Hi there!
Well only four days this week to do! Mmm...always find part of a week difficult! How on earth are we going to fit all the egg-citing things in this week? The children are in for an egg-cellent time! (Okay I'll stop it now and start to get serious!!!)
This week we start the bulid up to Easter Sunday, the most impsrtant time of year on the Catholic calendar. As always the children will be eating...hot-crossed buns this week. This is to help them to understand the importance of the cross whilst leading into their learning about Jesus dying on a cross. I must admit that I find this hard to teach the children and so we focus on the celebration of God giving Jesus new life on Easter Sunday.
Although we have many fun activities planned for the children, they will understand why an egg is so symbolic at Easter.
Easter Bonnet Parade
I absolutely LOVE this Easter activity!!!! What better than feathers, glue, glitter and glamour!!! Not one to scrimp on the prizes after so much work going into them, there will be a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place for each class in the parade. Unfortunately, due to all the school coming to admire the children, we can not have spectators. DO NOT FEAR!!! David Bailey (me!!) will be providing exclusive photographs of the children in their bonnets for prosperity to be stuck in their Year Books ( or that embarassing 21st birthday party poster!!)
Egg Rolling Competition
LOVE IT! LOVE IT! LOVE IT! Who are we to let the lack of a hill on the school grounds stop us from doing an egg rolling competition? We set up a 'fantabulous' slope in the hall for the children to launch their eggs from. The one that goes the longest distance is the winner. It's as simple as that! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make sure your child's egg is hard-bolied though. Needless to say, we once more engratiate ourselves with the cleaners. The SMELL in the hall lingers for days!!
Easter Assembly
The children will be singing their Tiny Seed song in the assembly and you are more than welcome to join us. However, please be aware that space is really limited.
Parents' Evening
Can I take this opportunity to thank you all for the lovely comments you made at parents' evening. It was great to hear how pleased you are with your child's progress. I can't believe that we only have 12 full school weeks together. Let's make it the best!!
And finally... as always the last week of the half term is assessment and review week. The children's high frequency words, letters, numbers and various learning objectives will be reviewed and assessed in preparation for our final journey towards Year 1. Mmm...must stop tears NOW!! Please check out this half term's blog spots fro your child to review their learning.
Have a fab and Holy Easter!
Take care
Jayne Narraway and the Foundation Stage Team xxx
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Sunday, March 25, 2007
A HUFF PUFF OF A DIFFERENT KIND!
The children had a fantastic Spanish week last week. They really responded to the Mantle of the Expert activity based on the work of Antoni Gaudi. EVERY child was inspired and eager to create an observational drawing based on their chosen piece of fruit or vegetable. Their collaborative piece of art work has already been hung in the entrance hall of the school for all to enjoy. It’s well worth a trip down to the office for a quick look with your child some time this week if you can. I hope to photograph them and place them on the school website soon.
I am pleased to say that my pronunciation problems were ironed out over the week as Senora Higgins gave me a few tips (whilst laughing her head off at my attempts!) I cam so proud of the children. Nearly all of them know the colours in Spanish!
This week we bring together the importance of healthy eating and healthy life styles. ‘Go,go, go, go to Lazy Town…’ if you are subjected to repeated episodes of this children’s programme then at least now we can actually use a children’s programme as a real educational resource.
Courtesy of Father Christmas I do have a copy of the soundtrack which the children will use in their very own aerobics lesson. The Green Goddess (aka Mrs Latham) will be helping the children to understand the effects of exercise on their bodies. Judging by the amount of energy this class has got Mrs Latham may have her work cut out!! In addition to this, the children will be asked to complete a ‘5-a-day’ record sheet where they can colour in the smiley face when they have had a portion of fruit or vegetable each day. Let’s see who can get a full sheet.
Communication, Language and Literacy
Following on from the previous few weeks where we have been looking at fruit and vegetables, the children will learn about how they are grown within the context of their Literacy input. The children will receive a letter from an old friend of theirs, The Jigaree, (you remember…the monster from space). He has found an unidentified object on the moon and asks if we know what it is. It’s actually a potato! The children will be involved in the creation of an information book for The Jigaree to explain the other foods he finds later on in the week.
Therefore, the children will be reviewing their understanding of labels, captions and the different features of a non-fiction text. For example:
A heading
Captions
Photographs
Contents page
About real things
By the end of the week, the children:
MUST be able to identify the differences between a fiction and non-fiction text;
SHOULD be able to identify the features of non-fiction texts;
COULD be able to write a caption to match a photograph complete with a connective.
The children will be able to demonstrate their understanding of healthy eating on the writing table where they can have a go at making a poster for our new grocery store to be set up next week.
The following websites should prove useful this week:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/5_6/ourselves.shtml - this website supports the children’s understanding of labelling whilst helping them in their reading. The children can label a horse, fish, ant and a human body.
As always the children will be developing their phonic skills.
If your child is still working on their letter recognition then please try out these websites also:
http://www.ictgames.com/phonic_fighter4.html
http://www.ictgames.com/letterlifter.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/laac/words/dgi.shtml - this is a great website for identifying the sounds at the beginning, middle and end of words.
www.starfall.com - the old favourite.
In addition to this we will also be continuing to concentrate on the children’s spelling of simple three letter words such as big, man, cat, top etc as well as focusing in on the high frequency words more. The children are doing great as this is the end of year target for Foundation Stage and we are already working on it!! The following websites should prove very useful.
http://www.crick.northants.sch.uk/assets/Flash%20Studio/cfslit/CVC%20Maker/cvcmaker.html - this website asks you to see how many words you can make
http://www.ictgames.com/cvc_machine.html
http://www.ictgames.com/plankgameR.html - this focuses on high frequency words
http://www.ictgames.com/lcwc.html - this concentrates on the spelling of the high frequency words. You can simply type in the high frequency words that your child needs to work on for them to play the game with.
http://www.ictgames.com/machine.html - great for blending sounds together.
