Nursery Tour – March
We promised that we’d make a little video to show you all what Nursery will look like on Monday. We hope that you enjoy watching the video and that it helps to familiarise your child with Nursery before we all return next week.
We can’t wait to see you all! Don’t forget to read our previous post with some reminders and important information about drop off and collection times.
Return to Nursery
We’re so excited that we can all be back together again and return to Nursery from next Monday (08 March).
We know that most children will be feeling very happy about returning to Nursery and being reunited with their friends and teachers again. However, some children may be feeling a little nervous and might need a little bit of extra support to get back into the swing of things; that’s fine. We’ll be spending lots of time settling back into our Nursery routines and getting to know each other again. This is just as important for those children that have continued to attend Nursery throughout Lockdown, as their ‘bubble’ will be different and Nursery will be much busier than it has been.
If your child has been attending Nursery during Lockdown, but for different sessions, their usual Nursery days will resume from Monday 08 March.
We’re also looking forward to meeting our new children and their families who will be joining us for their first sessions over the next few weeks. These children will be joining Green group.
Here are a few reminders before you return.
- Hopefully your child has two spare sets of clothes already in a drawstring bag on their peg. If you took this home before Christmas, please ensure you return it. Remember to NAME everything.
- Please provide a water bottle that is clearly NAMED.
- Remember to send your child with a coat and some wellies (if they’re not at Nursery still).
Nursery drop off and collection
- We will now be using the main Nursery entrance (blue door). Please put lunch boxes and water bottles on the trolley and bags in the coloured boxes as usual.
- Please wait in the area outside Nursery, socially distanced from others. School requests that all adults wear masks on school premises (unless exempt). A member of staff will call you to the doorway to sign your child in, one at a time.
- All children will be collected from this entrance at home time too. Children will be ready at their collection time and we will open the door to dismiss them at the appropriate time.
- Please help us by being prompt for your child’s drop off/pick up times.
Blue and Green group
Monday – 8.30am – 2.10pm Tuesday-Friday 8.30am – 2.55pm
Red group
Monday – 8.40am – 2.20pm Tuesday-Friday 8.40am – 3.05pm
Yellow group
Monday – 8.50am – 2.30pm Tuesday-Friday 8.50am – 3.15pm
We can’t wait to see you all next week! Please get in touch if you have any questions.
Remote Learning 01.03 – World Book Day celebrations
This week is one of our favourite times in Nursery as we get to read so many of our favourite stories! Don’t worry though, we’ll continue with our World Book Day celebrations in Nursery next week when we all return. There’ll be lots of fun activities to look forward to, all linked to some of the most popular stories in Nursery. There are often lots of live story telling sessions during the week, so have a look at the World Book Day website for more details and ideas.
Look out for a video tour of Nursery on the Class News Page at the weekend. On Friday, we’ll be busy preparing Nursery for everyone to return and we’ll post the video as soon as we can. We hope that you enjoy watching the virtual tour to familiarise yourself with Nursery again, before we welcome you back next week. We can’t wait!
In Nursery, we usually choose lots of stories to read, however for our home learning this week, we’ve probably chosen one of the MOST popular children’s books of all time… The Gruffalo. If you don’t have a copy of the story at home, click on the link to watch and listen to the story.
Here is a PDF with links to all of this week’s activities.
Reading
- Before you read the book, talk about what the children can remember if they’ve heard the story before. Who does the mouse meet? Where does the story take place? Can you remember what happens when the mouse meets the Gruffalo?
- If you have a copy of the book, look at the illustrations on each page and talk about what is happening in the story. Some children may be able to re-tell the story in their own words if they are familiar with it.
- As you read the story together, pause at some parts and see if your child can finish the sentence, especially when there’s a word that rhymes with the previous one. E.g. Where are you meeting him? Here by this lake and his favourite food is scrambled _____?
Phonics
Aspect 4 of our Phase One phonics learning is all about ‘Rhythm and Rhyme’. This week, you’ll need a drum or a pan and spoon to join in with Mrs Gosper as she plays some rhythm patterns on her drum. Use your listening ears to listen carefully to Mrs Gosper and then wait for your turn to copy her patterns.
Rhythm patterns with drums video
When you’ve finished, have a go at tapping some of your own patterns and take turns to copy each other. Remember to LISTEN first, and then LISTEN again, and then have a try to copy it yourself.
Mark-Making
- What’s your favourite book? Draw a picture and talk about your favourite story. We’d love to hear about it – send us an email of your picture and write down a few of the comments that your child made.
- Can you remember how Mouse describes the Gruffalo? What does he have on his nose? What about his back? In our group times in Nursery, we always enjoy drawing on an outline of a Gruffalo and then using different colours and lines to add in his features. Have a go at home – you might need to help your child by drawing a rough Gruffalo outline first but without any details. Here’s one to copy or print at home.
Can you add the following things to your Gruffalo outline?
Orange eyes, purple prickles, a black tongue, terrible tusks and claws, terrible teeth, a poisonous wart and some horns?
- For those of you with a printer, here’s a Gruffalo colouring sheet available to download.
Mathematics
Playing ‘track games’ is a great way for children to practise lots of different maths skills such as recognising dice patterns and counting with one to one correspondence (as they move spaces).
