We have had a successful start to the Summer term with the children all refreshed and eager to learn.
Our focus story for the next few weeks is a traditional tale, The Three Billy Goats Gruff.
The children have been learning to retell the story as part of our ‘talk for writing’ teaching. They are learning the words superbly and I hope your child will be able to tell you the story at home.
We talked about key words and phrases within the story. The children asked some very interesting questions: ‘Why did the troll want to eat the billy goats gruff?’, ‘Why did the billy goats gruff want to eat the grass on the other side?’, ‘Why were they hungry?’, ‘Why wouldn’t the troll let them go across the river?’ ‘Why did the troll live under the bridge?’.
The children have also enjoyed listening to different versions of the story kindly brought into school by their friends. If you child has a copy of The Three Billy Goats Gruff at home we would love to read it in class.
A big thank you on behalf of Mrs Solakova, Mrs O’Connor, Mrs Reid, Mrs McConnell and myself for the generous Easter gifts we received at the end of term. We are blessed to have such a kind and thoughtful school community.
I hope you are all enjoying the break and looking forward to celebrating Easter over the coming days.
Good Friday is nearly upon us and I thought I would share some ideas to help your child understand the meaning of Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
Now is a chance for you to reflect on your child’s Lenten Promise. You may wish to encourage your child to make a special effort for the last few days. It is a time to grow more like Jesus; in goodness, kindness, helpfulness and loving.
Explain to your child that Good Friday is a special day; when Jesus dies on the cross. This is a sad day but part of God’s plan; he came into our lives and showed us the path to follow. Without Good Friday we wouldn’t have Easter Sunday, a happy day.
You may wish to challenge your child to make a cross. In my experience, children come up with some very creative ideas, I am often presented with crosses made from Lego, sticks, boxes etc.
Enjoy hot cross buns and explain to your child about the cross on the bun. We held our own hot cross bun party just before the end of term.
If you haven’t already done this, look at your child’s Bible and read the Easter story. Here is a video version which may help:
As we all know, Easter Sunday is the resurrection day when Jesus comes alive. The Holy Week thus ends with the celebration of Easter Sunday. The children made ‘He has Risen’ Easter cards to share with you on this special day. Have a look in your child’s book bag if your child has forgotten to give the card to you.
Below are some ideas for Easter activities:
Easter Activities
I am sure you will all be enjoying delicious chocolate eggs! We explain the symbolism of the egg and new life to the children by telling them it’s like the egg is the tomb; break open the egg just like Jesus when he breaks out the tomb.
Make a paper mache egg.
Mix up a proportion of flour and water to a gluey consistency. If you have PVA glue this is good to add too.
Blow up a balloon or use some other egg shape object.
Dip strips of newspaper into your mixture and cover the egg.
Leave to dry and decorate.
Find stories of the people who saw Jesus in those first few days.
Make an Easter garden. Again, go with your child’s creative ideas. It could be made out of Lego, recycled materials, grass cuttings, leaves, twigs etc. This will also be useful to support your child when we start learning about Pentecost upon our return to school. As you will see in the second photo, we made our own Easter garden in school to help the children learn the Easter story.
I am sure you will all be thinking about fashioning some form of an Easter Egg Hunt. This could be either in your home or outside. Possible clues your child could read using their knowledge of phonics (tricky words to learn by sight are in bold):
Under the mat.
Next look on top of a bed.
Go to the peg box.
Look in the pots and pans.
On top of a hat.
In a mug.
Look in your coat.
Meet Dad by the shed.
Perhaps you could number the eggs. Tell your child how many eggs they need to find. A great problem solving activity eg. ‘So we’ve found numbers 2, 6 and 9. What other numbers do we need to find?’
Lastly, I hope you have been able to access Church services online www.rcdow.org.uk. If you are able to watch an Easter Service talk to your child about the Church colours. In class we talked about purple being is the colour of Lent, preparing for Easter. Now it’s white and gold!
We’ve had a fantastic week at school and the children have now settled into a good routine.
Our first mystery guests joined us this week via Zoom. The children were so excited! They learnt all about St. Patrick’s Day and listened to a hilarious story about a hippo. Both of these ‘parent visits’ stimulated lots of discussions and investigations about snakes and hippos.
Please do let me know if you would like to join us. Perhaps you could talk about your job or hobby to help us widen the children’s experiences. However, a little story time is just as much fun.
We’ve also been focusing on learning behaviours and developing the language of ‘how I am learning’. The three main characteristics of learning taught in early years are:
Playing and exploring – children investigate and experience things and “have a go”.
Active learning – children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties and enjoy their achievements.
