It's Christmas Time December is Here!!!

Hi there!
How fantastic is it now that we are in December? Already I am humming the Christmas tunes whilst doing my weekly shop and dusting off the Christmas tree. Now that it is officially Christmas time, it is without doubt time to get out the glitter, sequins and baubles and start preparing for the festivities.

As a treat for the children, during the time they are performing their much rehearsed and awaited Christmas Production, the whole week will be dedicated to those little keepsakes to adorn your mantelpiece and Christmas tree. No…there will be no glittered egg boxes which my mum still hangs up every year (much to my dismay). Please be very aware that the children will be very tired this week due to the performances. Tears may happen and reading time may be a challenge. For this reason there will be no homework this week. One thing to look forward to though is an early night to bed on Friday! Mr barker also allows the children to come in by 10.30 on Friday following the evening performance on Thursday. Unfortunately, this does not apply to staff so if you wish to drop your child off at the normal time then that is fine.

Christmas Tree Decoration
The week begins with the children receiving a letter from Timmy Tree. This is actually our class Christmas Tree. He is really sad because all his other Christmas tree friends have decorations and BOO HOO he is bare. Can we solve his problem? Oh yes we can…Oh no you can’t…oh yes we can (sorry couldn’t resist with the panto season and all that!) The children will therefore extend their creative skills and mathematical skills by decorating their very own bauble. This is an opportunity for the children to talk about the properties of the sphere shape of their bauble and reinforce their understanding of pattern making when they stick on the sequins etc.

Christmas Party Hats
On Thursday of this week, the children will have their Christmas dinner in the hall. Not one to miss out on an opportunity to make an occasion out of eating food, an especially Christmas dinner. The children will make their own Christmas party hat. Again, the children will use 3d shapes to print a pattern on their hat. This will give us the opportunity to develop the children’s language associated with 3d and 3d shapes. Please note that due to the demands on the kitchen on Thursday there will be no toast on sale at break time.

Christmas Cards
The Christmas cards the children will be making this year will incorporate the children’s learning in mathematical development and RE. The children will use 2d shapes to create a card depicting the Three Wise Men visiting Baby Jesus in Bethlehem. Whilst making the cards the children will be encouraged to talk about their understanding of the visitors to the stable in Bethlehem. The cards will also provide the children with the opportunity to write their names and those of their family.

A class list will also be sent out via the diaries to help you with any cards your child may which to send.

Nativity Story
The children will have the opportunity to become more familiar with the events of the First Christmas through a range of activities. The aim is that the children become aware of the preparations for the birth of Jesus. Props will be provided for the children to role-play the story and take on one of the characters. The small world table now has the stable scene on it to encourage language and story telling. We will also be opening our interactive Advent calendar and our class one which has little tasks to complete each day. Here are some great websites you can look at with the children to help them remember the story.
http://www.topmarks.co.uk/christianity/nativity/ - this is a e-version of the story for the children to enjoy.
http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/carolrb/christmas/christmas1.html - find out about the history behind the customs surrounding Christmas.
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/ngfl/re/b-dag/ngfl-container/re-unit1-en.html- this is a wonderful website where the children can learn how to sequence the parts of the story for themselves. The children can create a nativity scene for themselves.
http://www.refuel.org.uk/curric/infant_topics/christmas/christmas.html - another lovely book. Perhaps we can make an electronic book as a class.

Christmas Fayre
Whilst we are busily trying to clean the cupboards, get to the bottom of the ironing basket and check on those last minute purchases, this is a great opportunity to get the children out of the house! Our annual Christmas Fayre is on Saturday 8th December. There are gifts that can be bought, face painting and even a Santa’s Grotto. Please come along as our Friends of St Vincent’s work tirelessly to raise funds for our school.

In addition to our Christmas activities the children will still continue with the ‘bread and butter’ of their learning.

Communication, Language and Literacy
This week will be introducing the use of more sound/phonemes. These are: ‘o’, ‘g’, ‘c’ and ‘k’.
By the end of the week, the children:
MUST be able to recognise the letters and say the sounds they represent;
SHOULD be able to hear the sounds at the beginning and end of sounds;
COULD be able to read and write words containing the letter.