This week, have a go at creating your own game together. Your child will need help with the general outline of the track, but they can then add in their own drawings for the houses and trees etc.
1) Draw some circle stepping stones across the paper to create a ‘track’ through the woods.
2) Next, draw on the animal homes that the mouse found including an underground house, a log pile and a tree top house. You could add a river and some of your own ideas too.
3) Make or find 2 counters and borrow a dice from another game.
4) Roll the dice and move your counter forward the correct number of spaces.
5) The first mouse to make it through the forest to the end of the path wins!
Extension ideas
- Make up some of your own rules. Perhaps you could draw some purple prickles in a few spaces and if you land on a prickle, you have to go back one space. You could also draw a nut in some other spaces and if you land on a nut, move forward a space.
- If you don’t fancy making your own game, find a board game that involves a similar concept, such as snakes and ladders. They’re a really great way for children to practise counting skills whilst having fun.
Creative
- Make some puppets or find some props to help you re-tell your favourite story. We’d love to see a video of your show!
- Can you make a cave/den home for the Gruffalo? He might enjoy having a tea party in his cave…
- We’ve explored printing with lots of items during lockdown such as cans, boxes and forks. This week, if you have some plastic animal/dinosaur toys, have a go at printing with them and talk about the prints that they make. Once you’ve finished dipping their feet in water, make sure you help to wash it off before the paint dries.
- If your child loves to role play in their kitchen, play ‘cafes’ and order some special items from the menu including roasted fox, scrambled snake, owl ice-cream and Gruffalo crumble.
- In Nursery, we sometimes enjoy trying ‘scrambled snake’ egg on toast. Ask your child to help you break the eggs and mix in some milk to make a ‘scrambled snake egg’ snack. Make sure they help you to spread butter on the toast too.
- Are you ready for a snack and some quiet time on the sofa? We love this animated version of the Gruffalo on the BBC iPlayer.
- You’ll be singing this song about the Gruffalo all week once you hear it! Listen at home and join in.
- Julia Donaldson’s website has lots of Gruffalo themed games to join in, as well activities for her other books too.
Understanding the World
- Mouse met a few different creatures in the woods. Talk about other animals that you might find in the woods near your home. Where do they live? If you enjoy spotting things whilst out and about in your local area, have a look at this ‘Twig Spotter’ activity from the Woodland Trust’s website. How many can you find?
- Can you spot any animal tracks? Look carefully to see if you can see any footprints in the mud. Here’s a few ideas of footprints to look out for on this ‘Animal footprint hunt’ – it might be very tricky to find some of them!
Physical Development
Fiddly Fingers
To get your fingers moving this week, you’re going to need a pile of very small items such as 1p/5p coins, buttons, beads, Cheerios… Draw some wavy lines, zig-zags and spiral patterns on pieces of paper and then ask your child to pick up the small objects and place them along the lines. This is a good way to develop their pincer grip and control.
Movement
We’re going to have a go at balancing, jumping and crawling in this activity. Clear a space on the floor and ask your child to gather some cushions and pillows from around the house. Place them on the floor like stepping stones and ask your child to step from one to the other. This is good way for them to practise balancing, especially as the cushions will be soft and move under their feet a little. Repeat the activity, adapting the challenge by putting the cushions further away or not in a straight line. If you have space and your floor isn’t too slippy, ask them to have a go at jumping from one to the other. Make sure you supervise your child and hold on to any cushions that may move as they jump!
Finally, create a space for your child to crawl under. You could use a blanket/sheet over two chairs, or line some dining chairs up. Ask your child to slither like a snake on their tummies under the blanket or between the chair legs. Crawling is a very important aspect of early years play, helping to provide sensory feedback and developing many different things including the vestibular system (balance).
Independence skills
As we begin to prepare to return to Nursery, we’d like you to focus on ‘toileting’ again with your child.
- Do they go to the toilet without reminders? Try and encourage them to recognise the signs that they need to go!
- When they get to the toilet, are they able to undress themselves? Practise pulling trousers/leggings/tights up and down and remember your child needs to wear clothes that allow children to do this independently.
- When they’ve finished, do they attempt to clean themselves and have a go at wiping?
- Practise handwashing skills again – this is going to be very important on our return to Nursery.
As always, we are there to help children if they need assistance, so please remind them to speak to their teachers if they need help next week.
Key Worker activity and videos
This week, we thought you’d like to be detectives! Listen carefully to each of your teacher’s clues about their favourite stories. Can you guess which book they love to read? Have a go at making some clues for one of your favourite stories and send us an email to see if we can guess!
Key Worker video – World Book Day
We’re so happy that we’re all going to be together again soon. It made us want to sing a song!
Key worker song – If you’re happy and you know it
Friday Story Time
This week’s story is one that we know you’ll be familiar with. It’s called ‘We’re going on a Bear Hunt’ by Michael Rosen. Make sure that you join in with Miss Morris!
Story Time – We’re Going on a Bear Hunt
Zoom sessions (for children learning at home)
It’s World Book Day on Thursday 04 March and we thought that children might like to join in with the celebrations on our Zoom calls by getting dressed up as one of their favourite story characters. You might have a costume already at home or a t-shirt with a picture of your favourite character on the front. Please DO NOT purchase anything special for the Zoom call, we’re sure that everyone has something at home that you could use.
