This is a blog post written by experienced EYFS leader Sophie Pickles. The term ‘provocation’ is being increasingly used in Early Settings and with home educators across the country. At Mrs Mactivity, we are passionate about learning through play and we have been exploring what a provocation is, where the phrase first began and why you should be using them with your children… What is a Provocation? A provocation is simply an activity or… read more
Is your child’s imagination constantly running away with them? Are they always drawing on any scrap of paper they can find? After receiving 1,000+ amazing entries and over 20,000 votes last year, the competition that gives budding young artists a chance to let their creativity shine is now open for 2019. This summer, the BIC® KIDS Young Artist Award is giving proud parents across the UK and Republic of Ireland the opportunity… read more
Well! It’s here again and we couldn’t be more thrilled to be involved! Last year marked our first year as proud partners of World Nursery Rhyme Week, together with organisers Music Bugs and partners Piccolo Music, and now, we’re at it again! We have provided a plethora of free resources and activities to celebrate the week, which takes place from the 18th – 22nd November 2019. This year, to add to the… read more
For the tenth year running, Childcare Expo Midlands is preparing to return to Coventry to celebrate the show’s milestone birthday on 27th– 28thSeptember. Now the longest-running exhibition in the early years and primary education sectors, the organisers have announced that registration for the last event of the year is now open. Returning to the Ricoh Arena, Childcare Expo Midlands will host a number of inspiring speakers and special guests for visitors to… read more
Are you looking for easy Father’s Day cards and crafts to make either at home or school? We’ve put together our favourite ideas for Father’s Day this year with DIY gifts that dad will love! It’s always so much nicer to make your own DIY cards for Father’s Day as they are so much more meaningful and personalised for dad. It’s a great day for making a fuss of dad and all… read more
One of the questions we get asked quite frequently both as teachers and resource providers is – what are my classroom must haves? Obviously this differs between age groups, but we thought it might be useful to provide a sort of definitive list of some essentials you need for your classroom, especially useful if you are an NQT or just looking for some new ideas! Some of these resources we have, some… read more
This time of year is great for seasonal and celebration activities and Mother’s Day is one of our favourites. There are lots of Mother’s Day crafts and activities that kids love and that mum appreciates, and we’ve come up with our favourite Mother’s Day activity ideas that anyone can do. These ideas are simple, easy and full of fun. If you are familiar with Mrs Mactivity, you will know that we hand… read more
Phonics games are fun! And here’s one that’s super easy to make both for teachers and parents at home with their own children. We’ve put together an Obb and Bob Phonics Sorting Game resource pack for you to try, either for preparation for the Phonics Screening Check or just for consolidation in your phonics sessions. The pack contains “stickers” that can be cut out and stuck onto a suitable mini bin, as… read more
Do you want a fresh approach to the Phonics Screening Check 2019? Need some phonics screening resources that are a bit different to what you used last year? Then you’ve come to the right place! We’ve been working really hard to make phonics screening resources that give you the information and content you need, and that children love! All hand drawn by us. Here we go! Start with our super cool Phonics… read more
Coming up with Phonics play ideas is actually easier than it sounds! Since children who are learning phonics are usually in the 3-7 age range, it also makes total sense to make any phonics learning activities as fun and playful as possible. But how to do it – how can you make phonics fun and ensure that learning takes place too? We’ve come up with some great ideas that might help! Since the… read more
It’s time to get into Spring! The weather is officially looking up, the blossoms are coming out, rabbits are hopping in the fields and shops the world over are filling up with Easter eggs! What’s more, it’s a great time of year to engage kids, take on new aspects of learning and be inspired. As educators, there is nothing better than teaching something that you are genuinely interested in and excited to… read more
Since setting up Mrs Mactivity I’ve had quite a few messages from other teachers asking me about my change in career and asking for ideas for alternative jobs to teaching. Giving up teaching was the most difficult decision I’ve ever had to make. I loved being with children and can honestly say they gave me joy every single day. Yes there were hard days when I was tired or run down or had… read more
It’s Easter time – and we’ve lots of Easter craft cards to choose from – but if you want to make your own, we’ve got some instructions for you to follow to make the best and easiest Easter card EVER! You can choose to either download our Easter pop up card template – DOWNLOAD HERE – or you can draw your own designs and use plain card. The choice is yours! How… read more
One of the questions we get asked a lot at Mrs Mactivity is about our paper crafts – and this Easter, we are getting a lot of people asking the same thing – how to make Easter baskets out of paper. A few weeks ago, we were lucky enough to run a workshop at the incredible Childcare Expo in London, and met lots of lovely Early Years practitioners and teachers and guess what we… read more
