Thursday 16 April 2015

N is for Noise, Nurture and Needles


Noise - for some children too much noise can be distracting and sometimes even painful.  I have noticed that by withdrawing groups not only can everyone hear what each other is saying but the level of distraction dramatically drops.  The children when questioned about the best place to work will often say they prefer to work outside the classroom where it is quieter and they can concentrate.  Something we need to bear in mind when teaching :)
Can you work in a noisy environment?  What type of noises set your teeth on edge?

Nurture - this topic can become contentious.  I can only go with what I see in the classroom and sometimes I can see that the way the child might have been nurtured has had adverse effects on their ability to learn.  At other times, it is clear that the difficulties facing the child stem from more medical (nature) based issues.  Nurturing in the right way can be a very effective system in catching children up with their peers and addressing behavioural issues but parents must be brought on side to maintain the work and encourage their child.

Needles - there are many different needles available to the crafter - those for darning, embroidery, tapestry, stitching by hand or by machine and of course knitting.  I have recently been introduced to easy threading or self-threading needles as I am beginning to find my eyesight is starting to go and as I do not yet to go down the route of wearing glasses, threading my needle is becoming more of a problem!!  
Something else I like to do is to collect old knitting needles - they remind me of my Grandma (on my Dad's side) who was always knitting something or other and as a small child I was always warned to stay away from the needles so of course they became rather fascinating :)



This freebie looks like it could be N is for Nuts but actually it's N is for Number Bonds (addends)



2 comments:

  1. I have a collection of needles that I inherited from my Nan. Some of them don't have matching pairs but I can't bring myself to part with them.

    One thing I've seen done in classrooms to help control the volume is to play some gentle music. Teachers then turn it up and down depending on how much chatter is allowed, with the instruction that they must be able to hear the music. I thought it was a neat idea. :-)

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  2. I like the idea of playing gentle music & its volume controls the volume in the class - I have used music whilst children either draw or write at times and this has certainly kept children's noise levels low come to think of it :) I like that you have an inherited needle collection - and odd knitting needles DO come in very handy at times so definitely don't get rid!!!

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