For those children who are already able to spell and read simple three letter words then try out these websites as they will focus on the spelling of consonant clusters in words e.g bl, cl, st, sm etc.
http://www.ictgames.com/blending_dragon.html
http://www.ictgames.com/cluster.html
Mathematical Development
This week we will return to our work on addition. Remember the phrase COUNT-COUNT-TOGETHER-COUNT with the children as a review to the method they need to use when adding two numbers together. As the week progresses we hope that the children will begin to develop their mental recall of some smaller number facts.
By the end of the week, the children:
MUST be able to practically combine two sets of objects in order to find the total;
SHOULD be able to start for the larger number and count on to find the total of two numbers;
COULD be able to understand that there are many ways of making one total e.g 4+3 is 7 as is 5+2 and 6+1, etc.
Here are some useful websites:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/laac/numbers/ch1.shtml - this is a lovely website for developing those skills of addition. Remember the phrase: COUNT, COUNT, TOGETHER, COUNT.
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/count_on_me/eng/Introduction/default.htm - although this is aimed at Year1/2 I still think some of the children will be able to access it. Why not give it a try?
http://www.ictgames.com/10pipe.html
http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/toftwood/beaver.html
www.rainforestmaths.com - by far my most favourite website for developing mathematical development.
Knowledge and Understanding of the World
In the computer suite this week, the children will be consolidating their understanding of the art package Dazzle. They will be asked to choose a fruit or vegetable to create on screen using the different tools on the desktop. The children have amazed us once again this year with their ICT skills. In addition to this, the children will be continuing to practice their programming of the two robots we have in school.
Physical Development
The children’s physical development has a high profile this week as we take a look at exercise. The children will learn to recognise the importance of keeping healthy and those things which contribute to this. They will become more aware of the changes that occur when their bodies are active.
The week will kick off with the children differentiating between food items that are healthy and unhealthy for them. We will ensure that some things are less healthy than others but eaten in moderation are okay.
Hallelujah!!! All our children can now get dressed and undressed independently, including buttons. Just in time for them to use polo shirts!! Aghh!! Perhaps we can now turn our attention to something else. I’ll have to ponder on this one!!
Here I Am
We will be developing the Easter story in preparation for a whole week on it next week. I hope you have all been gluing frantically over the weekend. Remember the prize goes to the one that demonstrates creativity and is the child’s own work. If it is any consolation I too have to make one with Faith and find it really hard to keep my hands off the glitter and feathers! I actually made one alongside her purely for ideas of course!
I think that’s all for this week.
Best wishes
Jayne Narraway and the Foundation Stage xxx
I am pleased to say that my pronunciation problems were ironed out over the week as Senora Higgins gave me a few tips (whilst laughing her head off at my attempts!) I cam so proud of the children. Nearly all of them know the colours in Spanish!
This week we bring together the importance of healthy eating and healthy life styles. ‘Go,go, go, go to Lazy Town…’ if you are subjected to repeated episodes of this children’s programme then at least now we can actually use a children’s programme as a real educational resource.
Courtesy of Father Christmas I do have a copy of the soundtrack which the children will use in their very own aerobics lesson. The Green Goddess (aka Mrs Latham) will be helping the children to understand the effects of exercise on their bodies. Judging by the amount of energy this class has got Mrs Latham may have her work cut out!! In addition to this, the children will be asked to complete a ‘5-a-day’ record sheet where they can colour in the smiley face when they have had a portion of fruit or vegetable each day. Let’s see who can get a full sheet.
Communication, Language and Literacy
Following on from the previous few weeks where we have been looking at fruit and vegetables, the children will learn about how they are grown within the context of their Literacy input. The children will receive a letter from an old friend of theirs, The Jigaree, (you remember…the monster from space). He has found an unidentified object on the moon and asks if we know what it is. It’s actually a potato! The children will be involved in the creation of an information book for The Jigaree to explain the other foods he finds later on in the week.
Therefore, the children will be reviewing their understanding of labels, captions and the different features of a non-fiction text. For example:
A heading
Captions
Photographs
Contents page
About real things
By the end of the week, the children:
MUST be able to identify the differences between a fiction and non-fiction text;
SHOULD be able to identify the features of non-fiction texts;
COULD be able to write a caption to match a photograph complete with a connective.
The children will be able to demonstrate their understanding of healthy eating on the writing table where they can have a go at making a poster for our new grocery store to be set up next week.
The following websites should prove useful this week:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/5_6/ourselves.shtml - this website supports the children’s understanding of labelling whilst helping them in their reading. The children can label a horse, fish, ant and a human body.
As always the children will be developing their phonic skills.
If your child is still working on their letter recognition then please try out these websites also:
http://www.ictgames.com/phonic_fighter4.html
http://www.ictgames.com/letterlifter.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/laac/words/dgi.shtml - this is a great website for identifying the sounds at the beginning, middle and end of words.
www.starfall.com - the old favourite.
In addition to this we will also be continuing to concentrate on the children’s spelling of simple three letter words such as big, man, cat, top etc as well as focusing in on the high frequency words more. The children are doing great as this is the end of year target for Foundation Stage and we are already working on it!! The following websites should prove very useful.
http://www.crick.northants.sch.uk/assets/Flash%20Studio/cfslit/CVC%20Maker/cvcmaker.html - this website asks you to see how many words you can make
http://www.ictgames.com/cvc_machine.html
http://www.ictgames.com/plankgameR.html - this focuses on high frequency words
http://www.ictgames.com/lcwc.html - this concentrates on the spelling of the high frequency words. You can simply type in the high frequency words that your child needs to work on for them to play the game with.
http://www.ictgames.com/machine.html - great for blending sounds together.
