Red, blue, red, blue, red, blue????

Hi there

We had a great week last week learning lots of Spanish. Now the children have got the 'bug' we will continue to develop the children's ability to speak a second language throughout the school year. We did begin to teach the children the spanish colour song but much to our surprise found that a large number of the children do not know the names of the colours in English. Please could you take the time to check this out with your child at home and reinforce the colours as much as possible. Thanks.

Here I Am

Last week we began our new topic INVITATIONS. Of course, this does imply party, party, party to me so...we will be developing the children's writing skills by learning about writing inivitations to their teddies for a teddy bear's picnic for Golden Time. This is another great opportunity to practise the children's name writing skills. You should have received an update of how your child is doing with regards to their name writing via their diary. Please continue to practise at home as the children do need to write their names at least four times in the day and the inability to do so is frustrating some children.

This week is ASSESSMENT and REVIEW week. This is when we assess what the children have been taught and prepare for learning after half term.

Communication, Language and Literacy

We had a really good laugh using our alliterative names this week, with the children only being allowed to call us Naughty Narraway, Laughing Latham, Lovely Lockett, Happy Higgins and Lucky Lambert.

The children are doing really well learning the focus letters and you will also receive an update on how your child is doing with regards the acquisition of the letter names and sounds for Ss, Tt, Ii, Aa and Pp. This week we will split into different groups to teach this area of learning.


By the end of the week, the children:
MUST be able to hear the initial sounds in words and match objects and words beginning with the same initial letter sound (have an awareness of alliteration)
SHOULD be able to recognise the letter names and sounds for Ss, Tt, Pp, Ii and Aa.
COULD be able to use the above letters sounds to orally segment and blend words for reading and writing.

A great way of developing their understanding of initial letters is to play I SPY. Being a mum of a four year old too I am glad to see the days of 'I spy with my little eye something beginning with T' only to find they were thinking of a window or something bizarre like that! You could also play treasure hunt where the children could hunt for objects around the house for things beginning with each of the focus letters.

Please also refer back to last week's blog for websites to support this area of learning.

Problem-solving, Reasoning and Numeracy

This week we will be continuing with the work we have been doing on patterns. As always I was completely over the top when I planned for the learning experiences the children would have available to them last week and so we will be continuing with them this week. Please refer to the websites from last week to support their learning.

As it is assessment and review week, you will receive an update on how your child is doing with regards their number recognition, counting and pattern making. Please do not worry where your child is at in comparison with others in their class. Each child is special and unique and therefore, starting points are always different.

A look into the future

The children have shown a real interest in the animals with patterns through our work in Problem-solving, Reasoning and Numeracy. However, it has come to our attention that they do need to develop their recognition of some animals. Therefore, I have arranged for the class to visit Chester Zoo after half term. A letter will be sent out to you this week with the details. If you are able to assist us on the day please call in and see a member of the team. We need three more adults.

Parent's Evening

You will have received a letter about parents' evening. Please be aware that appointments are made on a first come first served basis. Please give as many options as possible and I will aim to accommodate you.

That's all for this week. Have a great holiday!

Jayne Narraway and the Foundation Stage Team xxx

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

Izzy Whizzy let's get busy!!

Hi there!

Welcome to this week’s blog. We have lots of exciting activities in store for the children this week. So…without further a do I’ll begin!

Communication, Language and Literacy
We continue our work on rhyme this week and it is hoped that, by the end of this week, the children:
COULD be able to continue a rhyming string;
SHOULD be able to identify the rhyming words in a poem, rhyme or story;
MUST be able to join in with a simple rhyme.

We will have a special visitor called Izzy Whizzy, a rhyming witch (aka Mrs Latham – have you guessed she liked to dress up?). She will add that little bit of magic to the week where she will set the children with the challenge of thinking of as many rhyming words for certain words. She will return on Friday to see how they have got on.

The children will achieve these targets by looking at tradition nursery rhymes. You may wish to check out these websites to support your child. Please remind them to join in with the actions too.
http://www.indianchild.com/nursery%20rhymes.htm
http://www.landofnurseryrhymes.co.uk/
http://www.hendersonville-pd.org/hpdnursery.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/laac/music/fdi.shtml - a good website for listening to rhymes
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/laac/words/dg3.shtml - this site helps the children to match rhyming words but you will need to sit with them to read them out.

In addition to the work on rhymes we will also be developing the children’s letter recognition and ability to hear the sounds at the beginning of words. Here are some great websites that are well worth a visit. You will also receive a list of letters we will be concentrating on this week as a whole class via a sticker in your child’s diary. REMEMBER!!! We teach the letter names as well as the sounds they make.
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!
www.starfall.com - The children love this. I had it on in class last week and they are so good at using it.
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.
http://www.ictgames.com/letterlifter.html

Problem-solving, Reasoning and Numeracy
The children have been fully assessed as to their starting point in counting skills and we are ready to move them forwards in their learning. Therefore, by the end of the week, the children:
COULD be able to count up to 20 objects reliably;
SHOULD be able to count 10 objects reliably;
MUST be able to count 6 objects reliably.

