To all Reception and Year 1 parents, please watch the below video for your child’s reading meeting. Even if you have had children go through Reception and Year 1 in previous years, it is still important to watch as LOTS of changes are taking place this year.
It is highly important you watch all of the video.
We plead that you ALL return the books promptly each week, please ensure your child’s book is in school every single day.
Many thanks,
Mrs Burgess
People who help us
This week the Nursery children have been finding out about what a doctor, nurse, dentist and a paramedic does and how each one of them helps us when we need them.
😊 Activity – Stick puppets
Today we would like you to make some emergency service people stick puppets. The resources you need are: some paper to draw on, sellotape or sticky tape, and some lollipop sticks/straws/twigs.
Ask your child to draw a picture of a doctor, nurse, dentist or paramedic. Colour the drawing in, and then cut it out. Use the sellotape to attach it to the lollipop stick.
Your child can then use the stick puppet to role play what the puppet does for their job. If they wish to they could make a stick puppet to represent each of the occupations we have been learning about this week.
We would LOVE to see your child’s stick puppet so please take a photograph and send it to the school email address – peelhall.primaryschool@salford.gov.uk.
Miss Atkinson and I would like to say a HUGE thank you to the boys and girls in the Nursery who have worked hard and participated in the home learning that we have put on the school blog during the Spring term. Of course the same thank you has to also go to the parents and carers who have worked so hard with the children every day and you have been a great support to us too so….
Miss Atkinson and I are looking forward to welcoming back to school all of the Nursery children on Monday 8th March, we can’t wait to see you !
Have a lovely weekend.
Take care and stay safe
Mrs Weedall and Miss Atkinson
For a number of reasons, it is important that your child listens to a story every day. This can be any book that your child has at home, and can be favourite ones that can be read again many times.
The important part during the read is the adult asking questions for the child to answer to ensure that they have understood the story and the events that happened.
Here are the I can statements that children would be trying to achieve in reading
Activity – You can read one of your favourite stories from home today.
Thank you
Mrs Weedall and Miss Atkinson
Part 1 – Dough Gym
If you want to have a go at making your own playdough and need a reminder of the ingredients and the method then have a look back on Monday’s blog post.
Just a little reminder as to why dough gym is so important to your child’s development……
What is dough gym?
Dough gym involves moulding dough in time to music and performing different actions such as rolling it into a ball, flattening it, putting each individual finger into the dough, rolling it into a sausage and squeezing it.
Why do dough gym?
This activity helps to strengthen children’s fine motor muscles to enable them to develop their pencil grip which in turn will help to develop their writing skills. But most of all it’s fun!
Today’s song is This is the way
There are many other ways you can help to develop the muscles in your child’s hands besides using playdough. Each day this week we will post an additional activity idea. If possible, we would still like you to complete the dough gym session each day alongside having a go at the new activity listed.
Today’s activity involves bubble wrap
We know that this is not the kind of thing we often have lying around in our houses but next time you receive a delivery or buy something new then check the packaging for bubble wrap and be sure to save it.
Try asking/showing your child how to pop it between their thumb and index finger of their right hand and then their left hand. This way they are exercising their finger muscles in both hands.
Popping bubble wrap is great for working the muscles in our fingers and is also great fun too!
Part 2 – Name Building
For children, learning the sequence of the letters in their names can take time, especially if your child has a longer name, which is why it is so important to practise on a daily basis.
Please ensure you are only using a capital letter for the first letter of your child’s name and then lower case letter for the rest
Remember the idea of name building is not to learn the letter names but to learn the order of the letters.
Here is a reminder of the process for name building….
Step 1 – take the letters of your name, mix them up and place them on a table top or floor.
Step 2 – have your name card facing you.
Step 3 – begin to match the letters to your name card. Try to match your letters in order.
Step 4 – repeat the activity again focusing on the order of the letters.
Step 5 – remove the name card and try putting the letters in the correct order before looking the name card to check.
Part 3 – Name Writing
Once your child can recognise their name, and are then able to build their name correctly and independently on a number of occasions, they need to move onto actually writing their name.
