Category: Reception – St Adrian

Hello everyone,

Before I start my home learning activities today, I just wanted to let you know how much I am looking forward to welcoming those children who are able to return to school. 

I will be in touch again to give you more information and some photos of the new classrooms.  Our main priority will be making sure your children are safe and happy.

Here are my suggestions for today and over half term.

This activity is a mixture of communication/Language, maths and physical development.  I know some of your children are already helping to make sandwiches at home.

Making sandwiches

• Talk to your child about their favourite fillings and healthy options.  Probably best to encourage a filling that will be easy to cut once the sandwich is made.
• Ask your child to wash their hands before preparing the food.
• Encourage your child to help you gather together the utensils and ingredients you will need to make a super sandwich.
• Invite your child to help spread the butter on the bread. Teach your child to take a little butter and to spread it evenly across the whole slice of bread. Top Tip: make sure the butter is nice and soft before you invite your child to start spreading it on the bread. 
• Finish the sandwich with the filling.

Now for the maths bit:

• Ask your child to:
  • Cut the sandwich into two rectangles.
  • Cut the rectangles into four squares.
  • Cut each square into two triangles.
  • How many triangles do you have altogether?

Now eat all the triangles!  Maybe try the activity another day and cut the sandwich into different shapes.

Letters and Sounds/Religious Education

Plan a Pentecost Party

Pentecost Day is on Sunday, 31 May so you may wish to try this activity over the half term period.

I have received lots of posts on Tapestry of children enjoying home tea parties and celebrations such as VE Day.  You may wish to plan a home Pentecost party and encourage your child to write a list of either things you will need or activities to do.   As usual, encourage your child to ‘have a go’ and use your child’s sound mat/Letters and Sounds to support their writing.

Pentecost is often named as ‘the birthday of the Church’.  The feast celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit who leads and guides people into communion with God and fills them with courage and energy for Christian life.

It is difficult at this age for children to understand the abstract concept of the Holy Spirit.  We use images such as air, wind and fire to help us explain the power of the Holy Spirit.  Here are some ideas that can help your child explore these elements and have fun on Pentecost Day.

• Red is the Church’s colour for Pentecost.  You could wear red, eat red food, make decorations in red etc.
• Make a Pentecost hat.

Make a streamer and write “Share the Good News of Jesus with Everyone” on it. This can be just strips of paper attached to a stick.

• Blow bubbles.
• Play with windmills.
• Dance with the streamer to create a ‘fire dance’.

And, of course, revisit the story of Pentecost, Pentecost prayer and Pentecost song posted on my previous blogs.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Nicola Palmer

Hello Reception Class,

I hope you are all enjoying the sunshine and that my suggestions for today are useful.

The Door Bell Rang

Share with your child the story of ‘The Door Bell Rang’ by Pat Hutchins. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXtu90JnDkM

Maths

Sharing/Acting out

You will need:

• 12 biscuits, fruit or another suitable type of food.  If you have play dough, your child could make the ‘cookies’ with play dough or just cut out some circle shapes to represent the ‘cookies’.
• A small selection of toys (2 – 6). 

What to do:

• Begin by talking about the story.  ‘Tell me what happened?’ ‘How many people were there?’ ‘How do Sam and Victoria know there will be 6/3/2/1 cookies each?’
• Show your child 2 toys and ask ‘How can we share our food out so that the toys all have the same number?’
• Ask ‘What if 2 more toys come along?’
• Repeat until you have 6 toys.

Perhaps you could model sharing the food unequally and ask your child ‘What do you notice?’  ‘How can we solve the problem?’ Or maybe suggest 5 toys to challenge your child and introduce the concept of ‘remainder’.

Letters and Sounds/Religious Education

Write a simple prayer

I suggested in my blog yesterday that you share a simple prayer with your child.  If you had a chance to do this, it will give your child a starter for today’s activity.  Talking and exploring ideas before putting pencil to paper is an important aspect of any writing activity.  