If you’re struggling to find something or your child doesn’t want to dress up, that’s fine as well. Again, please don’t worry or feel you need to buy something. Perhaps you have a toy linked to your favourite story that you could share with everyone instead?
Please have a copy of your favourite bedtime story ready to show your friends as well.
For Zoom sessions in week commencing 01 March, you will need:
- Fancy dress (optional) and/or a toy linked to your favourite story
- A copy of your favourite bedtime story
- Playdough
30 Hours free childcare codes
If you are eligible for the ’30 hours’ free childcare provision, please make sure that you have renewed your code. Some codes are due to expire and need renewing in order for you to be entitled to this funding for the Easter term.
Please contact the office if you have any questions regarding renewing your code.
World Book Day – Zooms 01.03
Zoom sessions – Week beginning Monday 01 March (for children learning at home)
It’s World Book Day on Thursday 04 March and we thought that children might like to join in with the celebrations on our Zoom calls by getting dressed up as one of their favourite story characters. You might have a costume already at home or a t-shirt with a picture of your favourite character on the front. Please DO NOT purchase anything special for the Zoom call, we’re sure that everyone has something at home that you could use.
If you’re struggling to find something or your child doesn’t want to dress up, that’s fine as well. Again, please don’t worry or feel you need to buy something. Perhaps you have a toy linked to your favourite story that you could share with everyone instead?
Please have a copy of your favourite bedtime story ready to show your friends as well.
For Zoom sessions in week commencing 01 March, you will need:
- Fancy dress (optional) and/or a toy linked to your favourite story
- A copy of your favourite bedtime story
- Playdough
Remote Learning 22.02 – Peace at Last
These activities are for the week commencing Monday 22 February, which is when we return to Nursery/Remote Learning, following the half term break. We hope that you have a good break over half term and find a new place to visit on one of your local walks!
A few weeks ago, we read ‘Dear Zoo’ and had to match some animals to the noises that they make in a listening game. This week, we’re going to think about some more sounds, but not just animal noises. In our story this week, poor Mr Bear just can’t get to sleep because there are so many noises keeping him awake!
If you’d prefer to download all of this week’s activities in a pdf, please use this link.
You may have a copy of this classic children’s book at home, but don’t worry if not, you can enjoy listening to it using this link. ‘Peace at Last’
Reading
- What happened at the beginning of the story? Why couldn’t Mr Bear get to sleep next to Mrs Bear? Do you snore like Mrs Bear? Have a try!
- What was Baby Bear pretending to be? See if you can make the same noise.
- When Mr Bear went downstairs, what noise could he hear in the living room?
- Can you remember which room Mr Bear was in when he heard ‘DRIP DRIP’ and ‘HMMMMMMMMMM’?
- Outside, Mr Bear heard 3 different animal noises. Can you name them? They made these noises…TOO-WHIT-TOO-WHOO, SNUFFLE SNUFFLE and MIAAAAOW!
- Talk about what happened at the end of the story. Did Mr Bear get to sleep? Did the ending make you laugh? Why?
Phonics
This week, Mrs Gosper is going to teach you about a selection of percussion instruments. Listen carefully to the sounds that they make and then see if you can work out which instrument it is.
Metal and Wood instruments video
There’s a phonics activity included in our Key Worker video this week. It’s linked to our story of the week and is all about listening for sounds around your home. You could join in too; use a tablet/phone to record some sounds around the house and then play them back. Can you guess which sound it is?
Mark-Making
- We all love to snuggle up under our favourite blanket or duvet at bedtime – we saw some really cosy blankets on our Zoom scavenger hunts. Grab a piece of paper and have a go at designing a new blanket. What colours, patterns, shapes or pictures would you use?
- Mr Bear hears lots of animals outside in the garden at night. Can you draw a hedgehog with lots of prickles on its back? Join in with Squiglet and watch how she draws grass using zig-zags.
Mathematics
This week in maths, we’re going to think about some important mathematical language involving words associated with time. During everyday conversations, try to use words like ‘today’, ‘tomorrow’ and ‘yesterday’ and help your child to understand what they mean and use them in conversation.
It’s also important to begin to understand about our daily routines. ‘Peace at Last’ takes place at night time, just as Mr Bear is trying to get to sleep. It’s good to establish a good bedtime routine, but everybody might do things slightly differently! Talk to your child about their evening routine. What do they do first? What happens next? What things do you do together before they go to sleep? Here’s Mr Tumble’s bedtime routine; is it similar to yours?
Have a look at these pictures and choose ones that are appropriate for your family. Try to put them in the order that you do them. You might need to add in some different ones, such as taking off your glasses.
Extension ideas
– Can you sequence your morning routine? What do you do first? What next? When do you have breakfast and brush your teeth?
– Don’t forget to keep practising your counting skills! You could count the number of spikes on your playdough hedgehog or roll a dice and draw that many spikes onto a hedgehog outline.
Creative
- Paint/draw/collage a night time picture. What colours will you use for the sky? Would you see a sunshine at night? What animals might you include that are awake at night?
- A few weeks ago, we experimented with printing using different objects to see what shape print they made. This week, try printing using a fork. What pattern does it make? Use the fork to add some spikes onto a hedgehog outline.