Below is a video link which displays how we ask the children to form their letters.
*Just a footnote to the video – the ‘r’ and ‘f’ are slightly different to our scheme, below is
a picture of a letter mat which illustrates how the ‘r’ and ‘f’ should be formed.
If your child is finding a particular letter in their name a little more challenging to form corretly or you want to keep your child enagaed in their name writing practise then why not try practising their name in different ways.
Here are a list of some ideas for you:
**these activities above allow your child to use their fingers to write the letters and you can really focus on using the correct formation**
Your child can practise their name multiple times using their favourite colours but please ensure you are using the correct letter formation each time.
Some notes to bear in mind
Initially your child’s letter formation may not look like it is supposed and that is fine and quite normal, what this means is that they just need lots of practise and encouragement.
We always begin to form letters from the top or sometimes the middle but not from the bottom.
We ask the children to develop a flow to their formation, we don’t join parts of the letter up.
Previously where people would say put a ‘flick’ on the end for an ‘a’ or ‘d’ we now use the term ‘a joining line’. This is because as the children go through school they will begin to develop joined up handwriting.
Other terms
‘Tall letters’ – l t d k
‘Tail letters’ or ‘descenders’ – j g p y
‘Small letters’ – a e I u r o
‘Bridge letters’, ie in class we say ‘over the bridge’ as they form the part of the letter that goes over – n m h
We understand that teaching handwriting is technical, so if you need any further support with this during home learning please contact us via the comments or send an email and we will help you as soon as we can.
Thank you
Miss Atkinson and Mrs Weedall
Recap
Let’s play a recognition game…..
You will need some paper and a ‘splatter’. This can be a fly swat, a wooden spoon, or even a beanbag. Your child could even simply use their hands or feet.
Write down the letters s a t p in onto different pieces of paper. Please ensure you are using lower case letters. Ask your child what sound each letter makes as you write them out.
Now place these pieces of paper onto the floor and get your child ready with their ‘splatter’.
They must listen carefully to the letter sound you make and then ‘splat’ the correct letter.
Just like yesterday’s activity, you can extend this further by:
Here is a photograph of an example of this kind of activity.
Part 1 – Letter sounds
This week we have been focusing on learning another new letter and learning what sound this letter makes.
n
Here are a few items which begin with this letter sound. As you show your child these pictures, ask them to say the name of the item as each they do this they will be pronouncing the letter sound ‘n’.
nuts
night
needle
Part 2 – Nursery Rhymes
It’s performance day!
We would love to see a video of you performing the rhyme you have been working so hard to learn this week – Hey Diddle Diddle
Please send your videos to the school email address – peelhall.primaryschool@salford.gov.uk.
Be sure to check in on the blog later on this evening to watch the Nursery children who are in school performing the rhyme and leave us a comment to let you know what you thought of it.
We would like you to choose one of the activities listed below – choose the one you feel like your child would benefit more from by having another go at it.
Part 3 – What’s in the box?
This activity is one that we often play in Nursery and we will do on our return to school, so you can make a head start at home.
You will need to collect:
A deep box/cardboard box or something similar
A collection of items/toys/objects that make a sound: keys, packet of crisps, squeaky toy, musical instrument.
How to play
This game can be played with 2 or more people. One person will be the holder of the box and the other will be the listeners.
Talk together about what objects are going into the box, listen carefully to the sounds they make. Put the objects into the box.
One person holds the box. The listeners have to sit short distance away and must not be able to see inside the box.
The person holding the box sings this rhyme – (sung to the tune of Old McDonald) – You can change the name from Mrs Weedall to the name of the person holding the box.
(Mrs Weedall) had a box ee, ei, ee, oo
And in that box she had a (choose an object and make the sound) ee. ei. ee. Oo
With a (sound) here and a (sound) there, here a (sound), there a (sound), everywhere a (sound) (sound)
(Mrs Weedall) had a box ee, ei, ee, oo
While the rhyme is sung the listener has to listen carefully to the sound of the object that’s been chosen. Once the rhyme has finished the listener declares which object they think it is.
