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Thanks, that’s really helpful

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Hi - I meant to comment on a previous comment you wrote about reading which was very useful. I got the phonic set of 7 books on ebay for about £13 for my grandson. Talking to a retired remedial teacher, she liked the books and emphasised the importance of connecting sounds and actions to go with them as children learn most effectively through multiple approaches. Out of that discussion came the importance of poetry. Do you have any poetry books you found particularly good for three year olds - particularly boys. I am not aware of any that cover trains, diggers, space or cars??!!

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Hmm. Our boy loved the book Car Car Truck Jeep which is a vehicle song/poem to the rhythm of Baa Baa Black Sheep. I’m not sure if it’s poetry…! For a book, I would recommend This is the Seed That Grew the Tree, which is all nature based and full of lovely pictures. The children like it a lot. They also liked listening to us (or mostly their dad) reciting grown up poetry even though it must have gone over their heads. I think they liked the rhythm of it. Elizabeth Bishop’s Filling Station is vehicle-themed! Ooh also the Goodnight series - Goodnight Digger, Goodnight Spaceman etc. Not exactly Keats but the children love them.

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> Then I look at the British Government’s National Curriculum for each school year that my children are equivalent to. I hate this bit, because the National Curriculum excels at taking ten pages to say what could easily be said in one.

Here in the United States I looked at the Common Core requirements for a similar reason. Not only does it take ten pages to say what could be done in one, but it's so full of academic jargon it's essentially useless. Gave up pretty quick.

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They are deathly. It’s a shame, because the subject of what a child could learn is so vast and wondrous. Although national curricula are vast they are certainly not wondrous!

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