Counting reliably is vital to all mathematical activities in the Foundation Stage. We teach the children a little phrase to help them remember the rules for counting.
LINE, TOUCH, COUNT
This means that the children LINE the objects up and TOUCH each one as they COUNT them. The children must remember to give each object a number. Here are some good websites to support counting and also help number recognition.
http://www.rainforestmaths.com/ - select the more counting picture with the jar of frogs.
http://www.wmnet.org.uk/custom/files_uploaded/uploaded_resources/846/Teddynumbersv2.swf - This is such a cute website. The children can select the numbers they wish to work with and then select the number of sweets to feed the teddy as identified by the number given.
http://www.priorywoods.middlesbrough.sch.uk/kidsonly/findout/counting/bugz.htm - This is one of my personal favourites! I remember the first time I ever saw it and couldn’t stop laughing.
http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=ftank2 - I really like this one as it helps to develop mouse skills as well as counting skills.
http://www.learningplanet.com/sam/cyc/index.asp - A simple but effective website.
http://www.little-g.com/shockwave/colorcount.html - Click on the pictures to make them colour.
http://www.wmnet.org.uk/wmnet/custom/files_uploaded/uploaded_resources/850/Count&Order.swf - On this website the children must identify the numbers on the leaves and then drag the ladybirds with matching number of spots. They can count the number of leaves on a stem and match the number to it or, order numbered snails and ladybirds.
http://www.ictgames.com/caterpillar_slider.html - this game works on ordering the numbers.
http://www.ictgames.com/nutty_v3.html - collect the acorns in number order.
http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks1/english/fruits/level2/l2/activity2.html - The children must count the number of pieces of fruit and then click on the matching number.
http://www.e-gfl.org/e-gfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/teacher/other/spark/downonfarm/downonfarm.html# - Click on the link Down on the Farm and follow the instructions.
http://www.abc.net.au/countusin/games/game5.htm - This one is good. Count the items on the peacocks feathers and drag them to the number.
http://www.ictgames.com/duckshoot.html - All the fun of the fair with this one!
http://www.priorywoods.middlesbrough.sch.uk/kidsonly/findout/farm/sounds/howmany2.wav
http://www.little-g.com/shockwave/jungle.html
http://www.learningplanet.com/act/rats/rats1.htm?rats_numbers - This websites needs the children to use the arrow keys on the keyboard. You can select the numbers the children are unsure of and work on them.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/numbertime/games/find_the.shtml - another great game for developing the children’s number recognition.
http://www.ictgames.com/piratenumbers2.html - For those children with number recognition beyond 10. This is a great game for them! Count the barrels in the water and then type in the number. Let’s see if you can sink the ship.

Pizza Parlour
In order to develop the children’s application of number in their play and everyday life, they have decided to change the flower shop in the classroom into a pizza parlour. They have been busy designing t-shirts for the ‘workers’ and this week, they will be designing menus, creating pizzas and setting up the parlour with the staff. If you have any old pizza menus or you fancy getting a takeaway at the weekend and could save the box for us that would be fab!

Physical Development
We will now teach the children handwriting. Children enter school at varying stages in their development but handwriting is a vital skill required to enable fluency of communication in writing. Things you can do at home to support your child’s fine motor skills and therefore aid handwriting are:
Fastening buttons
Playing with play dough
Baking
Colouring is fantastic!

In PE the children will be developing their spatial awareness and learning to stop and start on command. Getting changed for PE is increasingly difficult now that all the children are in school full time. I can’t emphasise how important it is that your child learns how to dress themselves. Please, and I know it is sometimes tempting to do it for them, allow your child to dress themselves all the time. It will be surprising how quickly they learn.

Knowledge and Understanding of the World
This week the children will continue to develop their clicking and dragging skills as well as learning how to program a robot called a beebot.

And finally, a HUGE thanks to you all for supporting our aim of a hectic free morning. The children have been amazing and have really learned about the routine of the morning. We have been in time for assembly (except for the Harvest Mass!!) but it’s absolutely fantastic. Many, many thanks.

That’s all for this week.

Have a good week.

Best wishes
Jayne Narraway and the Foundation Stage Team xxx

And we're off!!!

Hi there!

Finally, it is time to begin on our learning journey. Before I begin explaining what your child will be doing this week could I just mention a few domestics?

The Morning
The children have settled well and are becoming more familiar with the daily routines and expectations for behaviour. The morning is still very hectic and we really do need to speed this up, as we are often late for assembly due to doing the register late. PLEASE could I ask that you allow your child to come in on their own if possible. There are five members of staff in the team, all of which can assist your child should they need it, and they are more than capable of doing everything for themselves now. Obviously, if your child is upset then do accompany them in but please allow us to take over as they do settle much quicker. Many thanks in anticipation of your support.

Coats
Many thanks to all those parents who have took my advice about the key ring on their child’s school jacket. Now that the children are using the outdoor area throughout the school day they do need to be independent in putting on their own coat and this has really helped. Also, those children who have hung their own coat up in the morning know where it is too which fosters much more independence. Lastly, please make sure your child does have a coat in school every day as they will need it to access the outdoor curriculum. Thanks.

So what will we be doing this week?

On Tuesday morning at 9.10am there will be a Mass to celebrate the Harvest. Many thanks for all your donations towards the food parcels for the St Joseph’s Welfare Centre. We were overwhelmed with your generosity. Parents and families are welcome to attend the Mass. Of course, we can not let the children take part in the Harvest Mass if they do not know why they are celebrating it. Therefore, we begin this week with our own celebration of the Harvest in the classroom. The children will explore the fruits and vegetables, grains and beans that the land produces.

A little prayer the children will learn this week and that you may wish to share as a family is:
Thank you for the food we eat
Thank you for the world so sweet
Thank you for the birds that sing
Thank you God for everything. Amen

Perhaps a visit to the local farm shop or grocery store to see what items of food the land produces would be a great way of helping your child to understand the Harvest festival. Here are some websites you may wish to explore with the children also.