- Use playdough to make a hedgehog. What could you use to make spikes? In Nursery, we sometimes use wooden craft sticks, pipe cleaners or dry penne pasta/spaghetti. There are lots of ideas if you do a Google search! If you have some children’s plastic scissors, you could try rolling a ball and then snipping the top to make spikes.
- We love being all snuggly in our favourite pyjamas and reading a book before bedtime. Why not start your bedtime routine a little bit earlier one night; enjoy a bubbly bath and then make some hot chocolate or warm milk to drink whilst reading your bedtime story. What happens when you add the chocolate powder to the milk?
- In this episode of ‘Melody’, Melody can’t get to sleep so her mum tries a few things to help her feel sleepy. She listens to some music about the moon at night time. What does the music make you think of?
Understanding the World
Talk about animals that are awake at night and sleep during the day. These animals are called ‘nocturnal’ animals; follow the links below to watch some short clips all about animals that come out at night.
Andy’s Secret Hideout – Hedgehogs
Need a longer break? We love watching Aunty Mable and her adventures with Pippin, regardless of how old they are! Grab your fruit snack and learn about hedgehogs with Pippin.
Physical Development
Fiddly Fingers
We’re going to revisit our cutting skills this week and practise using scissors again. Make sure a grown up is around to supervise. Fold a piece of paper in half and cut out a semi-circle shape (or use a paper plate folded in half if you have one). Cut the corner off to make a nose (as in picture) and draw on a face. Next, ask your child to make snips along the edge to create spikes.
Movement
We’ve had some very cold weather over the last few weeks, but it’s still really important that we get outside to enjoy running around. Whatever the weather, try to wrap up warm and enjoy some fresh air and exercise. If it’s not too icy, have you got a bike, trike or scooter that you could have a ride on? Make sure you wear your helmet. Here are a few ideas, there’s a different one for each day.
Independence skills
We’ve been talking about some of the things that we do as part of our daily routines. What do we do twice a day that is really important? That’s right! We brush our teeth. Whilst we don’t expect children to do this by themselves just yet, they still need adults to ensure it is done well, children could begin to have a go at brushing their teeth before and after their adult has helped. Watch this video and then encourage your child to look in the mirror as they brush their teeth. Teaching children about basic personal hygiene is a really important; it’s included in the ‘health and self-care’ part of the Early Years Foundation Stage.
Key Worker activity and videos
For this week’s Key Worker activity, you’ll need to have listened to this week’s story, ‘Peace at Last’. Mrs Gosper is going to play some sounds from the story and you need to use your listening ears to work out what you heard.
Key Worker video – Peace at last
After you’ve watched the video, you could play a game of ‘I can hear with my little ear’. Take it in turns to imitate something and guess what makes that sound. You could imitate the sound of things from around your house like a clock or telephone, or of recognisable animals like a cat, dog or owl.
During group time, we often sing songs linked to our learning. This one is all about the things we might do at bedtime.
Key Worker song – The way we wash our hands
Friday Story Time
Miss Backhouse is going to read this week’s story and just like ‘Peace at Last’, it’s all about different sounds that we might hear around our homes. Find a comfortable space to sit and enjoy listening to the story, ‘Quiet’ by Kate Alizadeh. Story time – Quiet
Zoom sessions (for children learning at home)
We’re going to play a game of ‘Colour Bingo’. Before the meeting, you’ll need to quickly draw a 3×2 grid and ask your child to draw a different colour into each section. We’ll then reveal some colours during our Zoom and you can tick them off.
Remote Learning 08.02- Mr Wolf’s Pancakes
This week, we’re going to find out what happens when Mr Wolf decides to cook some delicious pancakes. Listen to the story ‘Mr Wolf’s Pancakes’ and look at the illustrations in the video carefully as you watch. You might spot some familiar characters!
Here’s are this week’s activities to download in a PDF.
Reading
- Can you spot any other story characters that you recognise? Which story are they from? Have you read it?
- Why does Mr Wolf need some help at the beginning of the story?
- Were Mr Wolf’s friends helpful and kind? Why do you think they didn’t want to help?
- What happened when Mr Wolf started to cook his pancakes?
- Can you remember what happened at the end of the story? Do you think Mr Wolf should have shared his pancakes?
Phonics
Being able to copy a rhythm is part of our Phase One phonics learning; we often play simple ‘copy me’ type games as we’re waiting to wash our hands. Today, you’ll need two sticks or wooden utensils, or anything else that is similar! Listen to Mrs Gosper and then have a go at tapping the rhythms too.
Phonics – Rhythm pattern sticks
Mark-Making
- Mr Wolf said he wasn’t very good at writing. Can you help him write out a shopping list for going to the shops? What does he need to make his pancakes?
- If Mr Wolf wanted to have a pancake party and invite some friends to his house, what would he need to send them? That’s right, an invitation. Perhaps you could plan a Pancake Day party for next week and make some invitations to send to people in your house.
- Have a go at drawing or painting your favourite type of pancake. What toppings would you put on it?
- Open up your own ‘Pancake parlour’ and take orders. You’ll need to write down and tick off what your customers would like on their pancakes.
- Have you remembered it’s Valentine’s Day on Sunday 14 February? Why not make a card for someone in your family or see if you can post one to someone special that you might not be able to see at the moment?
