friday! Tomorrow it's the weekend and then after that it's our 2 week Easter Holiday! I know it feels a bit strange to have a holiday when you've already been off for a few weeks but it's important that you take a break from your learning, especially if you've been working really hard! We won't be posting a daily top tip (although we may do the odd update about what we're doing over the holidays and you can still get in touch on your home learning e-mail addresses to tell us what you're up to!) but here are some tips to make the most of your holiday:
Top tip for the holidays: Try and do one of each of these activities a day
1. Do something active. This could be a Joe Wicks workout, a dance, a yoga session (look at my wellbeing post from yesterday for ideas) or even just a walk.
2. Do something creative. Draw a picture, make something or do some cooking or baking. You could even make something Easter themed like a card, basket or hat.
3. Do something relaxing. Watch a film, read a book, do some colouring or listen to some music.
4. Do something nice for someone else. Give someone a compliment, make someone a drink or some food, help with a job around the house or tidy your room before your grown up asks you to!
5. Tell someone a joke. The bad jokes are even better than the good jokes and they can cheer both people up and make them smile!
Happy Easter and have a good holiday. We'll be back to posting something every day from Monday 20th April if we're still all at home.
Mrs Glover and Mrs Harriott
Date: 2nd Apr 2020 @ 11:30am
Hi everyone,
I hope you're all still working hard and staying safe. Thanks to both children and staff who've been e-mailing me pictures of their wellbeing challenges, it's really cheering me up! I've included some at the bottom of my post again.
Today's wellbeing challenge is all about yoga. Yoga is a great way to relax and escape for a while and it's good for both your bodies and minds. I like to put on some relaxing music while I do it and am lucky enough to have a lovely bright pink yoga mat too as otherwise I'd be on a hard wooden floor. A carpet, rug or blanket would work just as well though.
There's a great channel on Youtube called Cosmic Kids that does lots of different fun yoga sessions: https://www.youtube.com/user/CosmicKidsYoga (I know that Miss Bryce's class have done some of these sessions and we did some school last week too so some of you are already great at it!)
Any adults reading, or maybe older children who fancy something a bit more difficult could have a go at this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTANio_2E0Q
Here I am below doing the bound ankle pose :-)
Remember to let us know how you get on!
Mrs Glover
Past challenges
Thanks Ferdows in reception who has e-mailed in a picture of his origami rabbit from yesterdays challenge, I love it!
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Another thank you to Mrs Iqbal and her son Adam who did the baking challenge from Tuesday and made this delicious looking chocolate cake!
Date: 2nd Apr 2020 @ 10:41am
Hello,
I hope your home learning is still going well. Today's top tip is all around one of my favourite things: reading! Reading is great to improve your English but it's also a great way to improve your mood and venture into a whole new world.
Today's top tip: Read a book that you want to read. Either a new book or an old favourite. If you don't have any books in your house then ask an adult to sign up to Twinkl.co.uk (it's free at the moment) where they have plenty of e-books and even some audio books like this one if you'd rather listen to a story than read one https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/tg-au-10-back-to-earth-with-a-bump-audio-book
Date: 1st Apr 2020 @ 10:52am
Happy Wednesday everyone!
I don't know about you but 2 of my favourite things in the world that always make me feel good are animals and travelling. While I can't travel now, I thankfully have my 2 rabbits, Rupert and Angel, to keep me company at home. Here is a picture of them underneath!
So since I can't travel right now, or see any other animals, I am doing these things in a different way: by looking at this website all about wild animals around the world https://gowild.wwf.org.uk/
It has information and activities about lots of different animals from lots of different regions (Year 2, it has a section on Polar animals which would link nicely to your topic right now!) so you can virtually travel round the world. It even has drawing and photography competitions that you can enter and have your work appear on the website!
I particularly like this activity to make Amazon animal hand shadows https://gowild.wwf.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Amazon-hand-shadows.pdf (although I didn't have much luck trying to take a good photo of mine. Perhaps you can do better than me and send one to your home learning address?)
So your wellbeing challenge for today is to choose your favourite area or animal from the website or even complete one of the activities and send a picture or just a bit of writing about it to your home learning e-mail address if you would like to. Or pehaps enter one of the competitions on there and tell us all about it.
Mrs Glover
Past challenges
A big thanks to Zainab in reception for sending in a picture of her brownies. Well done Zainab, they looked delicious!
And thanks to Miss Iqbal who sent me her picture of what makes her and her family smile that she did wih her son Adam! You can see it below:
Date: 1st Apr 2020 @ 10:22am
Happy Wednesday! We're half way through the week.
I hope everyone is okay and managing to get a balance of working hard and having fun. If you are feeling a little sad or even bored then why not have a short break from your learning to do something nice for your grown ups at home? It always makes me feel happy to make someone else happy.
Top tip for today - Do something nice for an adult at home. You could make them a picture or card, help with jobs like cleaning, doing the washing up or gardening (you may need to ask about some of these!) or just give them a compliment to make them feel good.
Let us know if you've managed to do something nice for someone by e-mailing your home learning email address.
Date: 31st Mar 2020 @ 10:45am
Hello everyone!
Today's challenge is something that I often enjoy doing when I'm feeling a little sad or worried about something.
Today I am challenging you to cook or bake something! If you can't do it today then why not plan something to make later in the week or even at the weekend?
Take a look at this website that has plenty of easy and healthy recipes to look or see if you can invent something that includes the contents of your fridge or cupboard! https://www.nhs.uk/change4life/recipes
Yesterday I made these cheese scones for me and my husband to have for lunch this week (they're not very healthy but they're very tasty and it's okay to have a little treat once in a while! 
)
Make sure you ask an adult to help you with any cooking or cutting and don't do anything before you check it's okay!
Have fun,
Mrs Glover
A big thanks to Miss Kenwell for sending me a picture of her sunshine yesterday (pictured below), she put my drawing to shame! 
Date: 31st Mar 2020 @ 10:02am
Good morning!
I don't know about you but I feel like I'm sitting down a lot more than I usually would be at school so it's important to take lots of little breaks to get you moving!
Top tip for today - Every hour, try to get up and have a little stretch! Here's a little 5 minute stretch video with a few dance moves thrown in to get you up and moving! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM4b-w66wpk
Or why not make up your own stretch or dance routine?
Have a good day! 
Date: 30th Mar 2020 @ 11:42am
Today's challenge is to draw your own sunshine then in the middle of it write or draw all the things that make you happy.
I've done one if you would like to look at it for ideas (although your drawings may be a little better than mine! ) and have focused on all the things I can still do or see, even while we're in this strange situation .
Stay safe everyone,
Mrs Glover