For those children who are already able to spell and read simple three letter words then try out these websites as they will focus on the spelling of consonant clusters in words e.g bl, cl, st, sm etc.
http://www.ictgames.com/blending_dragon.html
http://www.ictgames.com/cluster.html
Mathematical Development
This week we will return to our work on addition. Remember the phrase COUNT-COUNT-TOGETHER-COUNT with the children as a review to the method they need to use when adding two numbers together. As the week progresses we hope that the children will begin to develop their mental recall of some smaller number facts.
By the end of the week, the children:
MUST be able to practically combine two sets of objects in order to find the total;
SHOULD be able to start for the larger number and count on to find the total of two numbers;
COULD be able to understand that there are many ways of making one total e.g 4+3 is 7 as is 5+2 and 6+1, etc.
Here are some useful websites:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/laac/numbers/ch1.shtml - this is a lovely website for developing those skills of addition. Remember the phrase: COUNT, COUNT, TOGETHER, COUNT.
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/count_on_me/eng/Introduction/default.htm - although this is aimed at Year1/2 I still think some of the children will be able to access it. Why not give it a try?
http://www.ictgames.com/10pipe.html
http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/toftwood/beaver.html
www.rainforestmaths.com - by far my most favourite website for developing mathematical development.
Knowledge and Understanding of the World
In the computer suite this week, the children will be consolidating their understanding of the art package Dazzle. They will be asked to choose a fruit or vegetable to create on screen using the different tools on the desktop. The children have amazed us once again this year with their ICT skills. In addition to this, the children will be continuing to practice their programming of the two robots we have in school.
Physical Development
The children’s physical development has a high profile this week as we take a look at exercise. The children will learn to recognise the importance of keeping healthy and those things which contribute to this. They will become more aware of the changes that occur when their bodies are active.
The week will kick off with the children differentiating between food items that are healthy and unhealthy for them. We will ensure that some things are less healthy than others but eaten in moderation are okay.
Hallelujah!!! All our children can now get dressed and undressed independently, including buttons. Just in time for them to use polo shirts!! Aghh!! Perhaps we can now turn our attention to something else. I’ll have to ponder on this one!!
Here I Am
We will be developing the Easter story in preparation for a whole week on it next week. I hope you have all been gluing frantically over the weekend. Remember the prize goes to the one that demonstrates creativity and is the child’s own work. If it is any consolation I too have to make one with Faith and find it really hard to keep my hands off the glitter and feathers! I actually made one alongside her purely for ideas of course!
I think that’s all for this week.
Best wishes
Jayne Narraway and the Foundation Stage xxx
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Es semana espanola!
Hola!
This week we start our whole-school Spanish week, hence the title of the blog this week. It has actually taken me quite a while to work out the pronunciation of the spanish words and thus our week will be revolved about what I can pronounce!!
We will be focusing on the days of the week and colours. I have listed them below for you to have a go at but BEWARE my pronunciation of the words may actually result in the creation of a new spanish dialect! Espanola a la Wigan!
Days of the Week
Monday - lunes (loonez)
Tuesday - martes (martez - roll the r)
Wednesday - miercoles (me-air-co-les)
Thursday - jueve (quebe)
Friday - viernes (bee-er-nez)
Saturday - sabado
Sunday - domingo
Colours
red - rojo (rocko)
yellow - amarillo (no Peter Kay jokes please!)
blue - azul
green - verde
orange - anaranjado (haven't got a clue-o)
black - negro (the 'e' is pronounced as the 'e' in 'egg')
white - blanco
pink - rosa
purple - purpura
brown - marron
grey - gris
All I can say is GOOD LUCK!!! (and wish me some too)
If you want further spanish translations try out this translation website:
www.babelfish.altavista.com/tr
If you want futher tution then these sites are good for the children and they have the pronunciation on too!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryspanish/
http://www.dsokids.com/2001/dso.asp?PageID=298 - for a recipe to try out.
Creative Development and Knowledge and Understanding of the World
We will begin our week with a Mantle ( a role-play) to inspire the children for the rest of the week's work. The children will receive a letter from the Tate Gallery whose trustees are not very impressed with the standard of art work the artist of today are producing. Therefore, they are commissioning the children to create pieces of art for the gallery. Of course, this is not real, so the school hall will become the Tate for the exhibition of their work.
Due to use doing Spanish week, we are asking the children to create their artwork in the style of Antoni Gaudi. I went to Barcelona for my 30th birthday and was truly in awe of the work he did. So...please allow me a little indulgence!
There is, however, a CHALLENGE on top of this! The Healthy Schools Award is funding the exhibition (not really but I bet you are starting to believe just as the children will!) and are requesting that the theme be based around healthy eating. Did I hear the word 'eating'? Not another week of food! Well, why should it be any different?
Information about healthy eating can be found on the following websites:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/schools/4_11/uptoyou/
http://tiki.oneworld.net/food/home.html
http://www.cspinet.org/smartmouth/recipes_articles/index.html - lovely recipes to try out. Faith loved the strawberry smoothie.
Throughout the course of the week, the children will learn about vegetables and fruit that they may not have otherwise tasted or seen before. We do encourage the children to have a try of all the foods we give them. The ruling being:
First taste is a shock.
Second taste they decide if they like it or not.
In addition to this they will learn about where the fruit and vegetables come from and hopefully learn some of the spanish names for them.
