Hola!

Hola!

Welcome to la semana Espanola! Yes…this week is Spanish week.

Spanish
This week your child may begin to come out with the odd phrase in Spanish. They will be learning to say the sign of the cross in Spanish and saying Buenas Dias to the register in the morning. Thanks to Dora the Explorer counting in Spanish will be a doddle! As part of their Golden Time treat they will be having a tapas party. We will also be teaching the children a Spanish colour song which quickly becomes their favourite. For your reference here are the Spanish names for the colours with the phonetic pronunciation next to them in brackets.
Blue – azul (athul)
Yellow – amarillo (Did you start to sing then? I did. Amareeyo)
Black – Negro
White – blanco
Green – verde (berday)
Purple – violeta (bee-o-leta)
Grey – gris (grease)
Brown – marron
Orange – naranja (naranka)
Pink – rosa

To further support their colour recognition and fine motor skill development, the children will look at the work of Antoni Gaudi, a famous Spanish artist. They are going to create a large mosaic of Elmer the elephant whilst reinforcing their knowledge of the colours in Spanish. Here are some examples of Gaudi’s work.

Communication, Language and Literacy
By the end of this week, the children:
MUST have an understanding of rhyme
SHOULD be able to continue a rhyming string
COULD be able to identify the initial sounds in words and match words with the same sound.

This week we will be focusing on ALLITERATION. What is this you may ask? Put very simply, it is when words or phrases begin with the same sound, e.g Sammy snake sits on sausages. (Ooooh, you wouldn’t want to eat them after that!) This is often hilariously funny as we give the children alliterative names that we call them all week. For example, Brilliant Bethany and Jolly Jamie. We too have our alliterative names that the children can call us all week. Why not call each other by alliterative names at home?

In order for your child to be able to develop their understanding of letters and sounds, I have compiled a list of good websites but don’t forget that I spy is a great game to play to support his area of literacy.
http://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/phonemeFlop_v4.html - this is great and the sounds are said correctly too.
http://www.ictgames.com/soundBingo.html
http://www.ictgames.com/letterlifter.html

We haven’t forgotten about rhyme though. The children who need to continue developing their understanding of rhyme will have some very funny activities to do. An example that you could try at home is ‘rhyming soup’.
Collect a large bowl, a spoon and selection of objects that rhyme e.g a toy cat, a hat, a table mat. Then sing this song to the tune of Pop Goes the Weasel
I’m making silly soup
I’m making soup that’s silly
I’m going to put it in the fridge
To make it nice and chilly
In goes… a cat… a hat…a mat.

You sing the song each time an object is added. Go on have a go, I know you want to. This can also be applied to the alliteration as the objects going into the soup can all begin with the same sound.


Mathematical Development
By the end of this week, the children:
MUST be able to copy a pattern in a variety of contexts
SHOULD be able to copy and continue a pattern in a variety of contexts
COULD be able to copy, continue and create a pattern in a variety of contexts.

This is the main class target for the week. Whenever your child is doing any pattern making please encourage them to verbalise the pattern as this helps incredibly with their ability to continue it. A good start may be to have a walk around the house, the garden and the local area and look for patterns all around them. Patterns can be seen on leaves, the patterns of brickwork on houses, pine cones etc. Patterns are everywhere!

Here are some great websites for you to try out too.
http://demo.iboard.co.uk/screens/thread_home.htm?thread_id=7 - select the animals sound one and see if you can make a musical pattern with the animal noises.
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/simple_patterns/eng/Introduction/default.htm - the children have the opportunity to continue a repeating pattern using colours, shapes and pictures.
http://crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=beads - a string of beads at two levels, one with 6 beads and a second with 10 beads. The children must make repeating patterns using the colour palette provided.
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/building_game/eng/Introduction/default.htm - in part two or three of this game the children have the opportunity to make a pattern for themselves.
http://www.kented.org.uk/ngfl/numeracy-explorer/powerpoint/patter.ppt - a great powerpoint to support the children’s learning of how to continue a repeating pattern.
http://www.rainforestmaths.com/ - click on the pattern label to enter the correct game. Remember to start on the reception level.

The end of the week will see the children receiving a letter from Jack and Jill’s mother (as in the nursery rhyme). She is concerned that her poor darlings are getting cold whilst they are in hospital. Could we design them a blanket with lots of wonderful pattern on? The children will be given calico on which to make their patterns. This will be the first time that the children will have encountered having to work as a team to complete a project. I’m sure they will do a great job.

Knowledge and Understanding of the World and Creative Development
The children will further develop their pattern making skills on the computer and we will get to use the new laptops. Fantastic! Patterned musical compositions will be completed as well as some great animal masks all linked to patterns of course.

A date for your diary
The Foundation Stage Induction Meeting is on Tuesday of this week at 6.30pm. I hope you will have lots of fun and found it informative about the way we teach your children. For those who were unable to attend, please do not fret for there will be opportunities to experience some of the activities again when I hold our reading workshop after half term. Details of this will be forwarded next week. Please do not bring your child with you to this meeting. We are holding it later in the day so child care arrangements can be met.

Reading diaries
Please could I ask that all parents write in their child’s diary when they have read with them. This helps us to monitor the effectiveness of reading outside of school. Many thanks in anticipation of your valued support.

Finally…the children are doing great coming in on their own and many thanks for your support in easing the morning chaos. Could I make a plea now not to stand for too long at the window and doors waving as this can cause upset too. Equally, last week we had lots of parents and grandparents standing at windows around the classroom when we are trying to get the children ready at home time. I know it is tempting but please try to stand back so that we can get the children ready and be on time for the end of the school day. Being on time is vital as Penketh South finish 15minutes after us and we need the traffic to have disappeared before they come out of school. Many thanks in anticipation of your support in this.

I think that is all for this week. Phew! This week was a long one.

Have a great week.

Regards
Jayne Narraway and the Foundation Stage Team x