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/Harvest.html - share with your child the reason why we celebrate Harvest.

http://www.reonline.org.uk/allre/tt_nframe.php?http://www.request.org.uk/infants/festivals/harvest/harvest00.htm - this is a simple version of how the Harvest is celebrated.

The Little Red Hen

The children have worked on a lovely display for in the hall as a focus for the Harvest based on the story of The Little Red hen. However, ‘For one morning, and for one morning only!’ the children will have a live performance of the story by the team. Yes, we will be acting out the story on the outdoor stage for the children. We each have a role to play but our ‘shy and retiring’ (mmm) Mrs Latham couldn’t wait to be the hen! I’m sure the children will love it! My sewing machine has been smoking this weekend as I have made very simple costumes for the children to wear to act out the story in their play. Apologies in advance if your child comes home with any white fur on them. I looked like I’d been tarred and feathered after making the duck costume and my vacuum cleaner will never forgive me! This is all in aid of developing the children’s love of story and language skills. I’m sure it will be a real success.

Our resident baker, Mrs Latham, will also be making bread with the children to reinforce the story of The Little Red Hen. She will make the dough from scratch with them and them miraculously turn it into a wheat sheaf to accompany the Harvest display.

Communication, Language and Literacy
The children will have the opportunity to develop their story skills and role play through the props for the Little Red Hen as well as the small world table which will have a windmill and a farmyard scene. In addition to this, they can tell the story through the use of the magnetic storyboard. Of course, the staff will be listening in to observe the children as this is an aspect of the Foundation Stage Profile the children need to achieve.

Rhythm and Rhyme
The focus for this week will be on RHYME and RHYTHM. The children will be exploring different words that rhyme and playing matching games, learning rhyming songs and poems, making up their own rhymes etc. In your child’s diary, you will see that this is also their reading target that we shall be working on but you can reinforce at home also. Please feel free to make a comment in the diary regarding how your child is doing with any rhyming you have done at home with them. So, by the end of the next two weeks, the children:
MUST be able to join in with a familiar rhyme;
SHOULD be able to match two rhyming words;
COULD be able to continue a rhyming string.
As you can see, we will work on this for two weeks as rhyme is very hard for some children to grasp. Here are a few websites to help.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/laac/words/dg3.shtml - select level 1
http://www.zelo.com/family/nursery/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/teletubbies/nurseryrhymes/

In addition to this, the children will have a few surprises from our friendly giant who often leaves us gifts. On Monday, the children will have a parcel containing wrapped up books for them. These books will have a time and day of the week on them denoting when they can be opened. The stories and rhymes will have a rhythm to them. We will be reading the stories, encouraging the children to join in with the patterned language. We will even be adding percussion instruments to them.

But the fun doesn’t end there…oh no! A rhyming bag with clues to nursery rhymes will be a daily focus for the children before lunch. Can they guess the rhyme from the clue?

Problem-solving, Reasoning and Numeracy
We are just completing a few more assessments of the children on entry on their ability to count reliable. There will be a range of activities available to the children to enable us to observe their counting. These will include, making sausages with the playdough for the pans, making juggling balls for the clowns to match the number given on the mat, threading beads onto a string to match the number shown on the card, playing skittles outdoors and counting how many they knocked down etc.

For those children who know all their numbers to 10, we will be assessing their ability to order them from 0 to 10 and then backwards using a washing line, pegs and numbers,

Creative Development
The children will develop their observational and drawing skills through having the opportunity to draw and paint the different fruits and vegetables they have seen. In addition to this, they will use the beans, pulses and lentils to create pictures in our creative area.

Linked with the work on rhythm, the children will explore the music area and investigate the different sounds that can be made. They will be encouraged to maintain a rhythm. The computer will also have a program on called Mouse Music which the children can explore sounds and create their own musical composition.

Our MORNING WARM UP will involve dancing and doing actions and movements to a rhythm. We will start with a march and build up to skipping and galloping.

To develop their listening skills the children will complete a listening walk and then have the opportunity to draw, paint or make a model of something they heard. If you have any boxes, yoghurt pots, kitchen rolls etc that you could send in for our workshop boxes that would be great.

Knowledge and Understanding of the World
The children have come into school with great ICT skills and therefore, we move straight onto CLICKING and DRAGGING. The children will dress the teddy on the computer screen be clicking and dragging the clothing onto his body. Again, these websites are great for the children to play on a develop these skills.
http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/ict/mouseskills/ted.html
http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/ict/mouseskills/joiner.html

In the water area, the children will explore which fruits and vegetables float and sink. This is always an interesting activity and the children love to guess why. Something you can try at home is comparing a baked potato before it is cooked and then after to see if it floats or sinks.

Physical Development
As I have mentioned, the outdoor area is a vital part of your child’s learning environment. The outdoors this week will be used to support many other areas of learning but for physical development, we will be focusing on throwing and catching. The children are fully aware of the rules for sharing the wheeled toys and where to use them. Therefore, we add challenge by placing obstacles in the way for them to manoeuvre around.

They will develop their pre-writing skills by moving with sticks and ribbons as well as making marks on the playground with chalks.

PE has gone well so far and the children are trying very hard to get changed independently. The target for this week is to learn to stop and start on command and keep control of their bodies.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development
As a school, we follow the SEAL programme. The theme this half term is ‘New Beginnings’. The children will be in small groups to have circle time to talk their feelings. This will be related to incidents within the classroom when the feelings may occur.