The children will be completing observational drawings of their different fruits and vegetables and this will be transfered onto a large canvas for a team piece of art. We hope to develop the children's cooperative skills whilst also optimising their creative ones. Following the drawing of the fruits and vegetables onto the canvas they will then use gummed paper in small squares to create a mosaic effect in the style of Antoni Gaudi.
Mathematical Development and Physical Development
This week, these two areas of learning are to be combined in order to teach the children about positional language.
By the end of this week, the children:
MUST be able to understand positional language;
SHOULD be able to use positional langauge;
COULD be able to give directions to a partner using positional and directional language.
The children will have an input where they will learn the following vocabulary: on, above, under, beneath, beside, on top of, in front of, behind, next to. You may wish to support this in the home by asking your child where certain items are and encouraging the positional language. A good game is to hide a teddy bear and your child has to say where they found it.
The physical development aspect comes into play when the children will be asked to tell a partner what to do on the obstacle course in the hall during PE.
Communication, Language and Literacy
As always we will be developing the children's reading and writing skills. We are particular focusing on the children's spelling of simple three letter words and some longer words. the websites posted on the last website will adequately support your child's development. Why not give them a simple word like pen, man, net etc and see if they will write it. You will be amazed at what they can do!
We will also be using the artwork produced by the children and the work of Antoni Gaudi as a stimulus for the children's writing next week. The children will be developing their ideas for a shared composition which will be a tour guide to accompany their art exhibition. (Is this really the Foundation Stage??)
Parents' evening
You should have received your appointment date and time via your child's diary. Unfortunately I was not able to accommodate all parents with their request and I did have to work on a first come first served basis. You may also have noticed that I had to alter the Thursday and Friday dates to the following week. I hope this has not caused any problems.
And FINALLY...
Happy Mother's Day to all those mums out there! I hope you had a lovely day and liked the card and gift your child had so lovingly created.
Have a lovely week!
Best wishes
Jayne Narraway and the Foundation Stage Team xxxxx
This week we start our whole-school Spanish week, hence the title of the blog this week. It has actually taken me quite a while to work out the pronunciation of the spanish words and thus our week will be revolved about what I can pronounce!!
We will be focusing on the days of the week and colours. I have listed them below for you to have a go at but BEWARE my pronunciation of the words may actually result in the creation of a new spanish dialect! Espanola a la Wigan!
Days of the Week
Monday - lunes (loonez)
Tuesday - martes (martez - roll the r)
Wednesday - miercoles (me-air-co-les)
Thursday - jueve (quebe)
Friday - viernes (bee-er-nez)
Saturday - sabado
Sunday - domingo
Colours
red - rojo (rocko)
yellow - amarillo (no Peter Kay jokes please!)
blue - azul
green - verde
orange - anaranjado (haven't got a clue-o)
black - negro (the 'e' is pronounced as the 'e' in 'egg')
white - blanco
pink - rosa
purple - purpura
brown - marron
grey - gris
All I can say is GOOD LUCK!!! (and wish me some too)
If you want further spanish translations try out this translation website:
www.babelfish.altavista.com/tr
If you want futher tution then these sites are good for the children and they have the pronunciation on too!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryspanish/
http://www.dsokids.com/2001/dso.asp?PageID=298 - for a recipe to try out.
Creative Development and Knowledge and Understanding of the World
We will begin our week with a Mantle ( a role-play) to inspire the children for the rest of the week's work. The children will receive a letter from the Tate Gallery whose trustees are not very impressed with the standard of art work the artist of today are producing. Therefore, they are commissioning the children to create pieces of art for the gallery. Of course, this is not real, so the school hall will become the Tate for the exhibition of their work.
Due to use doing Spanish week, we are asking the children to create their artwork in the style of Antoni Gaudi. I went to Barcelona for my 30th birthday and was truly in awe of the work he did. So...please allow me a little indulgence!
There is, however, a CHALLENGE on top of this! The Healthy Schools Award is funding the exhibition (not really but I bet you are starting to believe just as the children will!) and are requesting that the theme be based around healthy eating. Did I hear the word 'eating'? Not another week of food! Well, why should it be any different?
Information about healthy eating can be found on the following websites:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/schools/4_11/uptoyou/
http://tiki.oneworld.net/food/home.html
http://www.cspinet.org/smartmouth/recipes_articles/index.html - lovely recipes to try out. Faith loved the strawberry smoothie.
Throughout the course of the week, the children will learn about vegetables and fruit that they may not have otherwise tasted or seen before. We do encourage the children to have a try of all the foods we give them. The ruling being:
First taste is a shock.
Second taste they decide if they like it or not.
In addition to this they will learn about where the fruit and vegetables come from and hopefully learn some of the spanish names for them.
The children will be completing observational drawings of their different fruits and vegetables and this will be transfered onto a large canvas for a team piece of art. We hope to develop the children's cooperative skills whilst also optimising their creative ones. Following the drawing of the fruits and vegetables onto the canvas they will then use gummed paper in small squares to create a mosaic effect in the style of Antoni Gaudi.
Mathematical Development and Physical Development
This week, these two areas of learning are to be combined in order to teach the children about positional language.
By the end of this week, the children:
MUST be able to understand positional language;
SHOULD be able to use positional langauge;
COULD be able to give directions to a partner using positional and directional language.
The children will have an input where they will learn the following vocabulary: on, above, under, beneath, beside, on top of, in front of, behind, next to. You may wish to support this in the home by asking your child where certain items are and encouraging the positional language. A good game is to hide a teddy bear and your child has to say where they found it.
The physical development aspect comes into play when the children will be asked to tell a partner what to do on the obstacle course in the hall during PE.