Mathematics
This week, we’re going to practise our counting skills. In the story, Mr Wolf made lots of pancakes and we thought it’d be fun to make our own playdough pancakes. If you don’t have any dough, you could follow this simple recipe and have a go at making your own. Whilst making pancakes and playing, you could introduce ‘counting’ in different ways.
- How many pancakes have you made? Count each pancake, touching them as you say each number. Sometimes it helps to line objects up to ensure that you count each one only once and try to remember to stop at the last pancake. How many were there? Count again to make sure.
- Have you got more pancakes than me? How do you know?
- Who has the fewest pancakes? Children often understand the word ‘more’ or ‘most’ but struggle to understand the word ‘fewer’ or ‘fewest’.
- The Little Pigs are going to Mr Wolf’s house for a pancake party, how many pancakes do we need to make? Think about your child’s ability and keep the numbers below 5 or 10 as appropriate.
Extension ideas
- Introduce some real coins into your game. Children don’t need to be able to tell you what the denominations are in Nursery, they may just give you a handful of coins or some may count out 3 coins (of different values) and say “Here’s £3”. It’s all a great way to introduce and familiarise them with money. You could look at the different coins and try to sort them. How could you sort them? Big/little? Circle/not circles? Copper/silver?
- Do you remember playing ‘What time is it Mr Wolf’ at school? Children love to play this at Nursery still and it’s a good way of practising counting out the correct number of steps.
Creative
- We couldn’t read Mr Wolf’s pancakes and then not suggest that you make some pancakes! It’s a great, simple recipe for children to join in with and whisking is great for building upper arm strength too.
- What’s your favourite topping? Do you always have the same one? Use this as a time to try something new and talk about different flavours. Do you have sugar and lemon or golden syrup? Is it bitter/sweet/sour?
- With supervision, ask children to help you cut some soft fruit to put on their pancakes such as bananas or strawberries. Talk to them about using knives safely.
- If you don’t mind a bit (or lot!) of mess, allow your child to enjoy ‘play baking’ pancakes with some flour, water and mixing bowls.
- Join in a role play game and make your own ‘Pancake Parlour’ using some of the mark making and maths activities at the same time.
If you have a play kitchen, you could cut out some cardboard pancake shapes or you might want to use playdough instead. Take turns to order, cook and pay for your pancakes. If you don’t have a play kitchen, have a go at making one. It doesn’t have to be fancy or take a long time; at Nursery, we sometimes make ovens/hobs using a cardboard box with some circles drawn on top. Children always love to use ‘real’ objects so grab a frying pan and spatula and let them pretend!
- There are lots of songs about cooking pancakes! Here’s a Pancake rap from CBeebies and a Pancake rhyme to join in with Mrs Gosper.
Understanding the World
- Part of the Early Years Foundation Stage is to begin to recognise some of our family traditions and celebrations and to begin to recognise how we are similar and different to others. In Nursery, teaching children in detail about Shrove Tuesday is too complicated, but we do talk to them about how Christian’s might celebrate this day and that it’s sometimes referred to as ‘Pancake Day’. We discuss that some families will celebrate by making pancakes and that others might not. We talk about it being a time where Christians begin to prepare for another special day, known as Easter.
- If you have a laptop or a device that supports the game, let your child practise some simple computer skills by playing this game. You need to help Curious George make some pancakes and add his toppings. How many eggs will you need and how many strawberries does George put on?
- Talk to your child about the ingredients in pancakes and ask them to think about where they come from. One of the most common answers is usually “the supermarket”! Try to find out more and talk about the origins of milk and eggs by watching these videos. One is all about milk and the other is an episode of ‘Do You Know’ where Maddie finds out about eggs and bread.
How does milk get to the farm shop?
Physical Development
Fiddly Fingers
In Nursery, we always get lemons to squeeze when joining in with pancake day celebrations. If you have a lemon squeezer and can add an extra lemon or two to your basket, we’re sure that you’ll enjoy squeezing lemons and talking about what’s inside the lemon. This is also a great activity for strengthening little fingers!
Another good activity for helping to build strength in children’s upper arms, is ‘whisking’. You can do this whilst making pancakes but you could also let your child play with some soap and water and enjoy whisking it to see what happens. If you don’t want lots of mess around the sink, try it at bath time instead.
Also, remember that playing with playdough is a great way to develop finger and arm strength. So, using a rolling pin to flatten playdough to make pancakes is another good activity to do. Tip: If your child is struggling to put enough pressure onto the rolling pin to flatten the dough, try asking them to stand up and do it on a surface/table at their height.
Movement
The weather is very unpredictable at the moment, so taking part in a pancake race may or may not be possible! If you have space inside/outside and a frying pan/tennis racket, make a play pancake or use a bean bag to see if you can move around an obstacle course without dropping it!
Lots of you emailed to say that you enjoyed the Cosmic Yoga session so here is another, all about something you might enjoy eating on top of your pancakes – bananas! Cosmic Yoga – Betsy the Banana
Independence skills
During lunch time at Nursery, children are encouraged to be as independent as possible. This might involve knowing how to feed themselves when they’re given a meal or snack, learning how to put a straw into a carton or being able to open a sandwich box. Children that have a hot meal at Nursery are also encouraged to be able to use a knife, fork and spoon to feed themselves. Whilst lots of family meal times may involve finger foods, being able to use a knife and fork is an important skill to learn for when your child starts in Reception.
