Locally sourced

Emma Wilkinson cards

p Hand illustrated decorations: £7

For unique Christmas gifts and cards with a distinctive south of the river flavour, look no further than Crystal Palace and Penge local Emma Wilkinson (@bymorethanldn) whose bright, bold collection of illustrated gifts and linocut print artwork is inspired by her favourite things, namely the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs! 10 percent of all Emma’s dinosaur item sales go to Friends of Crystal Palace Dinosaurs to help support the dinosaur statues in the park. Read more here: https://cpdinosaurs.org/donate/

The artist also organised a local Art and Found Day earlier this year, featuring many local makers, around Crystal Palace, Penge and Norwood, which she hopes to do again in 2022.

Buy Emma’s art from Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/ bymorethanldn?ele=shop_open or direct from Instagram @ bymorethanldn

Linocut prints from £10 p

Illustrated and printed plant pots from £10 p

Boosting your child’s homework confidence

We’ve all been there..... it’s evening time and you find that your child is resisting doing their homework. So now, in addition to being a parent, provider, chef, taxi driver, etc, you get to be the homework enforcer. (P.S. it’s a thankless job) David Carnochan Centre Manager of Mathnasium in Dulwich, who specialise in teaching mathematics, speaks with parents regularly and they tell him what works. Here are his top 5 tips.

1/ Environment

Create a homework friendly area with keys materials like pencils, paper, textbooks etc at hand. Try to ensure this is well lit and away from distractions like TV & Video games

2/ Establish a schedule Get them into a good habit. Form a routine and agree guidelines such as assignments must be completed before play time or TV.

3/ Be a mentor & a motivator While its important children take ownership of their homework it really helps to show interest. Ask about assignments and quizzes. Get them to show you their work and solicit feedback. Help them make a plan if they have a lot of work.

4/ Praise their work Acknowledge their efforts, recognise improvements in concentration, handwriting or recent marks. Maybe agree a treat if work is completed on time.

5/ Don’t be scared to ask for help. Many schools have a homework portal on their website. Ask about availability of extra study sessions / clubs. If regular challenges persist talk with your child’s teacher. David explains that Mathnasium, (The Maths Learning Centre) help students catch up and get ahead in maths by making it fun. Their highly trained tutors also set aside time at the conclusion of lessons to provide support with school homework, so the student feels better prepared, transforming homework frustration into a welcome challenge. dulwich@mathnasium.co.uk ∙ www.mathnasium.co.uk/dulwich ∙ 0208 299 1171