Here I Am

The children will learn about God who knows each one by name. This is an opportunity for the children to practice the writing of their names, a skill they MUST learn to enable them to be independent when in the learning environment.

Phew! I think that's about it for this week! Have a great one, we will!

Best wishes

Jayne Narraway and the Foundation Stage Team xxx

It's nearly time for the real FUN to begin!

Hi there!

Firstly, look at what some of our children did last week when we were assessing their understanding of shapes.

How amazing are they? They are inspired by the artist Wassily Kandinsky. WOW!! That's all I can say! Soon our classroom will be decorated with one by every child.

NOW...

A very warm welcome to our last set of parents whose children started last week. The children are really doing very well getting used to the routines of the school day. There is so much to remember! Later in the blog is some information for you in particular.

This is the final week of assessments before the FUN begins! We are brimming with ideas of what to do with the children. However, the personalisation of the curriculum is vital to the children’s learning. Therefore, stuck in your child’s diary on Friday was a simple questionnaire asking for information about your child in order for us to build a unique curriculum to suit our children. Please complete it over the weekend so we can start to plan for the rest of this half term. Thanks in anticipation of your support.

Domestics
You may have noticed the hectic morning start we have. This can be very unsettling to the children, particularly when we have so many adults in the classroom in the morning. Once your child has sat on the carpet, please could we ask for a swift exit from the classroom, as we need to get the other classes in school by 8.45am. If your child is now very grown up, and some are doing this already, then do feel free to let them in on their own. There are five members of staff to sort them out and the children do need to do everything for themselves in the morning.

Snacks
Could I also remind you that ALL snacks need to be labelled. Even fruit. How children know that the label free banana in the snack basket is not theirs I shall never know but it’s a sixth sense they must possess. Believe me…children will not eat their snack if their name is not written on it!

Coats
As the weather gets colder please ensure that your child always has their coat in school. The outdoors is an extension of our classroom and the children will next week be able to free flow from inside and outside.

I have also noticed that the navy school coats are somewhat lacking in a place to place the children’s name tags. It is taking about 10 minutes of playtime to sort this out. Please, please, please could we ask that you label them very clearly? One suggestion would be to get a small keyring to attach to the zip so your child can identify their own.

Having trouble teaching your child how to do their tie? Click on the comments link at the bottom of last week’s blog and thanks to Mrs Roche we have a tried and tested rhyme which I too will be using!! Anyone who does have tried and tested methods of helping their child with ANYTHING please feel free to make a comment too.

Here’s Looking at You
We had a great time on Friday recapping over the different parts of the face and drawing self portraits. Once again the children laughed their little heads off at the song I taught them particularly when we got to the tongue. See if they can remember it! We will be working more on faces but through different media this week. We will be looking at collage and everyday items. If you have any nuts, washers, bolts, screws, nails, coils, springs etc that you can donate we would be grateful beneficiaries. I could divulge what we will be doing with them but you’ll just have to wait and see!

www.starfall.com
Remember to check out this great website because on Monday we begin out journey of learning how to read and write!

Harvest Festival
Each year we volunteer to do the display for the hall to celebrate the Harvest. The children will be doing some leaf printing and some observational work on berries and leaves. Perhaps you could collect any conkers, pine cones or branches with berries on for us to use and explore. Thanks.

NEW STARTERS 18th September

Welcome to our very own blogspot! This will be updated every weekend for you to find out information about what your child will be doing in school from Monday to Friday, as well as great websites to keep your child occupied whilst learning too. Please make sure that you check it at least once a week as additional information can be posted on here as well.

We have already begun to assess your children since they walked through the door. The children are not even aware we are doing it as we have such a strong play based curriculum. Basically, your child’s first week in school is used to settle them in to the routines and ensure they feel safe and secure. In addition to this, we work with the children to find out what they are able to do. This then enables us to plan for exciting learning experiences which are relevant and challenging to what the children need.

Below are some dates for your diary but then if you scroll down on the blog you will get information about what your child will be doing this coming week in class.

Dates for your diary!

We will be holding our annual celebration for St Vincent’s Day (27th September). On Friday 26th September, the children are asked to come into school in their own clothes in return for a donation of tinned and packaged food to be made up into hampers for St Joseph’s Welfare Centre.

Our Harvest Festival Mass will be celebrated in the school hall on 30th September at 9.10am. Parents are welcome to attend.

Our Induction Evening for the Foundation Stage will be held at 6.30pm on 14th October. This meeting will include vital information about how we teach your child, organisation of their learning as well as a chance to meet other parents and the staff. Due to the nature of the induction evening we ask that children do not attend. Thanks.

Snacks
Snacks are available for purchase from the cook in the morning. Toast is 22p, milk is 16p and fruit juice is 22p. if your child would like to purchase these then please ensure their money is in a labelled purse or wallet. Please can I take this opportunity to remind parents that St Vincent’s is a healthy school and hope you will support us in this by providing your child with a healthy snack each day. Thanks. Each afternoon the children receive a piece of fruit as part of the Free Fruit for Schools Initiative.

Reading
On Monday your child will receive their reading diary, six words to learn and a book to share with you. The reading book will be changed on a Monday and a Thursday. Please could we ask that you make a comment in the diary each time you read with your child?

CALLING ALL DADS!!!
Research states that boys learn to read more easily when they are taught by their dad’s.

So…what else is on for this week?