This week, depending on your child’s abilities, have a go at encouraging them to do the ‘next step’ themselves. This might mean taking the top off a yogurt pot by themselves or for other children, it could be learning to use a knife to cut something soft, like a fish finger, into smaller pieces.
If you wanted to practise using a knife and fork outside of meal times, have a go at chopping up your playdough pancakes!
Key Worker activity and videos
This week, we’re going to help Mr Wolf with his counting. He has lots of friends that would like to eat his pancakes but he needs some help to count how many he needs. To join in with the second part of the Key Worker session, you’ll need to sit at a table and have some playdough. (If you don’t have any playdough, cut out some paper pancakes and use those instead.)
Key Worker session part I – Mr Wolf’s Pancakes
Key Worker session part II – Mr Wolf’s Pancakes with playdough
Friday Story Time
This week’s story is also about pancakes! Listen carefully and then see if you can remember some of the toppings that Buddy’s family had on their pancakes. Story time – Buddy’s Pancakes
Zoom sessions (for children learning at home)
For our Zoom meeting this week, you’ll need a small blanket/towel and a small, soft toy. Make sure you have some space and somewhere to safely position your device (mobile/laptop etc) – we’re going to be bouncing our toys!
Remote learning 01.02 – Dear Zoo
We hope that you enjoyed the weekend (as much as we can at the moment!) and enjoyed a break from screens and work responsibilities. We love to see your photos and read your emails so please make sure you send us one each week. scholesf1@spherefederation.org
This week, our learning is going to be based on a book that lots of families will already be familiar with, ‘Dear Zoo’ written by Rod Campbell. We’ve saved all of this week’s remote learning ideas to a pdf – we thought that this might be an easier way for some people to view them.
Reading
- Before you read the book, ask the children if they are familiar with it. Have they read it before? Can they remember what the story is about?
- If you have a copy of the book, as you’re reading, pause each time for children to guess what animal is next.
- Listen to the story a few times and encourage your child to join in with the words that are repeated. Once they’re familiar with the book, use the pictures to have a go at retelling the story using the repeated pattern of words. “So they sent me a_____. He was too ____. I sent him back.”
- What do you think would be a good pet to have? Why? Can you think of any animals that wouldn’t make a good pet?
Phonics
Listening to rhymes and being able to keep a simple beat are all important elements of our Phase One phonics teaching in Nursery. Here’s a new rhyme to learn all about going to the Zoo. Watch this video and join in with drumming the beat at home. You’ll need something to bang like a drum so see what you can find at home, a pan/box and wooden spoon work well!
1,2 We’re going to the zoo.
3,4 crocodiles by the door.
5,6 Monkeys doing tricks!
7,8 Lions at the gate.
9,10 Elephant’s stomping in his pen.
Do you remember our ‘Guess the animal’ Key Worker game? Here’s another one for you to try; we need to keep practising our listening skills!
Mark-Making
- Have a go at drawing your own pet or an animal that you would like to have as a pet. Think carefully about what it looks like. Does it have big, floppy ears? Does it have legs?
- In the Key Worker video this week, some of the teachers have drawn patterns on a snake. Draw a snake outline yourself, or ask a grown up to help, and have a go at adding your own patterns. Will it be a spotty or stripy snake?
- You could have a go at making your own ‘Dear Zoo’ book. Draw some pictures of different animals (or print some pictures if you prefer and have a printer) and then cut out some flaps to stick over them. Have a go at telling your own version of the story! We’d love to see it – send us a photo or video of you reading your book.
Mathematics
Do you remember learning about shapes during our ‘Zog’ themed week? This week, we’re going to continue learning about shapes. First, watch this shape video to remind yourself of the names and properties (such as the number of sides and corners) of the basic 2D shapes (circle, square, rectangle and triangle). Then, draw one of each of the shapes on a piece of paper and go on a shape hunt around your house.
- Can you find each of the shapes? If you find more than one, you could put a tick or tally on your sheet. Which shape did you find the most of? We’d love to see some photographs of the shapes that you find.
- Next time you go for a walk, try and spot some shapes along the way. What shape are the road signs?
Extension ideas
– Have a go at feeding the ‘shape monsters’ on this Topmarks game.
– Do you remember creating a repeating colour pattern? Ask a grown up to help cut out some different shapes. Have a go at creating a repeating shape pattern with just 2 shapes. Circle, square, circle, square, circle…. What would come next?
– In Nursery, we often use different objects to investigate what shape they make when we dip them in paint and print with them. Find some objects (eg. a tin, Duplo brick, a small cardboard box – like a toothpaste box) and pour a bit of paint onto a plate. Dip the object in and then print with it! What shape can you see? (You could use these to print a repeating pattern, too.) Are there any shapes that are tricky to find?
Creative
- What is your favourite animal from the story? Have a go at making it using boxes and other recycling materials that you may have.
- In the story, each of the animals was delivered in a different shaped box or container. Find your favourite animal toy and have a go at making it a home. What would it need to be comfortable? What size and shape would it need to be?
- If you have some toy animals, you could make your own small world area. You might use Duplo bricks or you could go outside and collect some leaves, sticks and pebbles to add to a tray or an empty shoebox.
https://entertainyourtoddler.com/safari-small-world-play/ – Photo credit
- Here’s another of the songs that we enjoy listening to before lunch time – Walking through the jungle.
