Weekly update 2nd October 2006

Weekly update

The children are all finally in and we can begin on the fantastic learning experiences we have planned for the children. This week is particularly exciting as we have an expert visiting us to train us in the classroom along with the children. This involves the use of role play to develop children's learning.

The children have settled well into their register groups in the morning and we now ask that you make the entry into school as speedy as possible to allow for a pacey start to the day. However, the children still need to be encouraged to do as much of the morning routine themselves as possible.

Could I also remind you that names need to be on everything - snacks, drinks bottles, etc. We have been very impressed with the labelling of property with this intake but their are just a few children who do not have their snack labelled.

Communication, Language and Literacy
Continuing with our nursery rhyme theme the children will get another letter from Humpty Dumpty. This time he will be fretting because he is being visited by Incy Wincy Spider and he doesn't really know that much about spiders. Therefore, the class target is to look for spiders and webs around their environment and find out what they can about them. The result of the week will be an information book that we will be able to send to Humpty Dumpty ready for Incy Wincy Spider's visit.

The children have also been grouped in preparation for their reading activities and we will be focusing on learning the letter sounds and names for Aa, Ss, Mm, Tt, Gg, Oo and Pp. You may wish to let your child play on the websites: www.ictgames.com/phonic_fighter4.html and www.starfall.com As always the high frequency words play a vital part in your child's reading development and we do encourage them to practice them little and often. The induction evening will give you ideas of the types of games you can play with them at home. You may want to play on the website: www.ictgames.com/plankgameR.html


Personal, Social and Emotional Development
The children will now start their two PE lessons a week in the school hall as well as a daily outdoor curriculum. The children need to be as independent as possible and therefore, we are having a real push on fastening and undoing their own buttons. We do undo and fasten their top button as this is often difficult for them. Your support in this would be greatly appreciated. I am aware that the children will take longer to get ready for school, so maybe start off with them doing one button, increasing to all of them over the course of the term.

Last week we did have quite few items around the classroom ill-treated and as a result had to be thrown away. Therefore, we will be reinforcing the Golden Rules this week with an emphasis on 'Looking after equipment'. At the induction meeting on 10th October you will receive further information about how the Golden Rules work.

Here I Am
As part of our topic we have asked for photographs of the children as babies. Thank you to all the parents who have sent one in. Could any outstanding photographs be sent in as soon as possible so we can place them on display. Thanks.

Mathematical Development
Now that all our assessments have been completed in this area of learning we are now ready to start teaching the numeracy curriculum. This week we will developing the children's counting skills. They will be required to count a range of objects reliably. This will include counting objects given and also counting them out of a larger set. On Monday you will find an information sheet about how we go about helping the children become reliable counters.

Here are some great websites to support this week's learning objectives:
www.ictgames.com/duckshoot.html - the children look at the number and then count that number of ducks to shoot. This is based on the fairground game.
www.e-gfl.org/4.cfm?s=4&m=25&p=117,index - select Down the Farm game.
www.abc.net/countusin/games/game3.htm - you can also select game 5.
www.little-g.com/shockwave/colourcount.html - look at the number and colour the given number of objects on screen.
http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/maths/counting/random%20count.html - the children need to count the fish.
www.primarygames.com/math/fishycount/index.htm - count the fish and click on the corresponding number.
www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks1/english/fruits/level2/l2/activity2.html - this is a lovely game for the children to play. Once you have clicked on this link there are a few other games you can go to.

Knowledge and Understanding of the World
In this area of the curriculum the children are looking at weather conditions. You may wish to develop your child's vocabulary by discussing the various weather types. The children will be asked to dress a teddy on the computer. Here are some websites to support this area of the curriculum:
www.bbc.co.uk/wales/bobinogs/games/game.shtml?1 - the children need to dress the character to match the weather.
www.angliacampus.com/tour/pri/geog/weathert/page02.htm - the children can find out about the weather with Teddy.

Physical Development
In this area of the curriculum the children will be further developing their scissor skills and fine motor skills. In PE they will be developing their balancing skills. They will also be developing their gross motor skills through a range of structured play activities outdoors.

Creative Development
Linked to our work on Spiders the children will be making clay spiders, owls and hedgehogs for Harvest. They will be creating spiders out of paper plates and shaping materials to create a spiders web. The children have been working really hard on making dream catchers with Mrs Latham and the last few who haven't completed theirs will get the chance this week. The children will also experience using a range of percussion instruments to accompany the rhyme of Incy Wincy Spider as well as learning a new song for our Harvest festival.

Finally, can I just remind you again of the Induction Meeting on 10th October. We do hope you can attend as there will be quite a lot of information given out.

Here's to a great week!

Best wishes

Jayne Narraway and the Foundation Stage Team