As you know, we love fun and creative crafts here at Mrs Mactivity, and St Patrick’s Day is a perfect time to celebrate! We’ve got lots of fun St Patrick’s Day ideas, crafts and resources for all ages, that anyone can do. If you’re after some St Patrick’s Day worksheets, these might not be for you – but we are always open to suggestions and if there’s anything you need, please email… read more
Easter resources are so fun to make, and we love this time of year – there are just so many fun Easter crafts and activities that we can make – and we know children love them too. We’ve put together a list of our favourite fun Easter activities just for you – save time, be creative, have fun! Our Easter Lego STEM Challenge Cards are a great activity for all ages over… read more
Are you looking for World Book Day activity ideas, or perhaps World Book Day ideas for KS1 and KS2? We’ve done a round up of our favourite ideas that are easy and do-able for all abilities. World Book Day is a great excuse to get off timetable and really celebrate a love of reading – which I believe is the cornerstone of ALL learning. Encouraging a love of reading really is essential, and… read more
British Science Week 2019 is coming up on the 8-17th March, and we’ve got loads of ideas you can do either at home or at school, these ideas are either free or very cheap and what’s more, kids love them! We love these 5 minute STEM activities from The Brick Castle – lots to choose from and easy to do short ideas! A fun activity for all ages, this human body lift… read more
It’s half term – and that means the kids are off school, and you might be looking for ways to entertain the kids that don’t cost the earth, and preferably have some educational value too. Don’t worry, we’ve already thought of that! We’ve got some ideas that will keep the kids entertained for hours, and even provide an opportunity to spend some quality time together – should you so wish. Half Term… read more
Looking for fun and unique Valentine’s Day Activity Ideas for Kids? We’ve got loads of new ideas that kids love and that are also super easy for anyone to do! We specialise in super easy mess AND no mess ideas that engage kids for longer than two seconds and create something really beautiful to “take home” and keep. What more do you need? Valentine’s Day is a great time of year to really… read more
It’s here – SNOW! Your school or setting might be closed today, or maybe it’s open and you’re looking for snow ideas to do with the children. Or maybe you’re at home with your own children, and running out of ways to keep them entertained. So we’ve rounded up some quick and fun ideas to help take the chill (get it) out of days like this. Snow Day Activity Ideas Build a… read more
This is a guest post from the fabulous team at Childcare Expo – sign up for your free tickets for Childcare Expo London today! Childcare Expo London returns on the 1st & 2nd March with a series of free interactive workshops throughout the two days to inspire early years and primary education professionals. Taking place at Olympia London, the event will host a number of hands-on workshops designed to provide visitors with practical… read more
Mrs Mactivity are very excited to announce that we are once again teaming up with the lovely people at Childcare Expo and will be running a series of workshops at Childcare Expo London on the 1st and 2nd March 2019. We attended the Childcare Expo Midlands event in September 2018 and had a thoroughly awesome time, meeting lots of people interested in being really creative in their practice, and wanting to find… read more
It’s that time of year again – Chinese New Year – and there are so many possibilities! Chinese New Year is the perfect excuse to a) eat lovely food and b) get super crafty and inspire young minds – so what are you waiting for! Let’s get started! We’ve lots of easy crafts and resources that anyone can do – from age 3 and beyond. Best of all they require hardy any… read more
If you’re looking for World Book Day costumes for children and adults alike – you’ve come to the right place! While researching this blog post, I was actually quite surprised about how little there is in terms of inspiration on the internet. But to save you trawling round looking for ideas, we’ve done the hard work for you! Children’s World Book Day Costumes First let’s start with the kids. I’ve added a… read more
Many parents notice that when they give their child a present, they’re more interested in playing with the wrapping, rather than the present itself. It’s easy to get carried away with lots of expensive presents for young children, but actually children can be very imaginative and are pretty good at playing with FREE things you already have in the house – in ways you never even thought about! Treasure baskets are great… read more
Chinese New Year is one of my favourite festivals for lots of different reasons. First of all it comes just after Christmas when everything seems a bit gloomy, with not much to look forward to. It’s a great excuse to get together with friends and family, cook something a bit different and celebrate (again!). It’s also something quite easy to introduce to children – even if they are unfamiliar with Chinese culture…. read more
As a parent it can be difficult to come up with easy ideas for crafting – even though your kids really enjoy it and get a lot out of it. For me, I’m wary of setting up complex crafting activities when I know that setting up and clearing away often takes longer than completing the craft itself! So I’ve come up with some very easy no fuss Valentine’s crafts and card ideas… read more