Once the game has been played a few times, box holder and listeners can be rotated around.
Part 4 – I spy
Now your child has experienced the letters s a t p iand the sounds which they make, we want you to play a game which you are probably all very familiar with – I spy.
Whilst this game is traditionally played when out and about we would like you to play this game in a more direct way with your child with the focus on practising and applying their knowledge of the letters s a t pi
Collect together some items from around your home which begin with s a t pi. Lay them out onto the floor or a table top with your child, over emphasising the sound each item begins with as you do this egsssss-sock, aaaa-apple.
Say “I spy with my little eye something beginning with (and then the sound which the first letter of the word makes)
Can your child find the items which begin with the sound?
Keep playing the game until you have used all the letters that the items begin with.
If your child is already feeling a little confident with this game then you could swap roles and they could be the person who asks you to the find the items.
Remember to leave us a comment to let us know how you are getting on with the activities we are setting for you and if there is anything we can do to further help you with your child’s learning.
Thank you
Miss Atkinson and Mrs Weedall
Dear Parent/Carer
The maths activities this week are planned so that the children can revisit some of the work we covered during the first half of the Spring term. If you feel that your child is working beyond some of the numbers suggested that is fine. Please carry on from where you were prior to the holiday.
Part one
Counting – Please watch the following video clip, count along with Jack Hartmann from 1 to 10 in different ways:
Count to 10 | Counting to 10 | Count to 10 With Our Friends | Brain Breaks | Jack Hartmann – YouTube
Number flashcards – Create some large number flashcards 1 to 3 or 1 to 5. Place the around the house. Game – ‘Can you find the number?’ – Adult chooses and says a number the child has to move and touch the number. Keep going until all the numbers have been found. Adult and child swops roles.
Counting objects– You will need a tub or container large enough to put up to 6 -10 objects in. The aim of this activity is for the adult to ask the child to find and count a number of objects. Below are some examples but you will need to alter depending on what is available at home.
Can you find 6 cars
Can you find 4 crayons
Can you find 8 forks
Ask your child to count at least four different amounts. Once they have found and counted the objects, tip out the objects and recount them together. Check how accurate your child has been and discuss how many they have counted.
Part two
Representing numbers
Alongside counting from 1-10, and counting sets of objects, in the nursery we represent numbers by drawing quantities and making marks. Below are some examples:
We encourage the children to develop the skill of drawing and counting accurately. This can take time and practise, but the more your child does this the better they will become.
Activity
Use a large piece of paper (A4 will be fine)
Write a large number 3 on it. Explain to your child that we are going to drawn one object.
Take turns between yourself and your child to draw: three spots, three circles, three smiley faces, three flowers, etc. Ask your child a few times – ‘How many have we drawn ?’ ‘How many smiley faces have we drawn ?’ ‘Why are we only drawing three ?’
Model and write number 3, can your child write number, let them have a go.
Today continue to revise representing number 3, 4 and 5.
Part three – Making 2-D shapes
You will need: cut outs of the four shapes, some lollipop sticks, or some straws and some string
Activity
This activity is a repeat of Wednesdays activity, but this time see if you child can create the 2-D shapes without any prompt or supports.
Triangle
Give your child the three parts and give them time to look at a triangle, together create a triangle discussing the features. Undo the shape and ask your child to have a go unaided.
Rectangle
Give your child 2 sticks of a smaller length and longer, give them time to look at a rectangle, together create a rectangle discussing the features. Undo the shape and ask your child to have a go unaided.
Square
Give your child 4 sticks of equal length, give them time to look at a square, together create a square discussing the features. Undo the shape and ask your child to have a go unaided.
Circle
Discuss with your child that to create a circle, we can’t use the sticks as they have straight sides instead you are going to use some string as it can be moved and shaped to go round and round because a circle goes ‘round and round’. Undo the shape and ask your child to have a go unaided.
Thank you
Mrs Weedall and Miss Atkinson
People who help us
Over the next few weeks the Nursery children are going to find out about and learn about the different jobs that people do and how they help us in our everyday lives.