Communication, Language and Literacy
As always we will be developing the children's reading and writing skills. We are particular focusing on the children's spelling of simple three letter words and some longer words. the websites posted on the last website will adequately support your child's development. Why not give them a simple word like pen, man, net etc and see if they will write it. You will be amazed at what they can do!
We will also be using the artwork produced by the children and the work of Antoni Gaudi as a stimulus for the children's writing next week. The children will be developing their ideas for a shared composition which will be a tour guide to accompany their art exhibition. (Is this really the Foundation Stage??)
Parents' evening
You should have received your appointment date and time via your child's diary. Unfortunately I was not able to accommodate all parents with their request and I did have to work on a first come first served basis. You may also have noticed that I had to alter the Thursday and Friday dates to the following week. I hope this has not caused any problems.
And FINALLY...
Happy Mother's Day to all those mums out there! I hope you had a lovely day and liked the card and gift your child had so lovingly created.
Have a lovely week!
Best wishes
Jayne Narraway and the Foundation Stage Team xxxxx
Friday, March 09, 2007
Days of the Week
Well…what a week we had last week! The children really did the school credit during our RE inspection and we were so proud of them. They really loved the story of ‘Handa’s Surprise’ by Eileen Browne and wrote some beautiful sentences as a result. In addition they gladly exploited the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to speak in Spanish when we were visited by a headteacher from Malaga in Spain. ESTUPENDO!!!
Here goes with this week’s agenda…
Here I Am
Following the start of our new topic on Death and New Life, the children are eagerly awaiting the growth of their ‘seed of love’ which they planted last week. (Between you and me it is actually a giant sunflower that we are going to plant along the fence at the front of school and collect the seeds from – that is if we manage to keep them alive. I am not known for my green fingers!!!)
This week the children will begin the RELATE aspect of the syllabus. The children will learn about Lent as a time for remembering Jesus and being new people. The class will have a Lenten tree where the children who do something extra to help others will be able to have their name written on an egg and placed on the tree. Our aim is to have all the children’s name on the tree. We do have a ‘Good Shepherd’ box in class to collect money for those less fortunate than ourselves. This week, the children will be planning their fundraising event to raise money for Cafod, our chosen charity. The children have the POWER! They can decide how they wish to raise money. Mmmmm… could be interesting!
Communication, Language and Literacy
In order to provide you with up-to-date information regarding your child’s progress in this area of the curriculum, I shall be conducting a series of assessments with the children linked to their literacy skills.
For those children who still need to learn the letters names of the alphabet, this is a fabulous website.
http://www.learnenglish.org.uk/kids/antics/index.html - listen to the letter the monkey makes and then click on the corresponding letter symbol out of a choice of three.
http://www.ictgames.com/phonic_fighter4.html - this is great as it uses the letters the children struggle to remember.
http://www.lgfl.net/lgfl/leas/greenwich/accounts/subjects/englishliteracy/web/ICT%20and%20Interactive%20Whiteboard%20Pilot/documents/medialsounds.ppt - great powerpoint to enable the children to develop their blending skills in order to read simple three letter words.
http://www.e-gfl.org/e-gfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/teacher/other/spark/itsagoal/itsagoal.html# - love it, love it, love it!!!!!
As part of their guided reading experience, the children will look at the use of diagrams to provide us with information. These websites may prove to be useful in reinforcing this.
http://demo.iboard.co.uk/screens/thread_home.htm?thread_id=13 - review those parts of the face and the children’s understanding of labelled diagrams with this website.
http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks3/science/body_parts_s/english.htm - chance to review the names of the body parts.
http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/clickon/infantzone/bodyparts.htm
http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/clickon/infantzone/face.htm - children have the chance to label the parts of a face.
http://www.ictgames.com/lcwc.html - this concentrates on the spelling of the high frequency words. You can simply type in the high frequency words that your child needs to work on for them to play the game with.
http://www.ictgames.com/machine.html - great for blending sounds together.
http://www.ictgames.com/blending_dragon.html
http://www.ictgames.com/cluster.html
Mathematical Development
The class target for this week is to know the days of the week off by heart starting with Sunday. I have included a sheet in the children’s bags, which has a song for the children to use to help them.
Last week, we were unable to complete all the activities we had planned for. Therefore, we will be continuing on the area of measure with the children. For the Foundation Stage Profile, the children are expected to USE the mathematical vocabulary linked to measure.
By the end of the week, the children:
MUST be able to use and understand – longer/shorter, taller/shorter, full/empty/half full, heavier/lighter;
SHOULD be able to compare the lengths and masses of two objects using the correct mathematical vocabulary;
COULD be able to compare the length and masses of three or more objects using the correct mathematical vocabulary.
I would only recommend www.rainforestmaths.com as a suitable website for this area of mathematics as nothing beats household items. Why not get out the family shoes and compare the sizes, take different sized containers into the bath and compare the capacity of them, etc. REMEMBER!!!! The use of the correct comparative language is crucial!
Knowledge and Understanding of the World
The children will have a massive dose of information and communication technology (ICT). This week, the children will learn how to use the Bee-bot, another programmable toy. This will be linked with the story of ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’. The children must program the robot to go to a particular item from the story.
In addition to this, the children will continue to develop their ability to use a word bank to create sentences. Again, linked to The Very Hungry Caterpillar, the children will record what the caterpillar ate on each day. This will support the children’s recognition of the days of the week and the ability to sequence them.
Physical Development
The children will really develop their scissor skills again this week. Any support you can give would be great. REMEMBER to encourage the children to turn the paper and not the scissors.