It’s that time of year when teachers, childminders, parents and in fact anyone who works with children is looking for the perfect Christmas craft cards for kids. We’ve put together some of the best ideas on the internet to save you the bother! An ornament and a card in one! Super glittery idea here – Christmas card with little detachable tree decoration from Daisies and Pie. I love the textures on this… read more
Advent is almost here, and with it the chance to do lots of fun festive crafts to get ready for Christmas! With that in mind, we’ve compiled a list of 24 days of no mess Christmas craft and activity ideas suitable for both home and school, that anyone can do! With the cold weather outside, spend some quality time together preparing your own Christmas crafts and decorations to make your home or… read more
WOO! Not long now until World Nursery Rhyme Week, and we are delighted to announce that we are the proud resource providers – it’s going to be amazing! Over 2.5 million children have taken part in World Nursery Rhyme Week since its launch in 2013. Open to parents, Early Years practitioners and anybody who works with children under the age of 7, participation and resources are provided free. It takes place between the 19th and… read more
This Remembrance Day we’ve got some really inspiring and poignant crafts, worksheets, activities and resources to help children understand the meaning behind this important day. These resources are suitable for EYFS, KS1 and KS2 as they can be adapted to fit the needs of your children or class. Remembrance Day Information PowerPoint Use our Remembrance Day Information PowerPoint either for class assembly or as a way of prompting discussion with your class…. read more
Bonfire Night is a great time of year for inspiring children to do super fun arts and crafts – it’s the last BIG thing before Christmas apart from Remembrance Day here in the UK, though Thanksgiving is a great cultural event to bring into your practice too! Today, we’re going to show you some super easy Bonfire night arts and crafts ideas – some of them with absolutely no mess at all,… read more
This year we have had a PLETHORA of spare pumpkin – and squash seeds and I just hate the idea of wasting them! Squash (or gourd) is one of my favourite foods, and we were lucky that this year, Aldi chose to sell a ruckload of them for 39p each. I bought 10. But this left me with a HUGE amount of seeds, and so I turned to #TeamMactivity to see if… read more
Everyone loves Halloween in our house, it’s a great opportunity to get friends together and for the kids to have fun too. We’ve put together some Halloween recipe ideas, Halloween games and Halloween crafts that are super easy to do and best of all, kids and adults love! Halloween Party Food Ideas Try our toffee apple recipe to make a perfect Halloween treat. Make a pumpkin face crudite bowl using carrots, cucumber,… read more
This spooky mummy fingers recipe is a really fun and tasty addition to any Halloween party. It’s so easy to do as well, and adds a definite WOW factor to your Halloween party table. It also uses less pastry than a traditional sausage roll recipe – so you could even say it’s slightly healthy (!). Ingredients for spooky mummy fingers recipe an egg, whisked chipolata sausages a pack of puff pastry Method… read more
It’s toffee apple season! And in accordance to the law of Autumn, we’ve been happily munching through toffee apples like there’s no tomorrow! I’m assuming that toffee apples were invented as a way of getting rid of slightly over ripe apples in an appealing way, and let me tell you – I’m a huge fan! So in preparation for our Halloween party last night, I decided to make our own! Luckily we… read more
The clue’s in the title, but today we are going to show you how to carve a pumpkin with our pumpkin stencil printable! I’ve always been keen to improve my pumpkin carving skills, but never really managed to get the hang of it. Not being a hugely arty person, or maybe it’s just my hand control, my pumpkins always end up looking pretty mangled and not at all how my children expect them… read more
Halloween is a great time of year to get super artsy and crafty, and we’ve got lots of boo-tiful ideas to help your kids get creative over half term break, or if you’re still at school, something spooky and fun for the last few days of half term! Pumpkin Carving Stencil Tutorial Halloween Cardboard Tube Craft Halloween Pumpkin Paper Plate Craft Halloween Paper Cone People Halloween Friendship Bracelets Halloween Paper Chains Halloween… read more
A hugely important, but often overlooked aspect of school life is the well-being of its staff. As adults, are are well used to prioriting the well-being of children – both our own and the children in our care. But with more and more teachers leaving the profession (myself included) looking after the well-being of teachers – and in fact ALL staff in school, has become more and more of a priority. The… read more
Guided reading! Since I became a teacher back in 2005, it seems to have been the scourge of teachers everywhere. How should we teach it? What works best? Why does it take so LONG to plan? Does it even work? Should it replace reading 1:1? Should we teach guided reading in carousels, or as a whole class? Many many questions! Like most things with teaching, you’ve got to ultimately figure out what… read more
