Well, the football World Cup has started and England have played their first match. It seems the majority of people are split in to two groups. Those who couldn't care less and can't wait for all the fuss to be over, and those that have already rearranged their schedule so that they can watch every match without interruptions.
So how are we coping here at Daisy Education HQ? Well, I kind of fall in the middle. Personally I don't follow football, but we have students who do, so why not utilise that interest? It would be a wasted learning opportunity not to! Here are some ideas to get you started if you have a child who's football mad and want to exploit that too...
Children who are interested will happily read articles on the World Cup. Get them to read and explain them to you, which will help their comprehension. Ask them to explain football terms to you. Ask for their predictions and get them to explain why they think that.
If you have an older child you can start looking at probability. All betting works on probability. Or, if you don't want to introduce the idea of betting to your children, simply look at fantasy football leagues. For younger children, look up the scoring system and see if you can work out who is going to win each group. After a few matches it can often be quite obvious if a team is going to win or will find it impossible.
Why not read some football related stories? I love Wonder Goal! by Michael Foreman, which is a beautiful story, and Cinderboy by Laurence Anholt and Arthur Robins, which is both funny and cleverly written. You could write a football poem or create your own football terrace chant. You can also join in with us on Twitter and Facebook as our Weekly Wonder this week is football related!
That's just a few ideas, but as I always tell parents, follow the children's interests. If they love it, adapt the work to fit. You and they will achieve more.
So how are we coping here at Daisy Education HQ? Well, I kind of fall in the middle. Personally I don't follow football, but we have students who do, so why not utilise that interest? It would be a wasted learning opportunity not to! Here are some ideas to get you started if you have a child who's football mad and want to exploit that too...
Children who are interested will happily read articles on the World Cup. Get them to read and explain them to you, which will help their comprehension. Ask them to explain football terms to you. Ask for their predictions and get them to explain why they think that.
If you have an older child you can start looking at probability. All betting works on probability. Or, if you don't want to introduce the idea of betting to your children, simply look at fantasy football leagues. For younger children, look up the scoring system and see if you can work out who is going to win each group. After a few matches it can often be quite obvious if a team is going to win or will find it impossible.
Why not read some football related stories? I love Wonder Goal! by Michael Foreman, which is a beautiful story, and Cinderboy by Laurence Anholt and Arthur Robins, which is both funny and cleverly written. You could write a football poem or create your own football terrace chant. You can also join in with us on Twitter and Facebook as our Weekly Wonder this week is football related!
That's just a few ideas, but as I always tell parents, follow the children's interests. If they love it, adapt the work to fit. You and they will achieve more.
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