Learning to Learn review

Some lovely praise recieved for Learning to Learn: how to teach children with learning difficulties or autism to learn by Merete Hawkins.
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"Merete has written a book that is clear, comprehensive and practical. You will learn so much about such an interesting area of early development whilst learning how to implement it that you will just have to give it a go, and you won’t be disappointed when you do."

Josh Connick, Head of Early Years and Primary Explorers, Brookfields School

Merete's book is brimming with ideas for practical activities for parents, carers and teachers to use with young children and children with special educational needs.

Learning to Learn - full Review
This book gives you everything you need to start doing with your own practise what it wants for your pupils – learning by doing. Learning to learn is something that needs to be seen in action, and indeed needs to be seen. As Merete articulately explains throughout her book, when you pitch a Waldon activity at the right level for the individual you can see it immediately, not least in their engagement.

I was introduced to the Waldon approach in a setting that is centred around relationship-based education, so for me it felt unusual to see asocial lessons focused on cognition that resulted in genuine enjoyment by the children. Very quickly, I was hooked. I have seen pupils of a wide range of ages and abilities within our SEN setting, some of whom struggle to engage purposefully at all, suddenly really enjoy a couple of bowls, some plain wooden blocks and a teacher nearby adjusting it on the go. Before I knew the theory, it felt a bit like magic!

Once you become accustomed with using the “theme and variation” concept, you will wonder how you ever managed as an SEN teacher without Merete Hawkins showing you how to wield Geoffrey Waldon’s approach. Our setting have adopted it as a fundamental approach across the Primary department, and we have seen how important cognitive development through effortful movement is to children becoming active learners.

Merete has written a book that is clear, comprehensive and practical. You will learn so much about such an interesting area of early development whilst learning how to implement it that you will just have to give it a go, and you won’t be disappointed when you do.
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Josh Connick
Head of Early Years and Primary Explorers
Brookfields School
 
26/05/2020