Simon Smith

Principal, Learner, Teacher, mad about children's books, Views are my own. #PrimaryPicBookClub.Proud to be part of the @enquiretrust. Raring to go!

[Simon Smith @smithsmm]

Just updated this post to include all my picturebook recommendation links.

It has 3 lists for Year 3-6.

A picturebook biography list and list of picturebooks bout loss.

Hope it’s useful.

https://t.co/hlAlJ7Nz1K

[Simon Smith @smithsmm]

@DowningAndy Absolutely

[Simon Smith @smithsmm]

Teaching is gloriously human. It’s noticing the raised eyebrow, the hesitation, the spark of understanding. It’s knowing when to pause, push, explain or simply listen. No script or App can replace the craft of a great teacher.

https://t.co/f94OVX7VXB

[Simon Smith @smithsmm]

@mileshuntTWS Great but the only one I haven’t got on vinyl is construction. Will probably buy these though.

[Simon Smith @smithsmm]

Sharing as my boy is performing in this production of Tosca by the @E_N_O. He definitely knows how to throw a good punch!

https://t.co/wSRqGf6ipk

[Simon Smith @smithsmm]

@TheShakes72 @msjulianneregan Saw them last night, first time since 1994. They were brilliant

[Simon Smith @smithsmm]

@vagabond_76 Seeing them tonight in Whitby!

[Simon Smith @smithsmm]

Halloween. The perfect excuse to revisit my teenage goth years. The Cure. Sisters. Nephilim. The Mission. 🖤🦇 I was always too happy to be a proper goth though. Big hair ✅ Pale and interesting ❌ Far too tanned and healthy-looking. #WhitbyGothWeekend

[Simon Smith @smithsmm]

@iycrtylph @kennygfrederick And now this has been reclaimed by the upper class and the routes for working class to get into the arts have all but disappeared.

https://t.co/EcAsN2LZ2a

[Simon Smith @smithsmm]

The longer I’m in education, the less of an expert I feel. Experience hasn’t given me all the answers, it’s shown me just how complicated the questions are. I’m increasingly baffled by anyone who speaks about teaching and learning with absolute certainty.

[Simon Smith @smithsmm]

@RobCrossley4 Wrote about the impact for us here… https://t.co/JqUfHTEwG5

[Simon Smith @smithsmm]

Ayrshire in autumn. Pine and bog-myrtle on the air, hills glowing gold and rust, silence stretching for miles and those vast, open skies. Wild, beautiful and good for the soul.

[Simon Smith @smithsmm]

@f33lthesun @FrancesHardinge @PaulWat5 She is one of my favourite writers…always throws you off kilter

[Simon Smith @smithsmm]

Absolutely loving Frances Hardinge’s “Traitors’ Nest”. What a writer. A wonderfully strange world of moving castles, power, manipulation, friendship and a sinister Magpie Maiden. Inventive, thoughtful and gloriously odd. Exactly why Hardinge is such a special storyteller.

[Simon Smith @smithsmm]

@theeducakers Wow! Where is that?

[Simon Smith @smithsmm]

@arkavx Read the book. It’s all in there!

[Simon Smith @smithsmm]

Glorious, moody, dramatic post storm Scottish morning at Loch Doon. Embracing middle-age with a flask and a cup of tea!

[Simon Smith @smithsmm]

@jonnybid @PaulWat5 @Misterbodd @RobCrossley4 @Teacherglitter @primaryteachew @MrsNCleveland @checkemoutbooks @SlatteryMr Talking of fab Sci-Fi for children, just read this by @RossAuthor. It’s a rip-roaring adventure about what being alive means. Just brilliant.

[Simon Smith @smithsmm]

@jonnybid @PaulWat5 @Misterbodd @RobCrossley4 @Teacherglitter @primaryteachew @MrsNCleveland @checkemoutbooks @SlatteryMr Personally loved this really clever stuff. It also had an extraordinary ending for a children’s book. Love the I am Wolf series too.

[Simon Smith @smithsmm]

@llewelyn20 Not a bad place to be a headteacher so I here ;-) Enjoy mate. Personally in Scotland hunkering down with a log fire and a fine Malt. Hopefully out for a walk tomorrow too!

[Simon Smith @smithsmm]

Where’s the buzz? Great teaching needs evidence, consistency and strong routines. But it also needs personality, judgement and a little bit of magic. Enjoying the writing process again, my latest blog on why we shouldn’t take the “teach” out of teaching.

https://t.co/my68VFelon