The Wonder and Bloom Blog
Learn more about Wonder and Bloom and our take on all things learning.
Meet the face behind Wonder and Bloom
Hello,
Thank you so much for clicking the link and taking the time to read my bio.
My name is Chantelle but some of your children may recognise me as Miss Fuller or even “The Imposter/ Miss Fuller 2.0”. I am a mum of two small and perfectly wild children and a former Primary School Teacher.
Teaching is an incredible and fun profession but, let’s be real, it is extremely demanding and consumes your whole being. Whilst I truly admire all of my fellow colleagues who manage to teach while having littles of their own, it wasn’t working for our family.
I’m still extremely passionate about learning and so I decided to start Wonder and Bloom. Now I have the opportunity to really support children on a 1:1 or small group basis. Now I can really invest the time to make sessions completely individualised to ensure the best outcomes and really instil a love of learning in all of my students. My ethos with all things, learning included, is to use the perfect mix of love, research and intuition. If you’re looking for some support for your primary aged kiddo then drop us a message or use the contact form here.
I have a degree in English Literature and a genuine love of Shakespeare and the written word. So, if your older ones are grappling with these tougher texts and need some extra support then send us a message or use the contact form here.
Have any more questions about my experience or how I can help, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. I can’t wait to hear from you!
Preparing for a New School Year
I know it feels like summer has barely even begun thanks to our completely indecisive British weather but if you're anything like me, you're already thinking about the start of the new school year.
Here are some tips on how to get your child prepared for their return to school:
Routines and Rhythms
If all semblence of schedule went out of the window at the start of summer (hey there freedom!) then now is the time to start getting some routines back into your day to day. Morning routines and bedtime routines are so important for our children but also for our own sanity as parents and caregivers. Do your whole family a solid and get those routines back in place this week - a dress rehearsal for the real deal that is about to hit hard when the first day of the new school year comes around.
Reading
We know how important reading is but that doesn't mean our kiddos want to do it. If your little learners have left the books on the shelf all summer, get them reading for pleasure every day so that the pressure of reading daily again doesn't hit quite so hard. Let them choose what they read, read it with them and make it fun.
Emotions
Sone children are going to be super excited to get back to school, while others will have some real fears and anxieties. It is important to talk about the range of emotions that your children are feeling, to reassure them and to help them work through those feelings. And if you are anxious about your child going to school, make sure you talk about your emotions with a trusted adult too. Help your child find something to get excited about from seeing friends again to using new stationary (hello inner child), we can all find something to get excited about!
Consider a Tutor
This is a little bit of a shameless plug here I admit! But, if your child is worried about being behind or hates a particular subject because they feel like they are not very good at it, hiring a tutor can help them build some confidence and find enjoyment in their learning. Contact us here to let us know how we can help.
Natural Learning - No Need to Complicate Matters
One of the reasons I wanted to start Wonder and Bloom was to heighten the profile of natural learning. The school system is set up in such a way that often ignores opportunities for natural learning yet we know that children learn best when they are engaged; when they have a genuine interest in the topic; and most importantly, when they are having fun! This is exactly why natural learning is the best way for our children to learn.
So what is natural learning?
I think the best way to explain this is by highlighting an example of how this works in real time.
My almost 3 year old and I had just returned home and I had promised him that we could have a go on his electric ride-on bike when we got home so that’s exactly what we did. Once the battery had run out on his bike, my little wildling didn’t want to go inside and took himself off to collect pebbles at the front of the house.
I sat close by and watched as he began collecting the bigger stones and placing them into an empty plant pot. He brought his collection over and began to line them up.
I said to him, “Wow, you’ve found lots of rocks”. Interestingly, he had decided to call these bigger ones rocks and the smaller ones pebbles and I’m unsure where he got that distinction from. “Can you count them?”
So we counted them together. I then asked him if he could tell me what was different about them. He began to describe the different colours. We then started talking about which ones were rough or smooth and he accidentally discovered that he could use some as chalk. So he started to test them all out to see which ones he could draw with.
This all happened in the space of around 5-10 minutes. Now, if I analyse this learning with my teacher brain engaged, here are the list of things my 2 year old learnt in that short amount of time with very little input from me and absolutely zero planning:
- counting
- new vocabulary
- colours
- textures
- sorting
- testing materials
- categorising
- mark making
- new uses for natural materials
There was no “purpose” behind my little boy’s play yet look at how much he learned. I simply observed and facilitated the play with questions. As parents and caregivers we do this all the time! We probably very rarely notice that we are doing it. It is just part of being.
Whilst this example of natural learning involved actually being in nature, it doesn’t always have to involve nature. Natural learning can happen in the kitchen or while reading a bedtime story. It simply means that learning is an authentic experience which the child comes to naturally.
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