Creativity and thinking critically – children have and develop their own ideas and make links between ideas.
Our class learning super heroes help us talk about how we are learning:
Wonderful Explorer, Brilliant Learner and Super Thinker
Encouraging and praising your child at home will really support their attitude to learning in the future. Here are some of the children’s ideas: ‘I kept on trying to balance on the wobbly board’, ‘I thought of an idea’, ‘I decided to try another way’, ‘I changed my mind and did it a different way’.
You may also be interested in this lovely book we have been reading in class “It’s Okay to Make Mistakes” by Todd Parr.
Todd Parr embraces life’s happy accidents and has a passion for making readers feel good about themselves, encouraging them to try new things, experiment, and dare to explore new paths.
Finally, in Letters and Sounds the children are revisiting digraphs (two letters/one sound) introduced over lockdown home learning. I’ve collected Letters and Sounds books to update. These will be returned next.
Wishing you all a wonderful weekend and looking forward to another fun week with your children next week.
Thank you for preparing your children so well for their return to school. They have settled back into school life amazingly well. Indeed, it was difficult to choose the Head Teacher’s Award today and I, therefore, decided to present it to the whole class for being enthusiastic learners.
Our main focus has been reminding the children of the class routine in terms of organising their own belongings, preparing for lunch time, tidying up and getting ready to go home at the end of the day. We have also concentrated on learning through play to allow the children time to rekindle friendships and use of the learning environment.
The happy boxes have been a great success, allowing the children to develop their language skills whilst reconnecting with home. To quote one of the children “If you feel a bit sad, you can have a look at them”.
On Tuesday the children enjoyed participating in PE and learnt how to collaborate together playing parachute games. Getting ready for PE required a lot of concentration and perseverance. Supporting your child to dress and undress independently will really help increase your child’s confidence.
We continued our learning about the season of Lent and the children listened to Luke’s story (based on Luke 2: 51, 52.):
The children have been sharing their Lenten promises. Thank you to all those parents who sent their child’s Lenten promise to me via Tapestry. If your child has not yet shared their Lenten promise with me, perhaps your child could bring into school a picture to help them talk about their Lenten promise.
Wishing all the mums a very happy Mother’s Day. The children made cards which you will find in their book bags – they decided upon their own decorations and they are very much from their hearts.
It’s a strange feeling to be posting the last home learning blog before we’re all together again at school. You have all been amazing and I shall miss hearing about the children’s antics at home. However, I will certainly continue to post blogs on the class page and I hope we can still work together to create a history of your children’s achievements through their Learning Journals on Tapestry. We always enjoy sharing home learning activities with everyone in class.
Personal, social and emotional development
Managing emotions
I know a lot of the children are excited to be returning to school, as indeed I am! This week we have focused on the children’s well-being to make sure everyone is ready. I hope the strategies suggested will help those that may need a little extra boost. However, please feel reassured that we will start our week at an easy pace, playing together and getting used to being at school again.
As well as the top ten comforts mentioned yesterday, having a toolbox of weapons against those times when anxieties feel overwhelming is extremely helpful.
If your child is super-creative, encourage them to use that. The positivity of their creativity is by no means limited merely to situations when they need to manage their worries about school and the new normal. With their creativity often comes a wonderful sense of humour, there’s nothing more therapeutic than laughter. Let their imagination run wild, as long as the focus is positive; really encourage their magical thinking, it will go such a long way in helping them through.
Suggest going to different lands, visiting imaginary friends, being any animal they like. Your child could write, draw, daydream, whatever they want. If your child is feeling at all worried, use their stories to create fantastical imaginative solutions. Perhaps your child is superhero who saves the day and everyone is safe and together again.
We would love to see any pictures created by the children at home. If you haven’t had a chance to create a ‘happy box’ with your child yet, a picture to bring into school and share with their friends will be just as good.
Plan activities to do in the evenings and at weekends for the first few weeks, to give them something to look forward to and remind them they will have time to spend with you.
Establish a routine ‘family feedback’ time which makes it normal for everyone to air and share worries from their day, as well as the fun things. This could happen over dinner time and involve questions like, ‘What was the silliest moment of your day? What was the most interesting thing you did today? Did anyone say anything kind or mean?” This also encourages your child to talk about their feelings.
Story books are also a good way to support children with a range of emotional issues. Stories can give a child a framework so they know what to do when confronted with certain situations.
You can search on Book Trust for story books about worries or anxiety.
I will post a video later today for the children to see our classroom. Hopefully this will help children feel excited and confident, knowing what to expect on the first day. It should also provide an opportunity to talk about any specific worries.
