Monday 18 March 2013

Drip, drip, drop little April...oops wrong month

It's another rainy day in Kent and spring has yet to sprung.  There is even talk of snow... again.  Bang goes turning off the heating yet!

It's been a busy week or so.  I have been working on the next Larry the Liger story and I am truly loving writing about him.  He has been so well received and it is lovely to hear what everyone thinks of the stories.

My daughter's school has done well for visitors recently.  I enjoyed reading to them during Book Week and they also got to meet children's author and illustrator Anthony Browne and played his Shape Game.  It's lovely that the children at the school remember me and say hello when they see me too.  Today they had Dr Raj from CBeebies programme Get Well Soon!  He is a friend and colleague of one of the other mums.  Ella's been talking about life cycles since she got home from school so he definitely made an impact.  They also recently got to meet a policeman, looked inside the police car and tried on the uniform.  They met a member of an airline's cabin crew too and heard all about what they do during a flight.

I don't remember my primary school education being so varied with so many visitors talking about what they do.  What a great way to learn about the jobs people do and why they do them.  The practical things always had more of an impact on me during my time in education that's for sure - I would have loved all those visits! 

Another huge change since I was at school is the level of technology used within schools.  One of the most impressive to me is the interactive white boards and tablets the children use.  They also have a computer suite that the children get to use regularly.  I think it's great the schools are embracing technology and introducing children to it from the start of their education.  After all they will be using it a lot more than we can imagine by the time they leave school many years down the line.

With Ella being in reception, her first year of school, I have been taken back to what it's like to experience all those new things, such as making new friends, adapting to spending the day at school and following new rules.  It definitely helps me write the Larry books imagining and remembering what it is like.  Maybe I should be worried how easily I can regress?!

The world of education has changed a lot since I was at school and technology has progressed massively in those (few!) years since I was at school.  The future is exciting and technology will advance even more no doubt.  It's particularly exciting to think that ebooks may well become mainstream one day.

Larry the Liger will be there to be read as an ebook for years to come and that's a very exciting thought despite the black clouds outside :)

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