It’s time for another Halloween craft – and today we are making a Halloween Cardboard Tube Goodie Holder. I really like the idea of making crafts that are useful and can be utilised in some way as it creates purpose and meaning. Some of the crafts I’ve made with my children in the past have been lovely – but they often ask “what do we DO with it”, so with this in… read more
It’s Halloween time – and that means it’s craft time! For some reason, my favourite thing about Halloween is that it’s also pumpkin season. For me, pumpkins encapsulate everything that’s good about Autumn – harvest time, soups, warmth, nourishment – so many things! So this cute Halloween pumpkin paper plate craft is the perfect way to celebrate both harvest time and Halloween – whilst also providing a really cute bag to collect… read more
WOOHOO! Registration opens today for World Nursery Rhyme Week™ (19th – 23rd November), a global initiative that promotes the importance of nursery rhymes in early childhood development and education. This year Mrs Mactivity are proud to announce that we are the new sponsor of this event – along with Piccolo music and will be providing a core set of high quality resources free of charge, along with some additional World Nursery Rhyme Week… read more
As part of World Nursery Rhyme Week 2018, Mrs Mactivity has the honour of creating the core and additional resources to help teachers, parents and carers of under 7s to take part! Each day from the 19th – 23rd November 2018, a different rhyme will be celebrated, and this blog post is linked to the rhyme “Round and Round the Garden” – which we just love! Nursery rhymes are a great way… read more
Mrs Mactivity are delighted to have been invited to be the chosen resource provider for World Nursery Rhyme Week 2018! Over 2.5 million children have taken part in World Nursery Rhyme Week since its launch in 2013. The week is open to parents, Early Years practitioners and anybody who works with children under the age of 7. Best of all, participation is free! Mrs Mactivity has provided some additional resources and craft ideas to accompany… read more
Story spoons are a great tool for speaking and listening, cheap to make and so much fun too! In this blog post, we’re going to be showing you how to make some Humpty Dumpty story spoons to help you take part in the Humpty Dumpty rhyme for World Nursery Rhyme Week 2018, or just generally! Of course this craft doesn’t have to be just limited to that one rhyme, you can apply… read more
Here at Mrs Mactivity, we’re delighted to be a huge part of the World Nursery Rhyme Week 2018 celebrations along with event sponsor and our friends Music Bugs! In this blog post, we show you how to make some really cool playdough currant buns to help you take part in the rhyme “Five Currant Buns” – this is a really wonderful sensory activity that we know children love, and that develops language… read more
Welcome! As part of the celebrations around World Nursery Rhyme Week (19th – 23rd November 2018), Mrs Mactivity are providing additional activities and ideas surrounding the 5 rhymes for the week. In this blog post, we share an idea to go with the rhyme – A Sailor Went to Sea – and show you how to make a really cute paper plate boat craft! What you need one paper plate two craft… read more
I was sitting on a flight recently and had the chance to watch “The Greatest Showman” for the very first time. I find watching films quite difficult as I can’t seem to bear any suspense whatsoever, and this film was no exception, but I stuck with it as I knew it had a really powerful message and was worth the suspense. If anyone hasn’t seen The Greatest Showman yet, first of all,… read more
Although the clue’s in the title here, far be it from me to tell anyone how to spend their summer! Having said that, when you’re exhausted at the end of the term, it can be difficult to think ahead and even think straight! So if you’re after some top tips for how to spend your summer holiday this year, we’ve some ideas for how you can TRULY relax and ensure you’re invigorated… read more
Mrs Mactivity are VERY excited to announce our NEW giveaway with our friends over at BIC® KIDS! To celebrate the launch of the BIC® KIDS Young Artist Award we will be giving away this amazing stash of BIC goodies to one lucky winner! About the Young Artist Award – Returning this summer, the BIC® KIDS Young Artist Award is giving proud parents across the UK and Republic of Ireland the opportunity to see their… read more
We’re delighted to announce that we have been invited to run our very own workshop on the 28th September 2018 at Childcare Expo Midlands! Since starting Mrs Mactivity, back in December last year, the support for what we do has been absolutely overwhelming. We’ve always aimed to stand out from the crowd, and provide innovative and creative learning ideas and resources that kids genuinely enjoy – no more boring worksheets! To be… read more
Transition time! Good news is, that means it’s almost the end of term, bad news is, you have to say goodbye to your old class. This also means that it’s time to get to get to know your new class and find out what makes them tick so you’re all ready for September. Read on for our favourite transition ideas – tested and used by real teachers! Make a Transition All About… read more
Good news! Mrs Mactivity will be running a craft workshop at the Childcare Expo Coventry this September, more details to follow soon! But if you’re in or around the Manchester area, and you work in the Early Years sector, it’s definitely worth checking out Childcare Expo Manchester in the meantime. It’s only one month to go until Childcare Expo Manchester opens its doors for the third time at the ideally located Event… read more