Religious Education
The joy of gathering to listen to God’s word
We will be exploring this story at school. I thought it may be nice to introduce it to your child to give a little head start and help your child feel confident to join in with our discussions.
The picture below shows a story from the Bible, Mark 10: 13,14-16.
Jesus loved everyone, he was kind and gentle. Parents and carers brought their children to Jesus for him to bless. Some people thought the children should not be bothering Jesus. But Jesus loved all the children and said ‘Let the children come to me.’ So the children gathered round Jesus and loved being with him. Jesus loved the children.
Questions to ask your child:
Why did the children want to be near Jesus? Would you like to be there too, why? What did some people think? What do you think Jesus said to the children? What does the story tell you about Jesus?
If your child is at all apprehensive about coming back to school, help your child take control and feel the positivity that it can bring. Try compiling a list of all-time favourite comforts. Perhaps their favourite film or book will be up there (both are great forms of escapism), or even their favourite teddy or old toy. Other contenders might be their favourite comfort food, the place in the house or garden where they always feel calm and safe, or even an old blanket that they used to cuddle (or still do).
Whatever makes the list, the mere act of compilation will have shifted focus onto positives, and they will, at the end of it, have a list to look forward to after school. You can also use the list at other times when a little emotional boost is needed.
At school, we will be spending time to check in on your child’s well-being and take a few moments out of the busy day to learn relaxation techniques. These are useful tools for your child to use when necessary, they are also great for adults too! Check the ‘Safe Hands Thinking Minds’ website (address below) which includes free videos by Dr Karen Treisman explaining some of the techniques.
A reminder of a game that the children know from school.
What’s the Sound Mr Wolf game?
You will need:
• Your child’s word bag. • Lots of space – outside is best.
What to do:
Take out tricky words (star shapes) from the word bag.
You will only need the other high frequency words for the game (words that can be sounded out)
• Stand your child several large paces away from ‘The Wolf’ (parent). • Pull from the word bag a word and ask your child to sound it out. • Your child will then say the sounds loudly as they take strides forward. • Make sure your child takes just one stride per sound. • Choose another word and repeat. • Once your child is close enough to The Wolf, turn round and shout ‘dinner time!’ • The wolf chases your child who runs back ‘home’ and start again. Agree where ‘home’ will be prior to beginning the game.
I normally stand with my back to the children and turn round each time I say a word.
You can also swap places with your child who becomes the wolf and reads the words out to you.
For support
• Check the sounds with your child by clapping them first as you say them together.
• Show your child how to take one step per sound for each word before he or she begins taking their paces.
For challenge
Try these words which focus on sounds we have learnt recently:
igh – n-igh-t, f-igh-t, b-r-igh-t, f-l-igh-t
air – ch-air, s-t-air, p-air,
ear – h-ear, f-ear, c-l-ear
This would also be a good opportunity to discuss word meanings and encourage your child to say a sentence which includes the word.
World Book Day
Below are activities to celebrate World Book Day.
Show Your Shares!
The theme of this year’s World Book Day is Share a Story.
St. Adrian’s is inviting everyone to join in with SHOW YOUR SHARES.
A story share could be: a picture of your child sharing a favourite nook, reading in an unusual location, sharing a story with a pet, reading a book dressed as their favourite character, and more!
Remember to keep safe, where-ever you share your story and send the photo to me via Tapestry so that I can add it to the school ‘Show Your Share slides’.
Take a sneak peek inside the 2021 £1 World Book Day books
Follow the link and use the brilliant ‘look inside’ feature to help your child choose which book to exchange for the £1 World Book Day token!
Revisiting the happy times your child had at school and their unique educational successes is a great way to prepare your child for our return to school. Share your child’s Tapestry learning journal with your child and look at all their wonderful achievements at school.
Perhaps your child could send me, via Tapestry, a video to tell me all about what they are looking forward to once back at school. This will also help me ensure that the classroom and resources create a welcoming start for your child.
Wear your school uniform for the day
The children loved this idea when preparing to return to school following the first lockdown period. It helps cultivate an excitement about going back to school and also familiarizes your child with the feel of the uniform again.
Maths/Physical Development
Bunny ear game
Research shows that finger use is an important factor in developing connections between numeral quantities and symbolic representations, as well as giving support for making sense of calculations. This activity not only develops those mathematical skills but will also help your child manipulate their fingers and strengthen those all-important finger skills.
Try the activities below which are in order of difficulty.
Say to your child ‘Show me three fingers’. Then ask for 5, 2, 4 and 1. Follow this by asking your child to do the same with their other hand.
Watch to see if your child is counting the fingers each time or can they quickly ‘throw’ the correct amount of fingers.