Understanding the World
- Have you ever been to a safari park or zoo? What did you see? Whilst it’s not possible to visit animals at the moment, you could watch some snippets from the virtual tours on Chester Zoo’s website and find out about meerkats and giraffes. (The information from the Keeper is quite tricky for Nursery children, but your child may enjoy just watching and talking to you about the animals they can see in the video). In Nursery, we often talk to children about why some animals are looked after in wildlife parks and where the animals would normally live, in their natural habitats.
- In the ‘Dear Zoo’ story, the boy wanted a pet. Do you have a pet? If you have a pet, talk about how you look after it and what it needs to be healthy. If you don’t have a pet, which animal would be a good pet for your family? Would you be able to look after a pet and give it everything that it needs?
- Are you ready for some quiet time? Find out about different pets in an episode of My Pet and Me.
Physical Development
Fiddly Fingers
We’re going to make our own snakes in this activity, so you’ll need some small strips of paper and some glue. Show your child the picture and talk about how to make the snake. Look carefully at how the body is made. They might remember making paper chain decorations in Nursery before Christmas.
Make a paper chain, linking each strip of paper together and then make a head to add on at the end. How long will your snake be? Linking the paper strips is a great way to get your child moving their fingers and hands to increase dexterity.
Movement
We love to have a good boogie at Nursery and dancing is a great way to get us all moving in different ways! Join in with the Animal Boogie at home and have a go at some of the actions.
Movement play is really important in Early Years; it helps children to develop and strengthen connections between their body and brain. These connections lay important foundations for children’s future learning and development. We encourage all kinds of movement in Nursery, including crawling like animals and laying on the floor to slither like snakes – just as this song encourages children to do!
Independence skills
Over the last few weeks, we’ve been trying to encourage you to help your child to become more independent, ready for their return to Nursery. We’ve been practising getting our coats on and fastening zips, putting on our own gloves and how to blow our own nose. This week, we’d like you to have a go at putting on and taking off your own shoes. This is where Velcro or elasticated fastenings make it much easier!
If your child is already confident at doing this, can they put their own socks on? Have a go and see!
Key Worker activity and videos
For this week’s Key Worker activity, you’ll need some paper to draw your own snake or a snake outline and some crayons or colouring pencils/pens. Watch the video to see how each of the teachers draws a different pattern onto the snake’s body. When you’ve finished watching, have a go at your own.
Key Worker video – Snake patterns
Here’s another activity for you to join in with – you’ll need two wooden spoons or utensils. It’s a song you might already know, all about ‘Going to the zoo’ and afterwards, you can learn some signs for some of the animals that you might see if you went on a trip to the zoo!
Key Worker song- Going to the zoo
Friday Story Time
This week’s story time is with Mrs Gosper. She’s going to read ‘What a Mess!’ by Adria Meserve. Find a comfy spot to sit and enjoy the story!
Zoom sessions (for children learning at home)
This week, we’re going to do a ‘Scavenger hunt’ with the children. They’ll need to listen carefully to what they have to find and may need a bit of support to go and find the item and to return to the camera to show us.
Remote Learning 25.01 – Goldilocks and the Three Bears
This week, our learning is going to be themed around the well known traditional tale, ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’. If you have a copy at home, read it together before starting the activities. If you don’t have a copy of the story, you can listen to it using this link.
Reading
- Have you heard this story before? Can you remember what happens?
- What do the Bears say each time they find something else that Goldilocks has touched? “Someone’s been eating/sitting/sleeping…” Try to encourage your child to join in with the repeated phrases as you read the story.
- Once you’ve heard the story a few times, have a go at re-telling the story. This is an important part of the Early Years reading curriculum and we often use pictures and props to help us re-tell stories. Do you have 3 teddy bears that you could use to retell the story at home? You could find 3 different sized bowls and spoons too. If you’d like to make some story props instead, and you have a printer, you can download some printable ones here.
- If you have the CBeebies Story Time App, you can download the story to read, too. Details on how to download the App are available on the link.
Phonics
A couple of weeks ago, we asked you to make some sound effects linked to ‘Zog’ using your voice. In Nursery, we use voice sound cards during group time to make different noises. Have a go at home and see if you can think of some more sounds. What would Little Bear say when he sees his chair has broken? What does Goldilocks say when she tastes Little Bears porridge?
If you’d like to continue learning about ‘Voice sounds’, here’s a video link to a voice sounds game with a cheeky character, Felix! At the end of the video, there’s a funny face paper plate craft activity too. You could play the same game at home and make or print some picture cards.
- If you’d like to continue learning about ‘Voice sounds’, here’s a video link to a voice sounds game with a cheeky character called Felix! At the end of the video, there’s a funny face paper plate craft activity too. You could play the same game at home and make your own picture cards (or print some).
Mark-Making
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- Can you draw a picture of Goldilocks? Make sure you give her lots of long, golden curls. If you like to paint, you could paint a picture of your favourite teddy bear.
- How many bears are in the story? Try to draw a big bear for Daddy Bear and a smaller bear for Baby Bear. What size would Mummy Bear be?
- Where do the Three Bears live? Draw a picture of their house. What shape are the windows and door?