You should have received an update on the letters your child is currently working on. I am thrilled with the progress the children are making. Thanks for your support.

Here are some great websites you may wish to visit.
http://www.saintambrosebarlow.wigan.sch.uk/activities.htm - The children are to try to hear the initial sounds in words.
http://www.ictgames.com/phonic_fighter4.html - Look at the letter shown and then select the picture that begins with that letter.
http://www.channel4.com/learning/microsites/H/hoobs/activities/interactiveActivities.jsp?id=letters - This is an amazing website focusing on the initial sounds. Hours of fun why you do your ironing I think!
http://www.little-g.com/shockwave/beginning.html - the children are to focus on the initial sounds of the picture shown and then identify a picture with the same initial sound.
http://www.ictgames.com/phonemeFlop_v4.html - a good website for getting the children to identify the letters of the alphabet.
www.starfall.com - this is a great all-rounder. Remember to encourage your child to use the letters they are unsure of. I will stick this information in your child’s diary this week.
http://www.ictgames.com/phonic_fighter4.html - I love this game!
http://www.channel4.com/learning/microsites/H/hoobs/activities/interactiveActivities.jsp?id=letters - activities 12 and 13 are good for helping with identifying the initial letters.
http://www.ictgames.com/soundBingo.html
http://www.ictgames.com/letterlifter.html

Mathematical Development
This week, we continue our two week block of work looking at shapes and their properties. Your child’s existing knowledge of shapes will determine whether they will be working on 2D shapes (circle, square, rectangle, triangle, star) or 3D shapes (cuboid, cube, sphere, cone and cylinder). The vocabulary related to shape is very important so I hope you found the sheet I sent home in your child’s diary. A good idea is to take a shape walk around your house our local area and see how the world is made up of their shapes.

By the end of the week, the children:
MUST be able to name and describe all the 2d shapes;
SHOULD be able to name the 3d shapes and describe some of their properties;
COULD be able to recognise a 2d or 3d shape from its description.

Here are some good websites also.
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/Phase2delivery/Wales/Artanddesign/Keystage1/Making/Shapepictures/Introduction/ - the children review their recognition of 2d shapes and then look for them in pictures. The children also get the opportunity to create their own shape picture on the computer.
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/build_it/eng/Introduction/default.htm - a good website for seeing how models are make up of 3D shapes.
http://www.learningplanet.com/act/rats/rats1.htm?rats_shapes - a great website. The children must catch the given shape but no others.
http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/online/simpleshapesort.swf - shape sorting activity according to properties.
http://www.priorywoods.middlesbrough.sch.uk/kidsonly/findout/shape/shapes.htm - a good website to help the children match, find, build and discover the properties of the 2D shapes.
http://demo.iboard.co.uk/screens/thread_home.htm?thread_id=2 - the children can copy shape pictures by clicking and dragging them. They can then go on to create their own.
http://www.ictgames.com/Y1shape.html - parts of a shape are shown and the children have to guess the shape.
http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/online/memory.html - this is a fantastic game to help the children develop their visual memory techniques.
http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/online/shapereveal.swf the children have to guess the shape as it is revealed. They can chose to use 2d or 3d shapes.
http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/MatchingPairs3Dshape.swf - 3D shape matching game.
http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/online/longshape3d.html - a good website. The children have to identify the shape that is partially hidden in sand and then click on the correct labelled picture.
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/castle_shapes/eng/Introduction/default.htm - identifying 2D and 3D shapes.
http://www.ictgames.com/Y2shape.html - guess the 3D shape.
http://www.rainforestmaths.com/ -by clicking on the shapes label you will be able to make patterns with 2D shapes. If you also click on the space row under 3D and 2D shapes you will have to sort different shapes according to the given criteria.

Finally...
Please can you ensure that you have returned the permission slip to take your child to the cathedral. There are a few outstanding slips.

We have a student teaching assistant starting with us this week who will be working on Mondays and Tuesdays. her name is Mrs Hibbits.

REMEMBER to bring your ticket to the performance as entrance is ticket only.

Ho Ho Ho Have a great week and enjoy the performances.

Best wishes
Jayne Narraway and the Foundation Stage Team x