• Ask your child to write their own simple prayer to thank God.  You can always talk about this now if you didn’t get a chance to do the prayer yesterday.
• Suggested wording:

Dear God

Thank you God for ………..

Love from

• Use word bag to support spelling tricky word:  you
• Encourage your child to use the sounds he/she knows. 
• Use sound mat or Letters and Sounds book to support sounds. 
• Remind your child to use pre cursive letter formation ‘whoosh’ writing.  This can also be found in the Letters and Sounds book.

Pentecost

Sing this simple Pentecost song with your child (to the tune of  “If you’re happy and you know it”)

Jesus sent a friend, clap your hands.
Jesus sent a friend, clap your hands.
It’s Pentecost you know, so your happiness can show.
Jesus sent a friend, clap your hands.

Thank you for reading my blog.

Nicola Palmer

Good morning Reception class,

I expect you have now had a chance to read Mr Bedford’s letter regarding reopening the school for your children.  I have been busy over the past week or so working at school setting up our new classrooms.  Please accept my apologies if I am not as active as normal on Tapestry.

Here are my suggestions for today.

Communication and Language

Days of the week

The story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a good book to open up discussions about the days of the week.

Here is a fun song to help your child learn the days of the week.

The caterpillar eats a lot of different food.  Perhaps you can make a simple food diary together at home.

Letters and Sounds

Flipping Phonics!

You will need:

Word bag
Frying pan
Fish slice or spatula

What to do:

• Place a selection of words in the pan facing upwards.
• Your child chooses a word by reading it.
• Your child flips the word with the fish slice/spatula and says the word.

To challenge your child:

• Place words face down one at a time (choose just a small selection).
• Ask your child to write the word.
• Your child flips the word to check their spelling.

Maths

10 Fat Sausages Sizzling in a Pan

Another fun song for your child to sing – this song supports subtraction.  It also includes the words, some of which your child may be able to read.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03rdgn3

Religious Education

A litany of praise to celebrate Pentecost

Remind your child of the Pentecost Day story – below is a simple version.

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Explain to your child that the people came together to share their happiness and joy because Jesus had kept his promise and sent the Holy Spirit to be their friend.  They are going out to tell everyone.  We can all share in this happiness.

Together orally compose a litany of praise.

‘Thank you, God!’
For my good news about ….. (encourage your child to add their own words here)
For the Good News of Easter.  For the new life of Jesus.
For the Good News of the Holy Spirit.  For the Good News of your love.

I hope you all have a great day.

Nicola Palmer

Good morning Reception class,

Below are my home learning suggestions for today.

Communication and Language

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

This is a story requested by the children.  Eric Carle, the author of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, can be seen reading this classic picture book out loud on the link below.  I know many of your children are very familiar with the book so I thought it would be nice for the children to see the author read the story.

Letters and Sounds

Read the word and draw the picture game

What to do:

• Write the following words on separate pieces of paper.
  • sandpit
  • windmill
  • desktop
  • handstand
  • lunchbox
  • shampoo
  • sandwich

• Show your child one word at a time. 
• Explain to your child:
  • When you see a word, sound it out quietly to yourself.
  • Blend the sounds to read what the word is.
  • When you know what the word is, draw a picture quickly on your paper.
  • Show me the picture as soon as you can so that I can see what you think the word says.

Depending upon your child’s confidence, choose a couple of words or as many words as your child’s enthusiasm allows.

For support, talk to your child about ‘chunking’ to split the word up with their finger.  Read the first part of the word, the second part and then say both together.  For example, ‘sandpit’ – cover up ‘pit’ with their finger and read ‘sand’ then cover up ‘sand’ and read ‘pit.  Altogether, ‘sandpit’.

Maths

Adding

Once you have listened to the story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, ask your child some questions:

• The Very Hungry Caterpillar eats 3 plums and 4 strawberries.  How many pieces of fruit did he eat altogether? 
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar eats 4 strawberries and 5 oranges.  How many pieces of fruit did he eat altogether? 
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar eats 2 pears and 5 oranges.  How many pieces of fruit did he eat altogether? 

