Salty Sam’s Fun Blog for Children
Number 515
Learning New Things
Hello Everyone
Ever since the Big Bang at the beginning of time, the universe has been expanding; the universe likes growth.
Growing yourself is a child’s most important every day job.
When my Auntie Alice is teaching the children how to do things she shows them first. This is called ‘at the elbow’ teaching.
lt is sometimes much easier to watch someone do something, then get them to watch you doing it, than learning from a book.
While they are watching you, they can give you help and advice. This help and advice is called feedback; and it is important that you listen to it.
Someone giving you help is a shortcut to learning, finding out for yourself can be a long struggle.
Practicing what you have learnt is important too. Getting better takes time, and you don’t have to expect to be perfect.
Auntie Alice tells the children that the word ‘fail’ stands for first attempt in learning. ln other words, you shouldn’t give up if you can’t manage to do something first time around.
Miss Pringle tells her children at the Rocky Bay Primary School that if she gave them a lesson where they knew all the answers it wouldn’t be a very good lesson.
The children might feel proud of themselves for knowing all the answers, but they would not have learnt anything and expanded their knowledge.
lf the children know all the answers on a test after having the lessons to teach them what they are being tested on, that is a different matter.
When you are at school you may learn lots of things that you think you are never going to need in life. You don’t really know yet whether this is true or not, do you?
For example, when you learn how to find the area of a square or oblong in your maths lesson, you may use this kind of calculation when you are grown up and need to know how much paint or wall paper to buy to cover the walls of a room.
The most important thing about going to school is to learn how to learn.
Lots of people in the world are not lucky enough to go to school.
When you are working out in a gym you are building your muscles with exercise. When you are learning, you are building your brain. When you make mistakes you learn from them and maybe you might need to think up a different strategy to use.
This is similar to resistance training for muscles. Muscles build when they have something to push against.
A different strategy to use might just be a weird and wonderful idea that nobody else has thought of yet. You might want to cry when things go wrong or have a good night’s sleep before you try again. lt is alright to do this as long as you don’t give up. Everybody fails sometimes. Sometimes you have to be brave and step out of your comfort zone; challenges help you to grow.
Effort makes you stronger, and pride in your own success builds self-esteem. People can encourage you, but they can’t put learning into your head, only you can take it in; and that takes concentration. Don’t be jealous of successful people; admire them, and try to be like them if they have what you want to have or can do what you want to do.
lt is okay to not know something and it is okay to ask questions.
Sometimes, people feel shy to ask questions in class because they don’t want to look like the one fool that does not understand something. But maybe the rest of the class is thinking the same way. Maybe you want to ask a question that will get a response that will further everyone’s understanding. You will be doing everyone a favour.
ln the past, scientists thought that when you got to a certain age your brain did not really have good capacity for learning new things.
They now know that a brain can learn new things for as long as it is alive.
Yay!
This is called neuroplasticity. (That means that a brain can change and grow.)
People will maybe stop learning new things because they just believe that they can’t. That is a shame. You need to keep an open mind to new possibilities. New things that come unexpectedly can be opportunities to learn too.
Once you can read and look up new words in a dictionary, you can learn about anything you want to learn about by yourself.
Even some adults have difficulty reading. This is a sad fact. But if they can’t read very well, they can learn things by listening – like on You Tube.
So attitude to learning is incredibly important and seeking out the right help too.
Learning is a long journey and we now know that it is a journey for a whole life time.
Learning is probably that biggest reason why your soul came to live a life on Earth.
lf you like my blog, please support it by telling all your friends and followers about it.
Thank you!
And see you again next Fun Friday!
Love and kisses
Salty Sam
www.christina-sinclair.com
Bill and Bob’s Joke of the Week
Bob: Did you know that the Puritans hated singing and dancing?
Bill: l’m not sure about that. l know one kind of music that they liked.
Bob: What was that?
Bill: Plymouth Rock!
Salty Sam © Christina Sinclair 2015
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of material from this blog without express and written permission from this blog’s author and owner is strictly prohibited.
Links may be used to www.christina-sinclair.com
Picture Gallery
Having good manners make you likeable
THE SALTY SAM NEWS DESK
We are having a family party this weekend. We have a lot to celebrate.