Getting to know you, getting to learn all about you…
Can’t you tell I’m a fan of the musicals? Don’t you just love The King and I? This week the children will play lots of games that will encourage them to learn each others names.

Time to start getting physical
On Friday we will attempt our very first PE lesson. This is an occasion that causes amusement amongst many of the staff. I can’t understand why. Perhaps trousers on back to front, shoes without socks and shoes on the wrong feet are a give away? On a more serious note, PE times are often the most unsettling of experiences for children when they start school so please be assured that anxiety about PE is common (even for me).

I therefore send an SOS out to you as parents. Please try to make your child as independent as possible when dressing and undressing. As a parent of a four year old I know how tempting it can be to fasten a few buttons, put on the odd sock or tuck in the shirt. As part of their learning and development, children in the Foundation Stage need to dress and undress themselves independently. Aaghh…TIES!! Don’t worry we do the children’s ties and top buttons for them.

We are aware of the delay in PE shorts at the school shop so feel free to send in an alternative for now.

Click, click, clickety, click!
Not only are we doing PE this week, but we are venturing into ‘The Land of the Giants’ (the juniors) to work on the computers in the ICT suite. The children will be working on developing their mouse skills by clicking and dragging. Here are some great websites you can use to support your child. The use of these websites and the computer in general will help your child as we use the computers a lot in school.
http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/ict/mouseskills/ted.html
http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/ict/mouseskills/joiner.html

The Domestics
Please could you ensure that your child has their book bag everyday, in addition to a water bottle and a snack, both of which will need labelling. TOP TIP!! Why not print off labels on the computer to stick on snacks?

Finally, if you have any questions then please feel free to pop in and see any member of the team.

Have a great week!

Jayne Narraway and the Foundation Stage Team xxx

What a great start!

Hi there!

Firstly, a very warm welcome to our next set of parents whose children started last week. The children are really doing very well getting used to the routines of the school day. There is so much to remember! Below are some dates for your diary but then if you scroll down on the blog you will get information about what your child will be doing this coming week in class.

Dates for your diary!

We will be holding our annual celebration for St Vincent’s Day (27th September). On Friday 26th September, the children are asked to come into school in their own clothes in return for a donation of tinned and packaged food to be made up into hampers for St Joseph’s Welfare Centre.

Our Harvest Festival Mass will be celebrated in the school hall on 30th September at 9.10am. Parents are welcome to attend.

Our Induction Evening for the Foundation Stage will be held at 6.30pm on 14th October. This meeting will include vital information about how we teach your child, organisation of their learning as well as a chance to meet other parents and the staff. Due to the nature of the induction evening we ask that children do not attend. Thanks.

Snacks
Snacks are available for purchase from the cook in the morning. Toast is 22p, milk is 16p and fruit juice is 22p. if your child would like to purchase these then please ensure their money is in a labelled purse or wallet. Please can I take this opportunity to remind parents that St Vincent’s is a healthy school and hope you will support us in this by providing your child with a healthy snack each day. Thanks. Each afternoon the children receive a piece of fruit as part of the Free Fruit for Schools Initiative.

So what are the children doing this week?

Faces
We had a great time on Friday learning the different parts of the face and drawing self portraits. The children laughed their little heads off at the song I taught them particularly when we got to the tongue. See if they can remember it!

POPAT
This is a great game to support listening skills as well as developing early phonic skills. The children have all made a great start and I’m working very hard to catch them out but it’s just not happening!!! We have assessed the children on their letter recognition and you will soon receive a note in your child’s diary with the letters to focus on for this half term. This is a fantastic website to support letter recognition. The children have already had a chance to play on it in class and so should be able to have a go on their own at home. Check out:
www.starfall.com

Harvest Festival
Each year we volunteer to do the display for the hall to celebrate the Harvest. The children will be doing some leaf printing and some observational work on berries and leaves. Perhaps you could collect any conkers, pine cones or branches with berries on for us to use and explore. Thanks.


NEW STARTERS 11th September

Welcome to our very own blogspot! This will be updated every weekend for you to find out information about what your child will be doing in school from Monday to Friday, as well as great websites to keep your child occupied whilst learning too. Please make sure that you check it at least once a week as additional information can be posted on here as well.

We have already begun to assess your children since they walked through the door. The children are not even aware we are doing it as we have such a strong play based curriculum. Basically, your child’s first week in school is used to settle them in to the routines and ensure they feel safe and secure. In addition to this, we work with the children to find out what they are able to do. This then enables us to plan for exciting learning experiences which are relevant and challenging to what the children need.

Reading
On Monday your child will receive their reading diary, six words to learn and a book to share with you. The reading book will be changed on a Monday and a Thursday. Please could we ask that you make a comment in the diary each time you read with your child?

CALLING ALL DADS!!!
Research states that boys learn to read more easily when they are taught by their dad’s.

So…what else is on for this week?

Getting to know you, getting to learn all about you…
Can’t you tell I’m a fan of the musicals? Don’t you just love The King and I? This week the children will play lots of games that will encourage them to learn each others names.

Time to start getting physical
On Friday we will attempt our very first PE lesson. This is an occasion that causes amusement amongst many of the staff. I can’t understand why. Perhaps trousers on back to front, shoes without socks and shoes on the wrong feet are a give away? On a more serious note, PE times are often the most unsettling of experiences for children when they start school so please be assured that anxiety about PE is common (even for me).