Model ‘throwing’ fingers to help your child to move on from lifting fingers one at a time. Say ‘Watch me as I can flash a number on my fingers’. Flash a finger and say ‘1’ as you throw out 1 finger, repeat for 2, 3, 4, 5. Then ask your child to try and flash 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Repeat in random order.
Ask your child to show you 2 fingers. Ask how many more to make 5? Repeat for 1-5. Ask again using the other hand.
If your child is confident doing all of the above, explore doubles. Model to your child and ask him or her to join in. Make 1 on one hand and 1 on the other. Push the hands together and show your child 1 and 1 makes 2. Ask your child to repeat with 2 and 2, 3 and 3, 4 and 4, 5 and 5.
Ask your child not to look at their fingers, make a finger pattern for 3 and hold their hand behind their head. This is called ‘Bunny Ears’. After they have done this, your child can look at their hand in front to check.
Repeat the ‘bunny ear’ game using two hands. You could ask questions such as ‘Show me double 2’ or ‘Show me numbers that make 5’.
Children want to feel assured that their parents and carers can keep them safe. One of the best ways to achieve this is by talking openly about what is happening and providing honest answers to any questions they have. Explain what is being done to keep them and their loved ones safe, including any actions they can take to help, such as washing their hands more often than usual.
Below is a link to an interactive resource to support and reassure children aged 7 and under, it is designed to help children explain and draw on the emotions that they might be experiencing during the pandemic. It is a lovely short book which provides a child friendly explanation of the COVID virus. You will notice at the end it says ‘while doctors help to find a vaccine’. This, of course, is a little out of date and the good news is that doctors are now ‘working to give everyone the vaccine’.
At school we are, of course, playing our part to ensure your child is safe. When the children joined Reception in September, we dedicated time to teach the children how to wash their hands thoroughly. They learnt the following song and handwashing procedure:
Please revisit this video at home and check your child is washing their hands correctly. Being confident washing their hands on the first day will help give your child a good start and boost self-esteem.
Personal, social and emotional development
Talking about feelings
An important part of your child’s learning is how to express emotions and find solutions to problems. It is worthwhile taking the time to talk to your child about the return to school and explore any worries. Here’s some tips on how you can explain feelings to your child in a way they’ll understand so they can learn to manage them.
Be Aware
To support your child with their emotions, begin by watching for any changes in their behaviour eg. facial expressions, body language, posture, and tone of voice.
Set a good example by talking about feelings and emotions in order to help your child build a vocabulary of different feelings.
Encourage your child to talk about their feelings and emotions.
Connect with your child
You can use emotional moments as opportunities to connect with your child.
Allow your child to have their feelings without dismissing, disapproving or avoiding.
All feelings are okay, but not all behaviour is okay.
Listen and tune-in to your child
Your child will feel more secure when they are allowed to express their feelings.
Take time to stop, breathe and get curious.
Tune-in to the feelings underneath your child’s behaviour.
Take 5 long slow breaths to help you feel calm.
Check what’s going on for you. Has your child’s behaviour touched a nerve for you? Has it made you feel frustrated? Angry? Scared? Helpless?
Name your child’s feelings out loud
Your child will feel more secure when their feelings are heard.
Naming emotions helps to soothe and regulate your child’s brain.
Ask, rather than telling, them how they are feeling. If they’re not sure, offer suggestions for them to consider.
Set limits and problem solve together
You can allow all of your child’s feelings while still setting clear limits on behaviour.
Corrections should only be put in place when feelings have been acknowledged and when everyone is calm.
Where possible involve your child in problem solving, especially as they get older.
Think ahead about tricky and potentially overwhelming situations and be prepared to help child through them. Please let me know if I can help in any way. Send a message via the School Office of through Tapestry.
Letters and Sounds
Revisiting the Phase 3 Sounds
Revisit the sounds learnt at the end of last term and during this lockdown home schooling period. They are all listed below. I have also posted cards on the Memo section of Tapestry. You may like to print these if you have a printer available. The pack includes a ‘match the picture to the sound’ game.
Play splat the Sound
This is a popular game we’ve played before using the word bags. However, it can be adapted to revisit sounds.
You will need:
Sounds listed above. You can just jot them down on separate pieces of paper.
Something to splat the words eg. wooden spoon or your child can just use their feet.
What to do:
Spread out the sounds on the floor.
Call out the sounds.
Ask your child has to stamp on the sound, or hit the sound with the wooden spoon.
Swap places with your child and ask your child to call out the sound.
Play countdown
Again, this is a game we’ve played before whilst learning to read words.
