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Time spent indoors doesn’t need to be boring! Between Good books Fantasy: Ranger’s Apprentice series, John Flanagan • Septimus
Netflix shows and social media feeds, it’s the perfect time to Heap, Angie Sage
read that book you always said you’d get round to. To make “I do believe something very magical can happen when you Adventure: The Lost Prince, Frances Hodgson Burnett • The
things even easier, many books are available online, for free. read a good book.” – JK Rowling Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain • The Adventures of
Additionally, with an Amazon account or a Kindle, you can Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain • Kidnapped, Robert Louis Stevenson.
access hundreds of free eBooks. Classics: A Little Princess, Frances Hodgson Burnett • The
For a different experience https://stories.audible.com/ Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame • Great Expectations,
start-listen has many free audiobooks which have been Charles Dickens • The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
made available for as long as schools are closed. Younger Readers: Read with Biff, Chip and Kipper: Let’s
Stories stir the imagination; they allow you to escape your Recycle!, Roderick Hunt • The Railway Children, E. Nesbit.
surroundings into an alternate world. There are books for all THE SECRET GARDEN
ages, tastes, and in all genres. Just pick one and let yourself be Matching our ‘eco’ theme, The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson
transported… Burnett) is an enchanting tale exploring the growth of a
Have a look at some of our top recommendations: spoiled – but unloved – girl, who flowers into an independent,
AVAILABLE AS AUDIOBOOKS adventurous young woman. At first, Mary is ungrateful, torn
Littlest Listeners: Winnie the Pooh, A. A. Milne • Peter Rabbit, from an Indian life of servants and privilege, and thrust into
Beatrix Potter • Just So Stories, Rudyard Kipling. the unfamiliar English countryside under the care of her
Elementary: The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett mysterious uncle. New friendships and adventures blossom,
• Robin Hood, Howard Pyle • Sovereign, Jeff Hirsch. after Mary meets her cousin, Colin, a young invalid. Together,
Tween: The Spies that Bind, Ally Carter • Robinson Crusoe, Daniel • Listen to City of Bones, Cassandra Clare, in French (La Cité along with her friend Dickon, they delve deeper into the
Defoe • Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, J.K Rowling. des ténèbres). secrets of her new home, and its hidden garden…
Teen: Ties that Bind, Lensey Namioka • RAD American Women, • Have a look at Harry Potter, J.K Rowling, in German or Spanish. Any of Burnett’s novels are captivating classics – coming
Kat Schatz • Squint, Chad Morris • Do tigers drink blood?, Arefa Teshin. BOOKS AND EBOOKS from a deprived childhood herself, she found solace (as well
Classics: Frankenstein, Mary Shelley • Pride and Prejudice, Most of these suggestions can be found free online, and as much-needed income) from her writing. Her candid
Jane Austen • Hamlet (Dramatised), William Shakespeare. all of them have been recommended by us! emotions are only made more vivid by her experiences.
Foreign language audiobooks are invaluable tools to Nonfiction: Nothing to Envy, Barbara Demick • Prisoners of Other books recommended above, also by her, include A
improve listening skills or expand vocabulary. Geography, Tim Marshall • Chicken Soup for the Soul, Amy Little Princess – an almost autobiographical riches to rags to
• Try searching for a translation of a book you have read Newmark, Mark Victor Hansen, Jack Canfield • CGP Higher riches fairytale; and The Lost Prince – a thrilling story of secret
in English. Education books missions to save the throne of Samavia.
• Try out some fairy tales in other languages. Romance: The Real Cinderella, Yesenia Vargas ISABELLE
Green Quiz!
A few fun questions to keep your brain going in isolation: Gardening
1. What are three ways you can reduce your own impact One of the most fun ways in which you can help the
on the environment? environment is by gardening. Gardening is beneficial for the
2. What colour are Hydrangea plants when the soil is planet, because trees and plants absorb carbon dioxide,
acidic? And alkaline? and give off oxygen for you to breathe. Flowers and fruits
3. When is the best time to water your plants? also provide food and shelter for bees and butterflies, which
4. Why shouldn’t you suddenly add lots of water to your is very important. Although at the moment, gardening
plant pot if you’ve forgotten to water it? centres and nurseries are closed, you can still buy plants
5. What bush is nicknamed the butterfly bush? Why is it online, or maybe even just care a little bit for the plants
called that? already in your garden.
6. What’s the difference between RSPO palm oil and other One of the most important things to do in your garden is
palm oils? weeding. Weeds are little plants that you don’t want growing
7. What are air miles’? in your garden, because you want there to be enough space
Green Challenge! pretty though, for example daisies, so you don’t always have
and sunshine for your plants to grow. Weeds can still be
A few activities for you to try out… to pull them up.