I therefore send an SOS out to you as parents. Please try to make your child as independent as possible when dressing and undressing. As a parent of a four year old I know how tempting it can be to fasten a few buttons, put on the odd sock or tuck in the shirt. As part of their learning and development, children in the Foundation Stage need to dress and undress themselves independently. Aaghh…TIES!! Don’t worry we do the children’s ties and top buttons for them.

We are aware of the delay in PE shorts at the school shop so feel free to send in an alternative for now.

Click, click, clickety, click!
Not only are we doing PE this week, but we are venturing into ‘The Land of the Giants’ (the juniors) to work on the computers in the ICT suite. The children will be working on developing their mouse skills by clicking and dragging. Here are some great websites you can use to support your child. The use of these websites and the computer in general will help your child as we use the computers a lot in school.
http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/ict/mouseskills/ted.html
http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/ict/mouseskills/joiner.html

The Domestics
Please could you ensure that your child has their book bag everyday, in addition to a water bottle and a snack, both of which will need labelling. TOP TIP!! Why not print off labels on the computer to stick on snacks?

Our next set of children will start on Thursday this week. Please could we ask you, as ‘old hats’ to settle your child as quickly as possible to allow the morning process to be as unsettling for the new children. Thanks.

Finally, if you have any questions then please feel free to pop in and see any member of the team.

Have a great week!

Jayne Narraway and the Foundation Stage Team xxx

And we're off!!!

Welcome to our very own blogspot! This will be updated every weekend for you to find out information about what your child will be doing in school from Monday to Friday, as well as great websites to keep your child occupied whilst learning too. Please make sure that you check it at least once a week as additional information can be posted on here as well.

We hope that your child has had a great first two days at school. We have been thrilled with them all!! We have already begun to assess your children since they walked through the door. The children are not even aware we are doing it as we have such a strong play based curriculum. Basically, your child’s first week in school is used to settle them in to the routines and ensure they feel safe and secure. In addition to this, we work with the children to find out what they are able to do. This then enables us to plan for exciting learning experiences which are relevant and challenging to what the children need.

Reading
Your child will have received their reading diary, six words to learn and a book to share with you. The reading book will be changed on a Monday and a Thursday. Please could we ask that you make a comment in the diary each time you read with your child?

CALLING ALL DADS!!!
Research states that boys learn to read more easily when they are taught by their dads.

So…what else is on for this week?

Getting to know you, getting to learn all about you…
Can’t you tell I’m a fan of the musicals? Don’t you just love The King and I? This week the children will play lots of games that will encourage them to learn each others names.

Time to start getting physical
On Wednesday we will attempt our very first PE lesson. This is an occasion that causes amusement amongst many of the staff. I can’t understand why. Perhaps trousers on back to front, shoes without socks and shoes on the wrong feet are a give away? On a more serious note, PE times are often the most unsettling of experiences for children when they start school so please be assured that anxiety about PE is common (even for me).

I therefore send an SOS out to you as parents. Please try to make your child as independent as possible when dressing and undressing. As a parent of a four year old I know how tempting it can be to fasten a few buttons, put on the odd sock or tuck in the shirt. As part of their learning and development, children in the Foundation Stage need to dress and undress themselves independently. Aaghh…TIES!! Don’t worry we do the children’s ties and top buttons for them.

Faces
The children will begin to learn about the different features of a face this week as a precursor to the work we will be starting next week. I have a song that they can learn to the tune of ‘Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes’ which teaches them the parts of the face. We do have to be careful when pointing to the nostrils though!!

Click, click, clickety, click!
Not only are we doing PE this week, but we are venturing into ‘The Land of the Giants’ (the juniors) to work on the computers in the ICT suite. The children will be working on developing their mouse skills by clicking and dragging. Here are some great websites you can use to support your child. The use of these websites and the computer in general will help your child as we use the computers a lot in school.
http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/ict/mouseskills/ted.html
http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/ict/mouseskills/joiner.html

The Domestics
Please could you ensure that your child has their book bag everyday, in addition to a water bottle and a snack, both of which will need labelling. TOP TIP!! Why not print off labels on the computer to stick on snacks?

Our next set of children will start on Thursday this week. Please could we ask you, as ‘old hats’ to settle your child as quickly as possible to allow the morning process to be as unsettling for the new children. Thanks.

Finally, if you have any questions then please feel free to pop in and see any member of the team.

Have a great week!

Jayne Narraway and the Foundation Stage Team xxx

Boo Hoo!

I'm afraid I have put off doing this week's blog as long as I could as I do not enjoy writing the very last blog of the school year, and acknowledging the fact that my wonderful class will soon belong to someone else.

Yes...here it is! The very last week. But hey! What a great one!

We begin the week with our annual trip to Gulliver's World. We will be returning before the end of the school day so please collect your child as normal from the classroom door. I'm sure we will have a great time!

The rest of the week is pretty normal. Mmm...not a word I often use for the Foundation Stage.

Some time this week the children will spend a little time with Mrs Worrall as part of their transition into Year 1. Mrs Worrall will be posting activities for the children over the summer holidays so they hit to ground running in September. The link is http://year1weeklyupdate.blogspot.com

I too will be sending home a pack of information to keep the momentuum going as you'd be surprised how much the children forget if they don't practice their high frequency words over the holidays.

On Thursday, the children can bring in a toy for toy day.

And Friday...I think we all know what happens on Friday. This year is particularly hard as the Year 6 that are leaving us were my very first class at St Vincent's. Kleenex are going to see profits rise this week!

Finally, a huge THANKYOU to you! You've been great parents. Your support has been of unquantifiable value.

Have a great summer and see you in September.