As teachers we follow the I can’s below in our planning and activities to help the children to achieve this:
-I can start to show an interest in different occupations and ways of life.
-I can ask familiar questions about aspects of my familiar world.
-I can remember and talk about significant events in my own life.
In order for your child to understand what jobs people do as part of their home learning we are asking for your help to go through the activities we post and talk to your child about each occupation, and to then relate what they do to your child’s own experiences.
A paramedic
Today we are going to find out all about what paramedics do as part of their job.
A paramedics job
A paramedic’s job is to care for very sick or hurt people. They may have to travel in an ambulance, car, motorbike or bicycle.
They then have to take the sick or injured person to the hospital so that the doctors and nurses can help them to get better as quickly as possible.
Dear Parent/Carer
Please take this opportunity to talk with your child about how and when to ring for help from an ambulance. You must make it very clear that the 999 number should only be used in an emergency. Please watch the clip below:
Teaching Children to Call 999 – YouTube
😊 Activity one
Please watch the following programme – ‘I want to be a paramedic’ to find out more about the job of a paramedic.
I Want To Be A Paramedic – Kids Dream Jobs – Can You Imagine That? – YouTube
😊 Activity two
Today we would like you to support your child in drawing a picture of a paramedic with their ambulance. We would LOVE to see your child’s work so please take a photograph and send it to the school email address – peelhall.primaryschool@salford.gov.uk.
Let us know in the comments below what you found out about the job of a doctor and a nurse.
Thank you
Mrs Weedall and Miss Atkinson
For a number of reasons, it is important that your child listens to a story every day. This can be any book that your child has at home, and can be favourite ones that can be read again many times.
The important part during the read is the adult asking questions for the child to answer to ensure that they have understood the story and the events that happened.
Here are the I can statements that the children in Nursery would be trying to achieve in reading
Activity –Please watch Mrs B’s Book club story – Don’t do that, and use your listening ears carefully to answer the three questions at the end.
Please let us know in the comments how well you did with the questions and which ones you got correct.
Thank you
Mrs Weedall and Miss Atkinson
Part 1 – Dough Gym
If you want to have a go at making your own playdough and need a reminder of the ingredients and the method then have a look back on Monday’s blog post.
Just a little reminder as to why dough gym is so important to your child’s development……
What is dough gym?
Dough gym involves moulding dough in time to music and performing different actions such as rolling it into a ball, flattening it, putting each individual finger into the dough, rolling it into a sausage and squeezing it.
Why do dough gym?
This activity helps to strengthen children’s fine motor muscles to enable them to develop their pencil grip which in turn will help to develop their writing skills. But most of all it’s fun!
Today’s song is The ants go marching
There are many other ways you can help to develop the muscles in your child’s hands besides using playdough. Each day this week we will post an additional activity idea. If possible, we would still like you to complete the dough gym session each day alongside having a go at the new activity listed.
Today’s activity involvesusing scissors
Cutting allows a child to build up the little muscles in their hands with the open and close motion. These muscles are so important for writing, painting, and doing everyday things like a brushing your teeth, eating with utensils, and getting dressed.
Parents/carers please ensure you are supervising your child at ALL times when they are using the scissors.
Here are some different activity ideas you may wish to try.
Part 2 – Name Building
For children, learning the sequence of the letters in their names can take time, especially if your child has a longer name, which is why it is so important to practise on a daily basis.
Please ensure you are only using a capital letter for the first letter of your child’s name and then lower case letter for the rest
Remember the idea of name building is not to learn the letter names but to learn the order of the letters.
Here is a reminder of the process for name building….
Step 1 – take the letters of your name, mix them up and place them on a table top or floor.
Step 2 – have your name card facing you.
Step 3 – begin to match the letters to your name card. Try to match your letters in order.
Step 4 – repeat the activity again focusing on the order of the letters.
Step 5 – remove the name card and try putting the letters in the correct order before looking the name card to check.
Part 3 – Name Writing
Once your child can recognise their name, and are then able to build their name correctly and independently on a number of occasions, they need to move onto actually writing their name.
Below is a video link which displays how we ask the children to form their letters.