Auntie Alice’s business and Bill and Bob’s mum’s business are both doing very well.
Bill and Bob’s dad has just got a new job. But he hopes to set his own business up in Rocky Bay soon when the accountant Adam Upp retires.
Emily, Henry, Bill and Bob are doing well at school.
Bill and Bob’s vegetable patch did well. They got a few crops from it and got busy in the kitchen.
Emily’s artwork and crafting has improved and she has read a lot of books.
Henry has had a wonderful year looking at the night skies. An extra tiny moon has visited our planet. There have been four supermoons, two comets, meteor showers and the Northern Lights coming down south far more than they usually do!
The children have sold and planted hundreds of trees to help save the planet.
Captain Jack’s trips around the lighthouse are very popular and my blog is doing well too.
I think we will all be getting to bed late!
This week, we have a knitting pattern for a phone sock.
If you had a phone for Christmas, you may well want to knit it a new home.
NEWSDESK MINIMAKE
A KNITTED PHONE SOCK
SMALL PHONE SOCK
Using 4mm knitting needles and black dk yarn cast on 20 stitches
Knit 2 rows of garter stitch
Knit 2 rows of stocking stitch
Change to pink dk yarn
Knit 2 rows of stocking stitch
Repeat the last 4 rows 11 times
Continue in pink
Knit 2 rows of stocking stitch
Knit 1 row
Knit 1 row
Knit 1 row
Purl 1 row
Knit 1 row
Knit 1 row
Cast off
SMART PHONE SOCK
Using 4mm knitting needles and black dk yarn cast on 20 stitches
Knit 2 rows of garter stitch
Knit 2 rows of stocking stitch
Change to pink dk yarn
Knit 2 rows of stocking stitch
Repeat the last 4 rows 11 times
Continue in pink
Knit 6 rows of stocking stitch
Knit 1 row
Knit 1 row
Knit 1 row
Purl 1 row
Knit 1 row
Knit 1 row
Cast off
TO MAKE UP
Using over-sew stitching and the appropriate colour yarn with right sides together sew along base and sides
Crochet 55 chains into a length of pink yarn and thread the cord into the channel at the top of the cover
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Recipe Spot
This recipe is a classic cocktail. You may like to try it out if you are having a New Year party. lt is non-alcoholic, so suitable for children to drink.
lt is called Shirley Temple, named after a famous child film star of the 1930s.
Fill a tall glass with ice cubes
Add grenadine to cover the bottom
Top up with ginger ale
Decorate with a slice of orange and a cherry
lt’s the Weekend!
HOW TO MAKE A DUVET SET FOR A DOLL’S HOUSE
If you have a new dolls’ house, you may want to make some accessories for it.
The nice thing is, of course, that you can choose a colour of yarn that matches the décor of the bedroom you are making soft furnishings for.
This will fit a bed about 8cm wide. If you want to make a set for a bigger bed, cast on an extra 2 stitches for every extra 1cm width that you need.
PILLOW (KNIT TWO)
Using 4mm knitting needles and white dk yarn cast on 13 stitches
Knit 12 rows of stocking stitch
Cast off
TO MAKE UP
- Using over-sew stitching and with right sides together sew up top and bottom seams
- Turn the pillow the right way out
- Using over-sew stitching and with wrong sides together sew up one side seam
- Stuff the pillow
- Using over-sew stitching and with wrong sides together sew up the second side seam
- Secure all ends and neaten
DUVET TOP (KNIT TWO)
Using 4mm knitting needles and pink dk yarn cast on 18 stitches
Knit 22 rows of stocking stitch
Change to white dk yarn
Knit 6 rows of stocking stitch
Cast off
DUVET BOTTOM (KNIT TWO)
Using 4mm knitting needles and pink dk yarn cast on 18 stitches
Knit 28 rows of stocking stitch
Cast off
TO MAKE UP
- Using over-sew stitching and with right sides together sew up bottom and side seams
- Turn the duvet the right way out
- Using over-sew stitching and with wrong sides together sew up the top seam
- Secure all ends and neaten
Please note that the material on this blog is for personal use and for use in classrooms only.
It is a copyright infringement and, therefore, illegal under international law to sell items made with these patterns.
Use of the toys and projects is at your own risk.
©Christina Sinclair Designs 2015