Jayne Narraway and the Foundation Stage Team xxx

On your marks, get set, GO!!

Hi there!

Welcome to this week’s blog.

There are only two weeks left before our children are leaving us. This is a very sad time for us, but one nevertheless to celebrate the achievements of our fabulous children. You should all have received the date and time of the parents’ evening. Please be aware that they are only ten minutes slots as they are simply to explain how your child has done in comparison to the Early Learning Goals and if they will require any additional support next year.

The reports are ready to go out but we are just waiting for the arrival of the Year 6 SATs results before we send them out. Don’t worry, your child’s first school report is definitely worth waiting for. Enclosed with the report is a feedback sheet for you to complete. We really do appreciate these as we keep them in a scrap book with photographs of the children to look back on in years to come. In fact, I found some of our present year six children lately.

This week is very much the same as last week in that we will be continuing looking at addition and subtraction, and completing our transition unit on Differences. Please look at previous blogs for websites to support the addition and subtraction.

This week, I will also be testing high frequency words. Please continue to work on these at home. They are vital to your child’s reading and writing development. For those children past the reception words I will be going over them again just to check their retention.

Sports Day
Sports Day is on Tuesday at 1.30pm. I’d get there for about 1.15pm. If the weather is bad then we have the Thursday as the reserve. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE do not come over to your child during the sports day. There is an allocated time when this is okay but as you can appreciate, so many children and adults outside is a security issue and stressed out teachers at this time of year is not good. Your child will be provided with a drink and snack during the event. Please make sure your child has their PE kit in school on Monday and their pumps fit. Thanks.

Gulliver's World
Next Monday, we have our annual trip to Gulliver’s World to end our great year. Please make sure that you have returned the permission slip, as we will not be able to take your child if we do not have it. Thanks. Details regarding the day will be sent out to you this week.

Finally, the annual school BBQ is on Friday. It starts at 6pm and is well worth coming to even if it rains. Tickets are available from the Friends of St Vincent’s.

I think that is all for now.

Have a great week and see you at parents’ evening.
Jayne Narraway and the Foundation Stage Team xxx

Let's get ready for Year 1

Hola!

Welcome to this week’s blog.

Last week we enjoyed learning lots of Spanish thanks to Mrs Higgins’ talents. So much so that we have decided to continue learning some more this week. As part of the Here I Am topic on ‘Differences’, the children will learn about how we are different from each other. In doing so they will review the different parts of the body and learn how to describe people in Spanish.

Communication, Language and Literacy
This week we begin our transition unit, which will continue when the children move into Year One. Linked also with the Here I Am topic ‘Differences’, the children will write about what they look like and then compare themselves with a friend. This will also form the basis of their final writing assessment piece to be passed up to their next teacher. The focus will be on:
Writing a sentence complete with a full stop and capital letter;
Making use of connectives such as ‘and’ to join two sentences to make them longer;
Spelling words using their phonic knowledge;
Using ambitious vocabulary to make descriptions.

The writing assessment will be levelled and form the starting point for their next teacher. I will be setting targets as a result of the piece of writing.

High Frequency Words
The children are coming along nicely with these and we urge you continue doing them every night. Let’s try and make sure all children can read and spell the Reception words by the end of the next three weeks.

Problem-solving, Reasoning and Numeracy
This week we return to looking at subtraction. The children do have a great understanding of addition but are getting subtraction and addition mixed up when using the symbols ‘+’ and ‘-‘. When the children move into Year One they will have a weekly number bonds test to develop their mental recall. For the next three weeks we will be focusing on addition and subtraction, preparing the children for this. Here are some websites that the children can play on to support their understanding.
http://www.ictgames.com/save_the_whale_v4.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/laac/numbers/chi.shtml

Topic
We will continue to work on our dinosaur sculpture. The basic construction has been made and the chicken wire is almost covered. Then we will be able to tile it in the style of Gaudi.

Last week the children created some amazing art in the style of the Spanish artist Miro. I hope to post it on the blog at some point this week.

Parents’ Evening
Letters for parents’ evening went out on Friday. Please complete your slip and return it to me as soon as possible. You may have noticed that there are fewer choices than normal and therefore I ask that you make as many choices as possible. Due to childcare I am unable to go beyond the 5.10 appointment time. The parents’ evening is shorter than normal but it is to enable you to see how your child has done in comparison to national data as well as enabling me to discussion targets for next year.

Classes for next year
We are in the process of sorting these and you will be informed as soon as they are finalised. Please do not worry. We usually get it spot on!

Sport’s Day
Please remember that sports day is on 8th July with the 10th July being the reserve if it rains. PE bags will be sent home on Friday to allow them to be washed and ironed for the event. We can’t have them looking scruffy can we?

Book fair
Monday is the final day of the book fair. Many thanks to those who have purchased from the fair as we benefit from the commission.

I think that is all for this week.

Have a good one!
Jayne Narraway and the Foundation Stage Team xx

la semana espanol

Hola and welcome to Spanish Week!

Yes, we are going to have an 'estupendo' time this week learning more about the spanish culture and, of course, the cuisine! There will be lots of exciting and fun activities for the children to enjoy, including...

At the start of each day the children will recite the days of the week and complete the calendar. This way they will learn the different types of weather also.

Looking at the work of the artist Joan Miro. This is a personal favourite of mine and I have already shared examples of his work with the children. They loved them and are raring to have a go. Here are a few examples of the pieces which will inspire us.

I am sure that the work the children will produce will be of their usual high standard.