*Just a footnote to the video – the ‘r’ and ‘f’ are slightly different to our scheme, below is
a picture of a letter mat which illustrates how the ‘r’ and ‘f’ should be formed.
If your child is finding a particular letter in their name a little more challenging to form corretly or you want to keep your child enagaed in their name writing practise then why not try practising their name in different ways.
Here are a list of some ideas for you:
**these activities above allow your child to use their fingers to write the letters and you can really focus on using the correct formation**
Your child can practise their name multiple times using their favourite colours but please ensure you are using the correct letter formation each time.
Some notes to bear in mind
Initially your child’s letter formation may not look like it is supposed and that is fine and quite normal, what this means is that they just need lots of practise and encouragement.
We always begin to form letters from the top or sometimes the middle but not from the bottom.
We ask the children to develop a flow to their formation, we don’t join parts of the letter up.
Previously where people would say put a ‘flick’ on the end for an ‘a’ or ‘d’ we now use the term ‘a joining line’. This is because as the children go through school they will begin to develop joined up handwriting.
Other terms
‘Tall letters’ – l t d k
‘Tail letters’ or ‘descenders’ – j g p y
‘Small letters’ – a e I u r o
‘Bridge letters’, ie in class we say ‘over the bridge’ as they form the part of the letter that goes over – n m h
We understand that teaching handwriting is technical, so if you need any further support with this during home learning please contact us via the comments or send an email and we will help you as soon as we can.
Thank you
Miss Atkinson and Mrs Atkinson
Recap
Let’s play a recognition game…..
All you need is a large piece of paper (an A4 piece will do just fine). Write the letters s a t p i onto the paper in a random way such as the example below.
Please ensure you are using lower case letters.
Your child will need a coloured felt tip/pen.
Say a letter sound and ask your child to circle/colour in all the letters which make that sound. This is a great activity for letter/sound recognition as well as for developing those all-important listening skills.
You could develop this activity in a number of ways:
Part 1 – Letter sounds
This week we will be focusing on learning another new letter and learning what sound this letter makes.
n
Here are a few items which begin with this letter sound. As you show your child these pictures, ask them to say the name of the item as each they do this they will be pronouncing the letter sound ‘n’.
nails
noodles
nanna
Part 2 – Nursery Rhymes
How are you getting on with learning the words to this rhyme? Can you remember them all yet?
Keep practising
Part 3 – Adjust the volume
Following on from learning the new rhyme this week, we would also like you to keep practising the rhymes which you already know.
Here are a list of examples of some songs which we sing in school so the children will most definitely be familiar with:
And don’t forget the new rhymes you learnt last half term…
We don’t expect you to sing all of these rhymes (you can if you want to) so just choose some of your favourites.
Once you have practised the words to these rhymes then we would like you to explore the volume of your voice whilst you sing them.
Can you use a quiet voice to sing the rhymes?
Or can you use a loud voice?
Can you be really clever and swap between loud and quiet whilst you sing the words to the rhyme?
Which is your favourite volume to sing in? (the loud voice always proves popular)
Let us know which songs you sang to practise adjusting your volume by leaving us a comment below J
Part 4 – I spy
Now your child has experienced the letters s a t p iand the sounds which they make, we want you to play a game which you are probably all very familiar with – I spy.
Whilst this game is traditionally played when out and about we would like you to play this game in a more direct way with your child with the focus on practising and applying their knowledge of the letters s a t pi
Collect together some items from around your home which begin with s a t pi. Lay them out onto the floor or a table top with your child, over emphasising the sound each item begins with as you do this egsssss-sock, aaaa-apple.
Say “I spy with my little eye something beginning with (and then the sound which the first letter of the word makes)
Can your child find the items which begin with the sound?
Keep playing the game until you have used all the letters that the items begin with.
If your child is already feeling a little confident with this game then you could swap roles and they could be the person who asks you to the find the items.
Remember to leave us a comment to let us know how you are getting on with the activities we are setting for you and if there is anything we can do to further help you with your child’s learning.
Thank you
Miss Atkinson and Mrs Weedall
Peel Hall Primary School Blog 