Tell your child:  You can use your fingers or draw a picture to help you. 

For support, just choose one question and collect together some objects to represent the fruits and count the objects together.

For an extra challenge, how many pieces of fruit did The Very Hungry Caterpillar eat altogether?

To remind you:

1 apple
2 pears
3 plums
4 strawberries
5 oranges

Expressive Arts and Design

Special message from Mrs Goldsmith, our Music Teacher, with some ideas for you.

SINGING ACTIVITY

Sing some songs and rhymes on the theme of FOOD.  Here are some suggestions:-

Jelly on a plate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POI0GKji1Ww

Hot Cross Buns: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=re3gXNTtwig

RHYTHM ACTIVITY

Clap the rhythm of some of the songs you have sung. Play the rhythm of the songs. If you have a percussion instrument, such as a drum or tambourine, you can use that. Maybe try using two wooden sticks or spoons or one spoon on a pan or table top.

Wishing you all a great day.

Nicola Palmer

Good morning everyone,

I hope you had a good weekend.  As usual on a Monday, I will begin by sharing with you my plans for the week, assembly links and celebrate last week’s home learning.

Religious Education

Please find below links to Mr Bedford’s weekly worship assembly and also a short ten minute assembly from TenTen Resources.

https://youtu.be/KSP1HAHkNs0

https://www.tentenresources.co.uk/primary-subscription/assemblies/assembly-2020-05-18/2020_05_18_assembly_for_home/

Altar for Mary

Here is a lovely altar to celebrate Mary in the month of May.

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Letters and Sounds

Sounds in the lava

This game involved sounds written on pieces of paper.  The floor is the lava.  Adult calls out a sound and child has to step towards the sound without falling into the lava.

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Longer words

This game involves creating words cards and adding letters to extend blending skills.  For example, ten – tent, hum – hump, and – band, den – dent, and – land, win – wind, lap – clap.

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Maths

Snack shop

This snack shop was set up and the children in the family were given a pot of coins – 1p, 2p, 5p.  The children had to use the correct money to buy their snack.

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Elmer the Patchwork Elephant

Create your own Elmer using a milk bottle cut in half and glue on coloured paper patches. Also a successful rainbow experiment.

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Story Making

A Jack and the Beanstalk landscape which included some adaptations to the story.

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Learning to cut

Helping out to cut up at snack time is a great way to strength those small muscles in hands and fingers essential for writing.

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Earthquake Experiment

Making structures that were tested in a tray of jelly to simulate an earthquake.

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Being the teacher

Finally, your child may not have co-operative family members to hand but most children love to be the teacher.  Maybe you could play a game where your child has to teach you verbally by calling out instructions to do something simple like put on your socks!  This can be quite tricky and will strengthen your child’s language skills.

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Enjoy your day

Nicola Palmer

Good morning everyone,

Here are my suggestions for today.

Communication and Language

We are all different

If you were able to talk about yesterday’s activity, ‘what makes you special?’ your child can now start to think about other people and how we are all unique in our own special way. 

• Begin by talking about family members and draw your child’s attention to similarities.  For example, hair or eye colour, likes and dislikes, where you live. 
• This discussion will probably naturally reveal some differences within the family.  The discussion itself will be a nice way to help your child think about similarities and differences.

If you wish, you could conduct a survey with your child.  Pick something nice and easy eg. ‘What do you like for breakfast?’, ‘What is your favourite pet?’ or ‘What is your favourite colour?’ – list a few common cereals, pets or colours and ask your child to question each family member/extended family members which one they would choose.  Total up the results to explore a bit of maths as well.

Letters and Sounds

What’s the sound Mr Wolf?

This is a fun game we’ve played often in class.

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 shout ‘dinner time!’
• The wolf chases your child who runs back ‘home’ and start again.  Agree where ‘home’ will be prior to starting 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 strides.

