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September check-up
Inside the classroom with Claire Bagnall, our educational advisor. Claire offers her insight as a teacher, what happens in September with reading assessments and how you can help support your child’s reading journey. As children settle into their new schools and classes, educators’ minds are now turning to the outcome of baseline assessments, which help […]
Flashcard defence!
The dreaded summer slide – Claire Bagnall, our educational advisor shares her insights with how to avoid this and still have fun – with flashcards! After the difficult year we’ve all had, children are enjoying an especially well-deserved summer break. This down time is an important opportunity to develop social skills, enjoy time with family, […]
Bringing reading to life
We asked Claire Bagnall, our educational advisor to share her thoughts on the new addition to our Cubs level – puppets! And how this helps bring reading skills to life. When I heard that The Bear Can Read were introducing puppets to their Cubs boxes, I was really excited about the benefits that these would […]
How to help a reluctant reader
Our education advisor, Claire Bagnall shares her insider tips from the classroom on how to support reluctant readers. During my many years in the primary classroom, I observed a trend which was to continue regardless of which cohort of children I had in front of me. My observation was that the boys I taught, in […]
Five top tips for keeping your children reading at home
As part of our association with Oxford University Press, Camilla – founder of The Bear Can Read shared her tried and tested ways she uses when reading with her three children (ages 2, 5 an 8) on Oxford Owl. We thrilled to share her insights here too! You’ve done it. We’re here – the last […]
The impact of the pandemic on learning
There been lots of discussion in our Bear Cave about how we can help bridge the gap in our children’s learning after our year of lockdown. Our Educational Advisor Claire Bagnall, shared with us her thoughts on how we can support our children this summer. I wasn’t surprised to hear the findings of recent research […]
Screen-free activities
With Easter holidays upon us, we ask our Education Advisor Claire Bagnall to share her thoughts on screen-free activities to help keep your little bears busy. Here are some of her ideas – we hope they help! With restrictions continuing due to coronavirus, there is more pressure than ever on parents and carers to keep […]
How to help your children navigate their way out of lockdown
Educational advisor Claire Bagnall shares her thoughts on how we have help our children navigate their way out of lockdown. She is a regular contributor to our blog page and loves receiving boxes for her children from The Bear Can Read every month. It hasn’t been long since the last lockdown, I was writing about […]
What should you give your child for Christmas 2020?
For anyone interested in giving the gift of reading this year, your can easily take out a subscription for a family, friend or your own children. We are happy to include any notes in the first box and send it out to arrive in time for Christmas! Use the code Pearson5 to get your first […]
How books help children manage their mental health
A recent report by the BBC highlighted some fears over growing mental health issues amongst children due to missing out on lessons and the lack of socialising throughout the pandemic. We thought we would ask Claire, who is an educational advisor and passionate about mental health, to share her thoughts. As we progress towards winter; […]
How do I know my child’s reading level?
Phonics books are a great way to practice reading, but how do you know if the level is right for your child? Our expert Catherine shares an easy way to assess your child’s reading level at home. Your child probably brings home levelled reading books from school. Most schools use a reading scheme of some […]
Physical Books vs eBooks
What is better for your child’s reading? This week, our contributor Claire tells us why she prefers physical books over e-books when reading with her children. Although 2020 has been extremely difficult in so many ways, most of us are very fortuante to have had access to technology, which has so richly enhanced the learning […]
3 Ways to Read with Toddlers
This week, school teacher and mummy Paula from Montessori Playing shares three easy ways to read with your toddler. Reading is so fundamentally important to the developing toddler brain. Before they can recognise a letter or word, children fall in love with the sound of language and stories that expand their imagination, lexicon and understanding […]
Have a coffee with The Bear
We know you are busy, so we’ll make this quick. Our bite-sized articles are perfect when you have just a few spare minutes between packing lunches and picking up the kids from school. Put on the kettle and fetch yourself a biscuit as you browse through our posts. Content written by our members for you […]
Five minute learning activities
We are excited to have Claire Bagnall, blogger at Mum’s Essentials, talk about some quick yet effective ways to boost your child’s learning on those busy school days. Many of us find the prospect of supporting our child’s learning at home a daunting one, and none of us more so than when anticipating the possibility […]
8 Ways to Make Reading Fun for your Child
As adults, we know the pleasures that reading can bring. Whether you like curling up on the sofa with a page-turner, relaxing in the bath with a magazine, or reading around the topic of your favourite hobby, you’re probably already fully aware that reading can be fun! For children who are still learning to read, […]
Five reasons we love phonics
At The Bear Can Read, we’re big fans of phonics! It’s the quickest and most effective way to teach children to read, so what’s not to love? Phonics makes it easier to achieve our goal – fun, fluent, and stress-free reading for every child. But we’d go further than that and say that learning to […]
Sound buttons – what are they and how do they help?
Teaching phonics can be quite daunting, both for you and your little one, therefore we want to help you every step of the way to make reading both fun and educational. Need a refresher on phonics? Check out our handy phonics guide for parents! Today, we will be covering sound buttons. While your child learns […]
How schools teach reading: A guide to phonics
Don’t be fazed by phonics! It might sound complicated, but the method schools use to teach reading is actually pretty simple and there’s plenty you can do to help your child at home, too. Our expert at the Bear Can Read is here to help you understand phonics so you can provide your children with [...]