Mathematics
- Ask your child to help you find 3 different sized bowls and spoons. Which is the biggest? Smallest? Arrange them in size order.
- Watch this week’s Key Worker video. Create your own repeating colour pattern using Duplo or Lego bricks. Keep it simple, just pick two colours.
Extension ideas
– You might have a threading set at home or some coloured beads. Can you make a repeating colour pattern using the buttons or beads?
– Create a repeating pattern using pictures or objects instead of colours. Remember to keep it simple, choosing just 2 different items. E.g. Apple, carrot, apple, carrot, apple…
Creative
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- This activity is always a big hit in Nursery, but it is messy! Use your different sized bowls and spoons and put them inside an empty plastic storage box/tray to catch some of the mess. Add some porridge oats (or some rice crispies/rice/pasta) to the bowls for your child mix, scoop and pour the oats. Children love to scoop and pour in our sensory area – it’s easily swept or vacuumed up at the end of the day. We usually use dry ingredients, but you can add water if you want to add to the sensory play experience (and mess)!
- Make your own porridge together and taste it. What does it taste like? Do you add anything to your porridge? Does it make it sweeter?
- Need some quiet time? Grab a drink and some fruit and snuggle on the sofa to watch this CBeebies ballet version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
- In the story, Goldilocks thinks that one bed is too soft and one is too hard. What does this mean? Can you find any objects in your house that are soft and hard? What other words could you use to describe the texture of items? Rough, bumpy, smooth, furry etc.
- Here’s another of the songs that we enjoy listening to before lunch at Nursery.
Physical Development
Fiddly Fingers
This is linked to our ‘Independence’ activity this week. What can you find that uses a zip? For example: Zip-lock bags, purses/wallets, bags, pencil cases, wash bags, jackets and clothing. Allow your child time to investigate ‘zips’ and how they work. If you have an old bag or purse/wallet, let your child use it in their role play at home – they love to fill them with items and incorporate them into their play. Becoming familiar with how zips work, and learning how to use them in a range of contexts, will help them progress onto eventually fastening their own coats.
Movement
Get a few pairs of socks and roll them into a balls. Cut out some different sized spots (big/small) using paper and spread them out on the floor. Ask children to aim at the spots. Did it land on the big or small spot? How many are on the big spot? If the bowls you chose for the maths activity aren’t breakable, you could aim into Daddy Bear’s bowl instead!
Independence skills
Next time you go out for a walk, make sure you allow some extra time for your child to put their own coat on. If they can already do this, encourage them to do their own zip up. This is a really important skill and one which we would be teaching daily at Nursery. If you’d like a few ideas on how to help, there are some hints and tips available on the links below – check which are appropriate for your child.
- Putting coats on – Scroll to the bottom of the web page for 2 video clips. In Nursery, we usually start by putting our hoods on first and then finding the arm holes. We don’t always have much space for ‘through the rabbit holes’ and flipping coats over our heads, although children love to do it this way!
- Zips fact sheet – Here’s a fact sheet with a few ideas or you could watch this video clip that shows small steps in teaching children how to use zips. In the video, the lady refers to the zip as ‘food’ and a ‘mouth’. In Nursery, we often call the zip the ‘train’ and put it into the ‘station’ so it can run up the track.
Key Worker activity and videos
In our Key Worker activity this week, Mrs Beesley has some bears that she needs your help to sort. We’ve done a similar activity in group time before so see if you can remember what to do. When you’ve watched the videos, have a go at sorting some of your own toys, such as Duplo bricks or cars. Maybe you’ll have a tin of Quality Street left over from Christmas that you haven’t eaten yet and you could sort the sweets! (You don’t? We’re surprised!)
Key Worker activity – Bear sorting
Key Worker Song – When Goldilocks went to the house of the Bears
Friday Story Time
Miss Morris is going to read this week’s story, which is also about a bear. In this story, the little bear is trying to learn the names of different colours. It’s called ‘Wobble Bear says Yellow’ and is written by Ian Whybrow.
Zoom sessions (for children learning at home)
This week, in our Zoom Key Worker sessions, we’re going to sing some of our favourite Nursery rhymes. Join in at home and sing a-long to the rhymes with Mrs Gosper; she loves music and rhymes!
Remote Learning – Zoom sessions
Next week, if your child is learning from home, they will be invited to a Zoom session along with some of their friends from Nursery. Your child does not have to join in with these Zooms, they are optional. Unfortunately, the timings cannot be changed as most staff are teaching in school.
The Zooms will replicate the Key Worker sessions that your child is part of at Nursery. Sometimes, your child will need something to help them to join in with the session. Watch out for a website post each Friday – this will tell you what you will need to have ready. Don’t worry, hopefully it’ll be something you already have and quick to find!
Our first Zoom will be a dough disco session. Your child will need a small piece of dough, about as big as a ping pong ball.
Look out for an email on Friday 15th January, this will contain the invite to your child’s Zoom session. This invite will be the SAME each week, so make sure you save/mark the email as important as you will need it every week. If your child is learning from home and you don’t have an email by the end of the day, please send us an email. (scholesf1@spherefederation.org)
An adult will need to be present during these Zooms to ensure that your child can join in.
We are really looking forward to seeing you all next week at our very own dough disco.