Maths

Using books to count

Whilst looking at the story of Elmer the Patchwork Elephant, many maths opportunities came to mind.  How many coloured patches on Elmer? How many bunches of berries on the tree? How many elephants in the herd?  How many animals in the jungle?

I appreciate many of you will not have this particular book to hand.  However, books are an ideal focus for maths conversations.  Ask your child to count characters or animals.  Books that include a picnic or party can inspire a discussion about sharing.  Other maths concepts you could explore are patterns, size, or weight.

A great way to begin an open ended conversation, rather than direct questioning, is to say “I wonder …….” or “I think …… is that right?”

Religious Education

Below is a lovely story which introduces Pentecost.

Wishing you all a fun weekend.

Nicola Palmer

Good morning everyone,

Thank you for your Tapestry observations.  It’s good to know the children are enjoying this week’s story.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development

What makes you special?

During the story of Elmer the Patchwork Elephant, Elmer realises that he likes being unique and special.

• Talk to your child about your own interests and what is special about yourself. 
• Ask your child – What makes you special? Are you very good at doing something? Are you kind, funny or helpful?
• Ask your child – Draw a picture of something that makes you special and unique.

Letters and Sounds

Encourage your child to write a sentence.

I am good at …….

As usual, encourage your child to use their sound mat for support and write the sounds he or she can hear and knows.

Maths

I hope your child enjoys this song ‘One Elephant Went Out to Play’.

Maths Challenge

Here’s another maths challenge about Elmer’s Day Party but with a focus on subtraction.

At the Elmer’s Day party, Elmer puts 8 cakes on a plate.  His friends eat 3 cakes. How many cakes does he have left?

Adapt the numbers for support or to extend your child’s learning.  For example, Elmer puts 5 cakes on a plate.  His friends eat 2 cakes. How many cakes does he have left? Or Elmer puts 13 cakes on a plate.  His friends eat 3 cakes. How many cakes does he have left?

Encourage your child to use objects eg. Lego bricks, to help work it out.

Religious Education

Pentecost

I hope you have been able to read our ‘Foundation Stage Religious Education’ blog about Pentecost posted yesterday.

To begin our Pentecost learning, please talk to your child about any good news they may have experienced.  For example, their birthday, a video call from a member of their family or achieving a new skill.  I feel like I’m hearing ‘good news’ stories every day on Tapestry.  However, your child may like to tell me about something special via Tapestry.

Have a great day everyone.

Nicola Palmer

Good morning everyone,

I hope you enjoy the suggestions for our home learning today.

Communication and Language/Literacy

Exploring the story of Elmer the Patchwork Elephant

Discussing the story

Suggested questions to ask after listening to the story again:

• Why didn’t Elmer want to be different?
• Why is it OK to be different from other people?
• How can we celebrate our differences like the elephants do on Elmer Day?
• An old elephant says to Elmer “It didn’t take you long to show your true colours”.  Discuss what this expression means?
• What is a berry tree?
• Look at the decorated elephants on Elmer Day.
  • Which is your child’s favourite?
  • Can your child explain why?
  • Can your child describe one of the elephants to a family member who has to guess which one you are thinking of?

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Letters and Sounds/Literacy

Write a sentence to match the picture

Below are some pictures to show your child.  Ask your child to write a sentence to match the pictures.

• A snail in the rain
• A zoo on the moon
• A cow in the town
• Stars on a jar.

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Maths

Create a pattern

I have posted some Elmer colouring sheets on the Memo section of Tapestry.  If you have access to a printer, ask your child to colour a pattern on a picture of Elmer.  In class, we talked a lot about how patterns must be repeating.  This is a basic mathematical rule.  When children make patterns they are learning about applying a rule.  For example, your child may colour the squares in red, blue, red, blue.  For extra challenge, maybe your child could colour the two squares red, two squares blue or include a third colour.