1. Want to try out Meat Free Monday? Look up a few always best to water your garden in the early morning or in
Another important thing to do is water your garden. It’s
vegan recipes! When the soil is acidic, the flowers are blue, as seen in the
2. How many of the fruits and vegetables in your kitchen the evening, as doing it in the heat of the day brings the roots photo. But when the soil is alkaline, the flowers turn pinky-
have plastic packaging? Are there any you think might up to the surface and risks them getting scorched, which purple. If you have a garden you could plant a small
not need it? makes the plant unhealthy. In terms of a whole garden, a hydrangea. Plant a hydrangea in the back garden, and you
3. Pick five foods from your kitchen. Where are they sourced can work out what kind of soil you have. Hydrangeas are
hose is usually best, but with pots, use a watering can. If
from? How far is it from the UK? you’ve forgotten to water a pot for a few days, lift it up and bushes, so they get quite big, and need a lot of water, as well
4. What fruits are ‘in season’ during your birthday month? see how heavy it feels. If it’s very light, you need to water it, as a lot of space to grow in.
5. What are some ways you could exercise at home? want to flood the pot. Gardens are wonderful. You can eat meals outside, play
but take your time and water it slowly bit by bit, as you don’t
6. What’s your favourite song to dance to? Try choreo- games, watch wildlife and have all sorts of fun. Building an
graphing a dance! There are lots of amazing plants you can grow in your insect house is lots of fun, and there are kits you can buy that
7. Are there any books you’ve always wanted to read? Set garden, an example of which is a buddleia. Butterflies and allow you to make little homes for all the creepy crawlies your
yourself the most challenging one! bees love buddleia, and the plant is even often nicknamed heart desires. Or you can take photos of your garden. The
8. Can you pick up a new skill? Try your hand at arts and the butterfly bush! They produce tall stalks with cones of photos in this article were taken by me, although admittedly
crafts, make origami, or sign up to an online course! gorgeous lilac flowers, but they can occasionally come in not both in my garden. Whatever you choose to do in your
9. How many flowers can you name? What colours are they? yellow or red flowering varieties. (See the picture on the right garden, take care of it and help save the planet, just by
10. What kinds of plants can you grow on a window-sill? of a butterfly I snapped enjoying some buddleia). You should looking after your plants and the creatures that make them
Try growing small pots of herbs or cress by a window? plant these in the spring, so right around now, and ensure to their homes.
(Don’t forget to keep them regularly watered!) ISABELLE give them lots of water, as they are very thirsty plants, and Even if you don’t have a garden, you can easily create
they also like lots of sunlight. Why not plant some in a pot
one in your home. Window troughs can bring a little greenery
near a window and keep an eye out for all the different kinds
to your home, with very little work at all. You can plant flowers
of butterfly you can spot!
such as mini daffodils, which are very pretty, or trailing
goods travel (often by plane) before getting to us.
Another really lovely plant you can grow is a hydrangea. petunias, which trail from a trough like a waterfall from a
and responsibly farmed palm oil. (7)Air miles refer to the distance our food or other
This one is especially good for any budding scientists who
mountain. Another way to bring a garden inside is with
Buddleia – because butterflies and bees love it. (6) RSPO is guaranteed to be sustainable
want to carry out an experiment. Hydrangea plants come in
purple. (3)Early morning or evening – not during the day. (4) It might flood if you do. (5)
houseplants, which brighten up any room, and are
else that counts!). (2) When they are acidic they are blue; when alkaline they are pinky-
a range of colours, however what decides the colour of the
scientifically proven to help you relax.
reduce single-use plastic products, turn off lights if you’re not using them,(and anything
blooms is down to the soil.
produce, reduce your amount of plastic packaging, try to use sustainable palm oil,
JOANNA
Answers: (1) Any 3 from: eat plant-based foods, eat locally sourced foods, eat seasonal
Quarantine crafts: Homemade bird feeder
It’s really important to maintain biodiversity in our gardens. 5) Take your seeds and sprinkle them onto the peanut butter Maths
Especially living in a city it can be quite hard for many wild and make sure it’s all covered. Push the seeds into the peanut
animals to find food. This easy bird feeder will attract birds to butter gently to make sure that they stick. Private coaching in Hampstead Garden Suburb
your garden, which can be very exciting to watch! 6) Hang outside and watch the birds flock to your garden!
You will need: cardboard, string/wool, scissors, hole- *Note: If you have a nut allergy, then a great alternative to ✩ Common Entrance and 7+, 11+, 13+ ✩
punch, peanut butter*, a mixture of edible seeds (I used chia, peanut butter is cooked rice. Just mix the cooked rice with a ✩ GCSE, A level and Further Maths ✩
pumpkin, flax and sunflower). few spoons of water to make into a sticky paste. ✩ STEP and Oxbridge interview preparation ✩
1) Take your cardboard and draw some shapes (any shapes MADHU
you want). If you want your feeder to be longer draw Recent successes at Westminster and St Paul’s Boys schools,
more shapes. as well as Oxford and Cambridge Universities.
2) Cut out your shapes and hole punch them on the top Highly experienced former Head of Maths with B.Sc. Maths,
and bottom.
3) Cut your string to the desired length of your bird feeder 1st Class hons. degree from top UK university and experience
and thread it through each hole and tie a loop to in writing 11+ materials.
attach your shapes together. One-to-one support that will secure those A*s, grade 9s,
4) Take your peanut butter (or alternative) and top university, Independent or selective school places.
spread a thin layer onto each cardboard shape.
Contact: 07811 254061
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