In PE the children will be continuing to develop their ball skills. This week, the children will be practicing the skill of throwing and catching a bean bag/ball with a partner and then extending this to with a team. Please ensure your child has a pair of pumps in school because if the weather is fair, then we will be going outside for PE lessons.
Creative Development
FOR ALL THOSE MUMS OUT THERE. IT’S A SECRET!!!!
Parents’ Evening
Thank you for the speedy reply regarding the parents’ evening times. However, I do have a problem in that many parents have opted for 5.10pm on the Friday and not provided me with any other times. Unfortunately, I can not accommodate everyone and I will give the appointments on a first come, first served basis. If you are able to provide me with another alternative day (for those who have chosen Friday only) I would be very appreciative as there are a lot of parents to accommodate and any flexibility would be great. Just let me know as soon as possible. You should receive an appointment time in your child’s diary this week.
I think that is all.
Have a fab week!
Best wishes
Jayne Narraway and the Foundation Stage Team xxxxx
Here goes with this week’s agenda…
Here I Am
Following the start of our new topic on Death and New Life, the children are eagerly awaiting the growth of their ‘seed of love’ which they planted last week. (Between you and me it is actually a giant sunflower that we are going to plant along the fence at the front of school and collect the seeds from – that is if we manage to keep them alive. I am not known for my green fingers!!!)
This week the children will begin the RELATE aspect of the syllabus. The children will learn about Lent as a time for remembering Jesus and being new people. The class will have a Lenten tree where the children who do something extra to help others will be able to have their name written on an egg and placed on the tree. Our aim is to have all the children’s name on the tree. We do have a ‘Good Shepherd’ box in class to collect money for those less fortunate than ourselves. This week, the children will be planning their fundraising event to raise money for Cafod, our chosen charity. The children have the POWER! They can decide how they wish to raise money. Mmmmm… could be interesting!
Communication, Language and Literacy
In order to provide you with up-to-date information regarding your child’s progress in this area of the curriculum, I shall be conducting a series of assessments with the children linked to their literacy skills.
For those children who still need to learn the letters names of the alphabet, this is a fabulous website.
http://www.learnenglish.org.uk/kids/antics/index.html - listen to the letter the monkey makes and then click on the corresponding letter symbol out of a choice of three.
http://www.ictgames.com/phonic_fighter4.html - this is great as it uses the letters the children struggle to remember.
http://www.lgfl.net/lgfl/leas/greenwich/accounts/subjects/englishliteracy/web/ICT%20and%20Interactive%20Whiteboard%20Pilot/documents/medialsounds.ppt - great powerpoint to enable the children to develop their blending skills in order to read simple three letter words.
http://www.e-gfl.org/e-gfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/teacher/other/spark/itsagoal/itsagoal.html# - love it, love it, love it!!!!!
As part of their guided reading experience, the children will look at the use of diagrams to provide us with information. These websites may prove to be useful in reinforcing this.
http://demo.iboard.co.uk/screens/thread_home.htm?thread_id=13 - review those parts of the face and the children’s understanding of labelled diagrams with this website.
http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks3/science/body_parts_s/english.htm - chance to review the names of the body parts.
http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/clickon/infantzone/bodyparts.htm
http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/clickon/infantzone/face.htm - children have the chance to label the parts of a face.
http://www.ictgames.com/lcwc.html - this concentrates on the spelling of the high frequency words. You can simply type in the high frequency words that your child needs to work on for them to play the game with.
http://www.ictgames.com/machine.html - great for blending sounds together.
http://www.ictgames.com/blending_dragon.html
http://www.ictgames.com/cluster.html
Mathematical Development
The class target for this week is to know the days of the week off by heart starting with Sunday. I have included a sheet in the children’s bags, which has a song for the children to use to help them.
Last week, we were unable to complete all the activities we had planned for. Therefore, we will be continuing on the area of measure with the children. For the Foundation Stage Profile, the children are expected to USE the mathematical vocabulary linked to measure.
By the end of the week, the children:
MUST be able to use and understand – longer/shorter, taller/shorter, full/empty/half full, heavier/lighter;
SHOULD be able to compare the lengths and masses of two objects using the correct mathematical vocabulary;
COULD be able to compare the length and masses of three or more objects using the correct mathematical vocabulary.
I would only recommend www.rainforestmaths.com as a suitable website for this area of mathematics as nothing beats household items. Why not get out the family shoes and compare the sizes, take different sized containers into the bath and compare the capacity of them, etc. REMEMBER!!!! The use of the correct comparative language is crucial!
Knowledge and Understanding of the World
The children will have a massive dose of information and communication technology (ICT). This week, the children will learn how to use the Bee-bot, another programmable toy. This will be linked with the story of ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’. The children must program the robot to go to a particular item from the story.
In addition to this, the children will continue to develop their ability to use a word bank to create sentences. Again, linked to The Very Hungry Caterpillar, the children will record what the caterpillar ate on each day. This will support the children’s recognition of the days of the week and the ability to sequence them.
Physical Development
The children will really develop their scissor skills again this week. Any support you can give would be great. REMEMBER to encourage the children to turn the paper and not the scissors.
In PE the children will be continuing to develop their ball skills. This week, the children will be practicing the skill of throwing and catching a bean bag/ball with a partner and then extending this to with a team. Please ensure your child has a pair of pumps in school because if the weather is fair, then we will be going outside for PE lessons.
Creative Development
FOR ALL THOSE MUMS OUT THERE. IT’S A SECRET!!!!
Parents’ Evening
Thank you for the speedy reply regarding the parents’ evening times. However, I do have a problem in that many parents have opted for 5.10pm on the Friday and not provided me with any other times. Unfortunately, I can not accommodate everyone and I will give the appointments on a first come, first served basis. If you are able to provide me with another alternative day (for those who have chosen Friday only) I would be very appreciative as there are a lot of parents to accommodate and any flexibility would be great. Just let me know as soon as possible. You should receive an appointment time in your child’s diary this week.