If you do not have a printer, maybe draw a picture of Elmer for your child or just challenge your child to colour a pattern on an alternative picture.

Understanding the World

What do you know about elephants?

Find out some facts about real elephants with your child?  You could find out where they live, what they eat or what baby elephants are called.  

Can your child tell another family member what they found out?

During lock down we have mainly be seeing the inside of our homes, it is nice to remember that the world is still out there and the animal kingdom, in particular, is still going about its daily business.  

Travel around the world by clicking on the link below to watch animals in their natural habitat.  Your child can watch to see how our beautiful planet is doing while we wait patiently to re-join it.  If you look on the ‘African’ section, you might see some elephants.  When I had a look, the elephants were busy drinking and bathing at the watering hole.

https://explore.org/livecams

Enjoy your day.

Nicola Palmer

Good morning Reception Class,

Here are my suggestions for today’s home learning.

Communication and Language

Our story this week is Elmer the Patchwork Elephant.  Unfortunately, I do not have this story at home.  However, it is a story that the children have said they would like.   I thought the next best thing would be for the children to hear the story read by the author, David McKee.

You may wish to take this opportunity to talk about authors and illustrators of books.  In class, I like to tell the children they are authors when they write me a story – maybe some of the children in our class may actually grow up to be an author or illustrator.  David McKee has also illustrated books by other authors, including some of the more recent Paddington Bear books. In addition, he has illustrated books written by his mother, Violet McKee, and by his son, Chuck McKee.

Letters and Sounds

Elmer’s Party Day – Elephant Day Invitation

Make an invitation to celebrate Elmer Day.

Encourage your child to write in the invitation.  Perhaps your child could invite their family and set up a little tea party. 

Below is suggested wording to include a few high frequency words.  Children learn to spell ‘come, to, my, be’ – tricky words.  You may find ‘party’ will be spelt ‘partee’ which is fine as we have only learnt ‘ee’ to represent this sound.

To ……
Come to my party
It will be fun.
from ……

You may also like to ask this little maths challenge:   At the Elmer’s Day party, Elmer eats 8 cakes and then another 2. How many cakes does he eat altogether?

Adapt the numbers for support or to extend your child’s learning.  For example, Elmer eats 2 cakes and then another 2.  How many cakes does he eat?  Or, Elmer eats 10 cakes and then another 3.  How many cakes does he eat?

Maths

Elmer’s Counting Song

Although this is a fairly simple song, it will really challenge your child in terms of counting up and down.  I have posted a copy of the song on the Memo section of Tapestry.

(Sing to the tune of ‘1,2,3,4,5 Once I Caught a Fish Alive)

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, berries cover Elmer’s hide.
6, 7, 8, 9, 10, he re-joins the herd, but then…

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, is this one of Elmer’s tricks?
5, 4, 3, 2 and 1, elephants having so much fun.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, rain clouds up above arrive.
6, 7, 8, 9, 10, we see Elmer’s colour then.

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, is this one of Elmer’s tricks?
5, 4, 3, 2 and 1, elephants having so much fun.

Understanding of the World

Grow a rainbow

You will need:

• Kitchen roll/paper towel

• Felt-tip pens

• Two small bowls of water

• Paperclip

• Thread

What to do:

• Cut the kitchen roll into the shape of a rainbow.
• At each end, use the felt-tip pens to colour a rainbow about 2cm up from the bottom. You may wish to order the colours: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet.
• Attach the paperclip to the top of the rainbow and tie a piece of thread to it. This will allow you to hold your rainbow.
• Add water to the two bowls.
• Hold the rainbow with both ends slightly submerged into each bowl of water and watch your rainbow grow.

Encourage your child to predict what may happen and talk about what happens to the rainbow.

Wishing you all a super learning day.

Nicola Palmer

I notice that the link to the TenTen Assembly is not working on my blog. If you look on the Nursery class page, you will find the same link which is working perfectly. Apologies for the inconvenience.

Nicola Palmer