Year 2 articles

Fables tell us a story and teach us a lesson at the same time and we've been hearing them, retelling them and writing them for over two thousand years. We explain how primary-school children learn about fables and Aesop in our guide for parents.

Many parents find helping with school work challenging, and it can be even harder if you're not a native English speaker. So how can you help your child to do their best?

Introduce your child to the world of chemical reactions, crystallisation and chromatography with the right chemistry set for every age and stage. From pre-schooler test tubes and safety goggles to pipettes of luminol and alcohol burners, we've picked great kids' chemistry sets for every budget and every budding chemist.

Contracted words or contractions are used every day in spoken and written English. Help your child keep them straight with our parents' guide, including complete listings of the common contractions children learn to spell in Year 2 and throughout Key Stage 2.

Reception and KS1 children all learn cardinal and ordinal numbers. We explain how your child will be taught to count and sequence numbers correctly and suggest practical, fun activities you can try at home to support your child's early mathematical learning.

Can you tell your hexagons from your heptagons? Your octagons from your decagons? With the help of educational experts, we explain how polygons are taught in primary school, with examples of regular and irregular versions of each multi-sided shape.

You'll be spoilt for choice choosing new books for 4-11 year olds this Christmas. As well as the blockbusters in every bookshop window (welcome back Wimpy Kid, Percy Jackson and Ruby Redfort!), we've fallen for this bumper crop of great reads, from picture books to read out loud to scare stories to shiver under the covers with. Whatever your child's reading ability, these stories are unmissable. Happy reading!

Make the most of family outings by choosing one of our parent-recommended museums. For fun, story-telling, literary inspiration and creative opportunities visit the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre.

Does your child struggle to hold their pencil correctly? Handwriting tutor Michelle van Rooyen explains how a pencil grip could help with their handwriting.

Want to directly influence your child's school experience? Jackie Cutchey explains why becoming a parent governor benefits you, your child and their school.

Your child will be taught how to form the different letters of the alphabet differently, according to the ‘movement groups’ they fit into. Our explanatory video shows you how to form all letters (Long ladder, Curly caterpillar, One-armed robot and Z for Zig-zag monster) correctly, stroke by stroke.

Help your child form each letter of the alphabet correctly with our step-by-step and stroke-by-stroke videos, with experts from the National Handwriting Association. In this video we look at the One-armed robot letter family: r, n, m, h, b, k and p.

Help your child form each letter of the alphabet correctly with our stroke-by-stroke videos, with experts from the National Handwriting Association. In this video we look at the Long ladder letter family: l, i, u, t and y.

Could a writing slope or an adaptive grip help improve your child's handwriting? Occupational Paediatric Therapist Catherine Elsey explains how to use commercially available handwriting aids in our handwriting advice video.

A step-by-step video guide to establishing a good seating position for comfortable handwriting, with expert advice from the National Handwriting Association and an explanation of why postural stability is vital for children.

Support your child's pre-handwriting development in nursery and Reception with fun activities and play, all designed to help build essential motor skills and hand muscles. Our video features experts from the National Handwriting Association, sharing practical ideas you can try at home.

Help your child establish great handwriting habits from Reception and KS1 with our expert advice video for the parents of new writers. From the correct pencil grip to paper positioning and posture, the National Handwriting Association's Catherine Elsey explains what to look out for and how to make immediate improvements to help your child.

Video advice and tips to help establish a good handwriting position, including details of the dynamic tripod grasp (the ideal hand position for writing) and why it's best for children to hold their pencil in this way when they're writing.

Does your child struggle to hold their pencil correctly? Our handwriting tips video offers expert advice on correcting pencil grip and establishing the ideal dynamic tripod grasp, with tips from the National Handwriting Association.