I think that is all.
Have a fab week!
Best wishes
Jayne Narraway and the Foundation Stage Team xxxxx
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Handa's Surprise
Firstly, please accept my apologies for there being no parents’ evening letter in your child’s diary this week. Mrs Cain, our school administrator, has been rushed off her feet and it was unfortunately not typed up in time for Friday. You should get it this week.
We have a very busy week this week as we have our RE inspection on Wednesday and a visit from a Headteacher of a school in Spain. I’m sure we will impress them!
This week hold even more treats as the children will complete a series of activities based around Eileen Browne’s story ‘Handa’s Surprise’.
It is the story of a little girl called Handa, who puts seven different delicious fruits in a basket to take to her friend Akeyo as a surprise. However, it is Handa who gets the surprise as the animals she passes on her way steal all the fruit. So does she end up with an empty basket? Ask your child to find out.
As part of our teaching of Spanish we are going to endeavour to teach the children the names of the fruits during our Knowledge and Understanding of the World. I have also put together a programme of English teaching tools to give to our Spanish visitor as a gift from the children in the Foundation Stage.
Here I Am
In Here I Am we commence the first week of a brand new topic ‘Death and New Life’. The title does appear to be a sombre one, but we do focus more on the New Life aspect and start by linking it in with their natural environment.
Therefore, by the end of this week the children will have:
RECOGNISED the signs of new life. This will be achieved by the children taking digital photographs of signs of new life whilst taking a walk around the school grounds.
REFLECTED on the signs of new life around them. Using the digital images the children have taken the session before and other pictures the children will reflect on the various signs of new life. They will also be involved in the planting of their very own ‘seed of love’, which they will nurture over the next few weeks.
RESPECT for new life and understand that Spring is a time for new life.
Communication, Langauge and Literacy
This is a lovely text to work with as it contains many opportunities to develop the children’s vocabulary and in particular their descriptive language. As the text is read,and during their guided reading sessions, the children:
MUST be able to use the pictures to support their word identification;
SHOULD be able to use the initial letter with the pictures to support their reading;
COULD be able to start sounding out words when reading;
As always we will be focusing on the teaching of spelling strategies and, we are VERY impressed with the level of phonological awareness the children are showing to us when they are completing writing activities. These websites are good to use with your child at home to continue to develop their spelling and reading skills.
http://www.ictgames.com/phonic_fighter4.html
http://www.ictgames.com/letterlifter.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/laac/words/dgi.shtml - this is a great website for identifying the sounds at the beginning, middle and end of words.
www.starfall.com - the old favourite.
http://www.crick.northants.sch.uk/assets/Flash%20Studio/cfslit/CVC%20Maker/cvcmaker.html - this website asks you to see how many words you can make
http://www.ictgames.com/cvc_machine.html
http://www.ictgames.com/plankgameR.html - this focuses on high frequency words
http://www.ictgames.com/lcwc.html - this concentrates on the spelling of the high frequency words. You can simply type in the high frequency words that your child needs to work on for them to play the game with.
http://www.ictgames.com/machine.html - great for blending sounds together.
http://www.ictgames.com/blending_dragon.html
http://www.ictgames.com/cluster.html
If you ask your child to spell a simple three letter word e.g hen, tin, pit many of them will be able to do it. The next step is to make sure they can read the word back to you by sounding the word out and blending the sounds together to read the word. Why not have a go!
The children will be transferring their skills into their writing and by the end of the week, the children:
MUST be able to identify the initial and final sounds in simple CVC words.
SHOULD be able to write a sentence with support, spelling simple three letter words correctly.
COULD be able to write a sentence with some degree of independence.
Mathematical Development
This week we move onto some more Shape, Space and Measure. By the end of the week, the children:
MUST be able to understand – longer/shorter, taller/shorter, full/empty/half full, heavier/lighter;
SHOULD be able to compare the lengths and masses of two objects using the correct mathematical vocabulary;
COULD be able to compare the length and masses of three or more objects using the correct mathematical vocabulary.
I would only recommend www.rainforestmaths.com as a suitable website for this area of mathematics as nothing beats household items. Why not get out the family shoes and compare the sizes, take different sized containers into the bath and compare the capacity of them, etc.
Knowledge and Understanding of the World
In this area of the curriculum the children will be learning to appreciate the importance of fruit to stay healthy. They will be introduced to ‘Victoria Vitamin’, a character who will help them to remember the important word ‘VITAMIN’. The children will begin by exploring the fruits using their senses. They will touch, smell and…YES!.. taste them. This will provide the opportunity for us to develop the children’s vocabulary also. It may be worth a visit to the supermarket for some unusal fruits to try as a family.
In ICT, the children will be learning to use a word bank to write simple sentences linked to the story of Handa’s Surprise.
Creative Development
We are really focusing on the children’s drawing skills this week. They will have the opportunity to complete observational drawings of the outside and inside of the fruits. We will be particularly focusing on oranges and lemons. The children will work collaboratively on a collage activity based around these two fruits before independently creating a collage. If all goes well, we should have a fabulous display to put up (if only we had a classroom twice the size!) In addition to this, the children will be provided with props with which they will be able to retell the story of the Handa’s Surprise both on the small world table and in imaginative play.
Physical Development
The children will be further developing their cutting skills with the creation of a basket of fruit for Handa’s basket. You may wish to practice scissor skills at home with your child. In PE the children will be continuing to develop their ball skills. This week, the children will be practicing the skill of throwing and catching a bean bag/ball with a partner and then extending this to with a team. Please ensure your child has a pair of pumps in school because if the weather is fair, then we will be going outside for PE lessons.