As space in school to display work is becoming somewhat of a premium, we are going to turn our attention also to decorating the outdoor play environment. We will also be looking at the work of Antoni Gaudi. After a visit to Barcelona I have fallen in love with his work and so have decided to do some mosaic tile work with the children. In addition to this, we are going to connect the work we have been doing on dinosaurs and create a large sculpture of a dinosaur in the style Gaudi. A little like the dragon of Parc Guell. Here's a picture.

We will also be teaching the children the time in spanish. Every hour throughout the day, the children will stop what they are doing to perform a task (can you tell I've been watching Big Brother?). Here is how the week will pan out.

MONDAY : Learn more colours and then sing and dance to the colour song.

TUESDAY: Count to thirty in Spanish.

WEDNESDAY: Learn the parts of the body.

THURSDAY: Learn and sing Heads, shoulders, knees and toes in spanish.

FRIDAY: Have a boy verses girls quiz!

On Friday afternoon we will be having our Spanish dance workshop. We simply can't wait!

Mrs Latham will be cooking up a storm on Wednesday to provide us with delicious spanish cuisine to taste. Yummy!

Can we fit in anything else?

Not really! Reading will continue as usual but this is a great opportunity to celebrate the great achievement the children have made this year, and so the focus will be mainly on the arts. We are very proud of them all!

Other business

On Monday and Tuesday afternnon we will be having our new starter afternoon visits. As you know this is a vital part of the induction period and so our children will be having a treat with the Year 1 and 2 classes on Monday. On Tuesday afternoon they will be having a multi-skills afternoon with a PE specialist.

We will also be hosting a book fair from Tuesday onwards. Please come along and support the school as it is the valuable commission that enables us to purchase books for our school library. The fair takes place every day after school in the hall.

OPEN DAY!!

Why not come along and see the school in action. On Thursday we are opening our doors for you to browse around the school and experience what it is all about.

I bet you feel like taking a week off work and helping out!

Here's to a fantastic week!

The Foundation Stage Team xxx

Let's carry on roaring!

Hi there!

Well, what a fantastic start we had to the last half term of the school year! The children worked so hard and got so involved in the work on shape and model making that we didn’t even get round to doing any work on dinosaurs. Some children brought in some books to share with the rest of the class. This is great! I shall also read them over the weekend and swat up a little more. I feel like I’m learning a foreign language with some of the names.

Here are some websites you may wish to visit with your child to familiarise them the different kinds of dinosaurs.

http://www.kidsdinos.com/dinosaurs-for-children.php
http://research.calacademy.org/research/library/biodiv/biblio/dinokids.htm - this website has lots of links to other good dino websites!

Communication, Language and Literacy
As we did not get to make a start on our planned writing activities last week (not to say the children DIDN’T write at all!) we will definitely be doing them this week.
By the end of those three week, the children:
MUST be able to write a sentence independently with a full stop.
SHOULD be able to write a sentence independently with a capital letter and a full stop.
COULD write a series of sentences with developing consistency in the use of punctuation.

Here are some websites that you could use but nothing beats pencil and paper.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/starship/english/penguinsonice.shtml - this is a lovely website. The children must type in their sentence and then watch the penguin write it in the ice.
CHALLENGE! You can also use the same website to develop their understanding of other punctuation such as exclamation and question marks. Yes, we do those in Foundation Stage so why not have a go!

http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/cap_letters_stops/eng/Introduction/default.htm - another good site to focus on development of the capital letters and full stops. It should now be clear why we have focused on the letter names as well as the letter sounds. This way the children know what the upper case letter represents.
CHALLENGE! Have a go at the main teaching session one where you need to identify the faults in the punctuation and correct them.
http://demo.iboard.co.uk/screens/thread_home.htm?thread_id=16 - Click and drag the prepared tabs to create a sentence.
CHALLENGE! Why not get some pictures from a magazine and write your own sentences to match what you can see happening.

Phonics
This week will again be used to ensure that the children have retained their ability to read and spell words containing the spelling patterns taught last half term. For your information here is a list of the ones we have covered.
Ai, ee, oo, or, ar, oa, igh, ur, ow, oi and ear.

Please refer back to previous blog entries for websites to support these. Alternatively you may wish to be word detectives and locate words in books and magazines which contain the spelling patterns. I will be assessing the children’s ability to read and spell words containing the spelling patterns. Watch out in your child’s diary for details on the spelling patterns they know and need to concentrate on.

Problem-solving, Reasoning and Numeracy
Now that shape is well and truly in the bag, we will move onto measure and the use of comparative language. By the end of the week, the children:
MUST be able to use the language long and short, heavy and light;
SHOULD be able to compare the weights and lengths of two objects and describe them using the correct comparative language;
COULD be able to order up to three objects according to weight and length.

http://www.rainforestmaths.com/ - select the Kindergarten and the Year 1 activities for length and mass.

This is a good website to use but nothing beats measuring for real. Compare the lengths of trousers in the home, spoons, etc. Compare the weight of different objects out of the larder. This makes the concepts real.

Homework
You may have noticed that we have not sent out handwriting homework. We would like to focus on the reading and spelling of the high frequency words more now and develop the children's ability to write them correctly with independence. Please practice these with your child up to three times a week. Thanks.

I think that is all for this week apart from to ask for any more junk modelling resources. The children have done some brilliant models but we are quickly running out of materials. Thanks.

Short and sweet but nevertheless and action packed week for us all.

Have a good one!

Best Wishes
The Foundation Stage team xxx