You will need:
Sounds as above and a timer
Explain to your child that the object of this game is to say as many sounds as possible before the timer signals ‘stop’. I suggest perhaps 1 or 2 minutes.
Repeat the game, the objective is for your child to beat their last score.
For extra challenge
Being able to recall what the sounds look like and writing them down is the next step. If you feel your child is super confident recognising and saying the sounds, play ‘count down’ by calling out the sounds and asking your child to write as many sounds as they can before the timer signals ‘stop’.
I hope you’ve all had a great weekend in the sunshine. Please continue to enjoy daily exercise and outdoor activities. Enjoying outdoor activities not only benefits children’s emotional wellbeing but also encourages an active life style.
Please also feel reassured that doing the simple things as a family, such as preparing meals together, helping with the washing, sharing a book and having cinema time at home are just as important in terms of your child’s home learning.
This week we’re going to focus on ‘getting ready’ for school. I have, therefore, reduced other home learning activities to allow parents and children time to relax and adjust in preparation for our return to school.
Personal, social and emotional development
There will be mixed emotions about our return to school next week. Some children will be excited whilst others may feel a little apprehensive. I am sure this is the case for parents too.
Please feel free to contact me either via Tapestry or the School Office if you have any concerns about the return to school. In particular, please let me know if you feel your child may require extra support or if there is anything that I should be aware of prior to our first day. It is important to me that all parents and children feel supported and our first week is a happy time for all.
Happy box
Please create a ‘happy box’ with your child ready to bring into school on Monday, 8 March. We will display the boxes in the classroom for the children to share with each other. This activity is not only great for language skills but will provide a link with home that your child can revisit during the day at school.
You will need:
An empty food packet/any kind of box that can hold a few things. No larger than a shoe box.
What to do:
Start by talking about being happy. What does happy look like? What does happy feel like? Make some happy faces together, maybe looking in a mirror. Draw a smiley face. When they smile or feel happy, do they feel it anywhere else in their body – warm tummy, tingly toes?
Explain that you are going to make a Happy Box – in it you will put 3 things that make you feel happy. You could model this by having your own Happy Box to show them. Talk about the things you put in it and why they make you feel happy.
Ask your child what makes them feel happy? What would they like to put in their box – e.g. a pebble, a photo of Nana, a special toy. Together, go in search of 3 things. Use lots of happy words – smile, laugh, giggle, warm, cosy, joy, cheerful. Chat about why they have chosen each thing.
Your child can put the things in their Happy Box. They might want to decorate the box first – you could talk about what colours make them happy and use felt tips/paint matching their happy colours.
You can refer to the box every so often. Perhaps if your child is feeling sad and needs cheering up, you could suggest you look in their Happy Box and choose one of the things to look at and talk about. Or if they find something else that makes them feel happy, they could add that to the box later.
Top tips:
Don’t include any precious items just in case of loss or damage
Limit to 3/4 items
Box no larger than a shoe box
Name the box and items in the box
Maths
This activity will build on your child’s ability to subitise (recognise the amount of objects in a group at a glance without counting). Your child will also to learn that a whole number can be created by combining small parts.
You will need:
A dice Collection of objects eg. dinosaurs, buttons, bricks, pasta
What to do:
Show your child a familiar dot pattern, e.g. the five on a dice. Check they instantly recognise the value.
Ask your child to copy the pattern with objects. Initially use the same objects to make the pattern.
Ask your child ‘Do you see any familiar dot patterns within the dinosaurs?’ Your child may answer ‘Yes I can see a 2 on the top’ or ‘I can see 3 diagonally’ or ‘1 in the middle’.
Encourage your child to swap the objects for different ones to show the value they can see.
Extension and playing outside
Ask your child to collect natural objects around the outside area such as twigs, leaves and stones. Once they have a small collection, make little groups and explore how many there are by subitising where the group is small enough.
Note: subitising is recognising a group of objects at a glance without counting. The highest number that even adults will normally subitise to is 6. Try it yourself. Count a random collection of objects, say 10. You will notice that you immediately notice the groups eg. you may see 3, 5 and 2 to quickly count the objects and know there are 10.
Zoom meeting
You will notice from my timetable that I plan to hold an extra Zoom meeting on Tuesday at 1.15 pm. I will send the invitation to you all today. Up until now, we have met in small groups. However, I thought it would be nice to provide an opportunity for all the children to get together. There probably won’t be a chance for everyone to talk to each other. However, hopefully we will be able to share some news.
If up until now your child has been reluctant to join one of my meetings, try turning the camera off to allow your child to watch. Alternatively, your child could watch from a safe distance and nominate a soft toy to ‘stand in’ on the camera.