That’s all for this week folks!
Have a good week and take care.
Jayne Narraway and the Foundation Stage Team xxx
We have a very busy week this week as we have our RE inspection on Wednesday and a visit from a Headteacher of a school in Spain. I’m sure we will impress them!
This week hold even more treats as the children will complete a series of activities based around Eileen Browne’s story ‘Handa’s Surprise’.
It is the story of a little girl called Handa, who puts seven different delicious fruits in a basket to take to her friend Akeyo as a surprise. However, it is Handa who gets the surprise as the animals she passes on her way steal all the fruit. So does she end up with an empty basket? Ask your child to find out.
As part of our teaching of Spanish we are going to endeavour to teach the children the names of the fruits during our Knowledge and Understanding of the World. I have also put together a programme of English teaching tools to give to our Spanish visitor as a gift from the children in the Foundation Stage.
Here I Am
In Here I Am we commence the first week of a brand new topic ‘Death and New Life’. The title does appear to be a sombre one, but we do focus more on the New Life aspect and start by linking it in with their natural environment.
Therefore, by the end of this week the children will have:
RECOGNISED the signs of new life. This will be achieved by the children taking digital photographs of signs of new life whilst taking a walk around the school grounds.
REFLECTED on the signs of new life around them. Using the digital images the children have taken the session before and other pictures the children will reflect on the various signs of new life. They will also be involved in the planting of their very own ‘seed of love’, which they will nurture over the next few weeks.
RESPECT for new life and understand that Spring is a time for new life.
Communication, Langauge and Literacy
This is a lovely text to work with as it contains many opportunities to develop the children’s vocabulary and in particular their descriptive language. As the text is read,and during their guided reading sessions, the children:
MUST be able to use the pictures to support their word identification;
SHOULD be able to use the initial letter with the pictures to support their reading;
COULD be able to start sounding out words when reading;
As always we will be focusing on the teaching of spelling strategies and, we are VERY impressed with the level of phonological awareness the children are showing to us when they are completing writing activities. These websites are good to use with your child at home to continue to develop their spelling and reading skills.
http://www.ictgames.com/phonic_fighter4.html
http://www.ictgames.com/letterlifter.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/laac/words/dgi.shtml - this is a great website for identifying the sounds at the beginning, middle and end of words.
www.starfall.com - the old favourite.
http://www.crick.northants.sch.uk/assets/Flash%20Studio/cfslit/CVC%20Maker/cvcmaker.html - this website asks you to see how many words you can make
http://www.ictgames.com/cvc_machine.html
http://www.ictgames.com/plankgameR.html - this focuses on high frequency words
http://www.ictgames.com/lcwc.html - this concentrates on the spelling of the high frequency words. You can simply type in the high frequency words that your child needs to work on for them to play the game with.
http://www.ictgames.com/machine.html - great for blending sounds together.
http://www.ictgames.com/blending_dragon.html
http://www.ictgames.com/cluster.html
If you ask your child to spell a simple three letter word e.g hen, tin, pit many of them will be able to do it. The next step is to make sure they can read the word back to you by sounding the word out and blending the sounds together to read the word. Why not have a go!
The children will be transferring their skills into their writing and by the end of the week, the children:
MUST be able to identify the initial and final sounds in simple CVC words.
SHOULD be able to write a sentence with support, spelling simple three letter words correctly.
COULD be able to write a sentence with some degree of independence.
Mathematical Development
This week we move onto some more Shape, Space and Measure. By the end of the week, the children:
MUST be able to understand – longer/shorter, taller/shorter, full/empty/half full, heavier/lighter;
SHOULD be able to compare the lengths and masses of two objects using the correct mathematical vocabulary;
COULD be able to compare the length and masses of three or more objects using the correct mathematical vocabulary.
I would only recommend www.rainforestmaths.com as a suitable website for this area of mathematics as nothing beats household items. Why not get out the family shoes and compare the sizes, take different sized containers into the bath and compare the capacity of them, etc.
Knowledge and Understanding of the World
In this area of the curriculum the children will be learning to appreciate the importance of fruit to stay healthy. They will be introduced to ‘Victoria Vitamin’, a character who will help them to remember the important word ‘VITAMIN’. The children will begin by exploring the fruits using their senses. They will touch, smell and…YES!.. taste them. This will provide the opportunity for us to develop the children’s vocabulary also. It may be worth a visit to the supermarket for some unusal fruits to try as a family.
In ICT, the children will be learning to use a word bank to write simple sentences linked to the story of Handa’s Surprise.
Creative Development
We are really focusing on the children’s drawing skills this week. They will have the opportunity to complete observational drawings of the outside and inside of the fruits. We will be particularly focusing on oranges and lemons. The children will work collaboratively on a collage activity based around these two fruits before independently creating a collage. If all goes well, we should have a fabulous display to put up (if only we had a classroom twice the size!) In addition to this, the children will be provided with props with which they will be able to retell the story of the Handa’s Surprise both on the small world table and in imaginative play.
Physical Development
The children will be further developing their cutting skills with the creation of a basket of fruit for Handa’s basket. You may wish to practice scissor skills at home with your child. In PE the children will be continuing to develop their ball skills. This week, the children will be practicing the skill of throwing and catching a bean bag/ball with a partner and then extending this to with a team. Please ensure your child has a pair of pumps in school because if the weather is fair, then we will be going outside for PE lessons.
That’s all for this week folks!
Have a good week and take care.
Jayne Narraway and the Foundation Stage Team xxx
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