The word “obsession” is usually used as a negative way – something that you can’t let go of, or something you spend an unhealthy amount of time invested in. I’m sure we’ve all experienced obsessions – clothes, shopping, exercise, a person, a job, For me, the word “obsession” although often used negatively, can actually be a positive thing. Maybe substitute it with “tireless”, “striving”, or “being the best you can be” and… read more
Today Mrs Mactivity has been super busy, as word is spreading about our unique unicorn paper craft idea, everyone seems to want in on the act! But what do you do with your unicorn craft once it’s made? We’ve got some ideas, but first here’s how you make it! Download from our new unicorn resources category! Print out, then cut around the lines as directed. Fold where shown, glue, then colour in… read more
We know hard difficult it is to come up with fun creative ideas that either a whole class can do, or that you can do at home with your own kids. Being quite an uncreative person myself, I decided to look for some mega easy ideas for Easter craft that absolutely anyone can do! No expertise required whatsoever. Ready to get started? Just click on the link on each craft to see… read more
Everyone loves a bit of printing – it’s easy, fun and anyone can do it! Preschoolers are especially fond of printing, and if you can do it with things lying round the house, so much the better. Today we’re sharing with you an idea for an Easter craft, that you can do easily with a cardboard tube. We cut a kitchen roll in half for the purposes of today’s craft, and you… read more
Who doesn’t like Easter chicks? They’re cute, yellow and mean that warmer weather is on the way – yay! Today we’re going to show you how to make a really cute and very very easy Easter Chick Plate Craft, this is a really good one for preschoolers as it involves scrunching up crepe paper, which younger ones love! (don’t forget we’ve got loads of ready made Easter resources as well!) Here’s what… read more
Easter fun for everyone! We’re bringing you a series of blog posts showing you just how EASY crafting can be, and how literally anyone can do it, you just need to have a go! Today we’re showing you how to make this really cute and very easy Easter Bunny Cardboard Tube Craft. Don’t forget we also have a range of ready made Easter resources that you can just download and print as well.)… read more
It’s been a crafty sort of day today! And we’re full of ideas of how to make really cute and very easy Easter crafts for everyone. This one really couldn’t be simpler, and it’s also good for those fine motor skills, picking up the bits and bobs and getting them in the right position. (don’t forget we’ve also got some ready make Easter resources right here!) Here’s what you need:- 2 craft… read more
Easter is one of my favourite time of years, not least because it gives me an opportunity to get really crafty, and at the same time eat a LOT of chocolate. I used to think that crafts were for only really creative people, or people with lots of time on their hands, but as long as you’ve got some basic materials, it’s actually really easy, and it’s also a good opportunity to… read more
We’ve been frankly overwhelmed by the support and wonderful comments we’ve received so far – from the teaching community, childminder community, parents, teaching assistants – the list goes on! We’re so grateful that people out there understand and appreciate what we do – our aim is to help make learning fun by any means possible, and really inspire children to engage with learning. Unlike many other resource sites, we hand draw all… read more
It’s been a few years since I left the teaching world full time, but I’m lucky enough to do the odd day here and there still to keep my hand in, but one of the most important skills – time management – has never left me. I don’t think non teachers (and TAs) know exactly what it’s like to manage your time as a teacher. There are no leisurely hours checking your… read more
It’s every parents worst nightmare – when you ask your child how their day went at school, to get the response, “I’m always on my own at play times, no-one will play with me. I’ve got no friends. No-one likes me.” I’ve had a very similar experience with my own son and it’s utterly heartbreaking. You really want to help, but it’s difficult to know what to do, after all, you can’t force… read more
Life is so busy these days, there are times when it’s a huge struggle to even listen to one of my children read after school – let alone all of them! So I’ve decided to try and work reading more into every day life so it becomes a natural thing to do – rather than a “right, it’s time to read now!” sort of thing – which never goes down well when… read more
Things are moving quickly at Mrs Mactivity and we’re working hard at providing you with really high quality free educational resources for your home or school setting. But don’t take our word for it! We’ve already been picked up by a range of influential bloggers who already love our hand drawn whimsical resources – read more here! Jennifer’s Little World Welsh Mummy Blogs and we also made some exciting pre school science… read more
We’re really pleased to see you, welcome to our community! We are a collective of ex and current teachers and designers who are passionate about changing the world through high quality educational resources. We know that educating kids is tough as we have kids ourselves. We know you’re short of time and that the bar has been raised in terms of what is now expected of our kids at school. We’re here… read more
