Author: Mrs Wood

Our First Week Back

Foundation have had a great first week back!
Thank you to everyone who sent in photos of their half-term activities and adventures. It was lovely to see what you got up to! Please continue to send in home learning moments – they are really useful.

Literacy
This week, we’ve been reading The Three Little Pigs. The children have enjoyed acting out the story in every area of the classroom! They used different vocal expressions especially when being the big bad wolf.  In the construction area, the children built new houses for the pigs. We talked about the different materials the pigs used and why the stick and straw house blew over straight away.  

On Thursday morning, the children found footprints near the writing area. We used magnifying glasses to look closer. Throughout the day, they found other clues.
“Look Miss Marsden! There’s scratches on the ceiling.”
“There’s a hole – the wolf must have done it.”
“There’s another scratch here. Wolves have really sharp claws.”
After spending the morning investigating, we all came to a conclusion and agreed that the footprints belonged to the big bad wolf. The children made wanted posters to stick up around the classroom.

Bonfire Night
We had lots of fun making and creating things to help celebrate Bonfire Night. We made fireworks in the playdough area, rockets at the creative table, moved like fireworks in PE and printed fireworks using bubble wrap.

Lunchtime
The lunch menu has changed and the children are loving the new choices!
Maths 
This week, we have finalised our learning on number two. The children know what 2 is and what it looks like in the everyday environment.
On Thursday, we made number two stories.
Here’s an example…
First, there was one frog sat on a log.
Then, another frog joined him on the log.
Now, there are two frogs sat on the log.

We also went on a number one and two hunt. The children compared the pictures and explained why it was one or two.
On Friday, the children played hide and seek with Sammy St James to help them understand prepositional language.
“Sammy is hiding behind the shed.”
“Sammy is hiding under the table.”
“Sammy is next to the Miss Marsden.”

Phonics
F2 have started to write captions in phonics. When we are writing we….
1. Think of a caption or sentence.

2. Say it out loud.

3. Count the words.

4. Segment the words.

5. Write the caption or sentence.

6. CHECK!

F1 Group Time
Every morning the F1 children have their group time. This is what they’ve been up to this week…
On Monday, they had a talk time session all about Bonfire Night. The children loved drawing what they might see and hear.
Careful counting on Thursday.
Home-Link Challenge
Have a lovely weekend!

 

 

 

Nursery Rhyme Week

16th – 20th November 2020

World Nursery Rhyme Week is fast approaching and we are delighted to confirm we will be taking part. The initiative, which was launched in 2013, promotes the importance of nursery rhymes in early childhood development and education with a particular focus on how nursery rhymes boost early language and literacy skills.

We have a number of activities planned throughout the week including: making a cup of tea using little teapots, building a wall for Humpty Dumpty, hopping like the Five Little Speckled Frogs and helping Incy Wincy Spider. We will be doing lots more activities linked to other nursery rhymes!

Singing nursery rhymes is a wonderful activity you can enjoy doing together at home and all of the resources are available for you to download. You can access all of the free resources at: www.worldnurseryrhymeweek.com

Thank you!
Miss Marsden

 

Potion Commotion

As always, Foundation have had another fantastic week!
This week, we entered into a wonderful world of wizards and witches.
At the writing table, the children created their very own potions. Some of the children had a go at writing a list of ingredients.

In Literacy, we’ve been reading Potion Commotion by Peter Bentley. When reading the story, the children were great at listening for the rhyming words – it is a book full of rhyming words! The book is about a little witch called Betty. She ends up making a big mess when putting just about everything into her cauldron to make a potion. Betty’s potion grows and grows and spreads all over the town! 
Talk to your child about the story and see if they can remember what happened at the end.
Linking to the potion theme, we decided to be scientists and make our very own hubble and bubble potions.
We did four experiments using five ingredients: oil, water, bicarbonate soda, energy tablets and vinegar – the classroom spelt lovely!
The children observed what happened and recorded their findings.
Ronan – “It’s bubbling.”
Connor – “It’s fizzing.”
Daisy – “It looks like a tornado.”
Beau – “It’s not bubbling.”
We talked about what a chemical reaction is and that bubbling is a sign of a chemical reaction.

In phonics, we’ve learnt more  sounds: m, d and g.
Here’s a link to the Jolly Phonics songs.
The children are doing really well in phonics and love doing the drum roll before I show them the new sound – it creates a lot of excitement! Some of the children are starting to segment and blend cvc words, for example, sat, mad and pin.
The children went on a sound hunt around the classroom. They were encouraged to say the sounds when they found them.

F2 – Please remember to practise the sounds in their sound book and their words in their word passports.

In maths, we’ve continued looking at number 2. On Thursday, I dropped all of the counting bears all over the floor – silly Miss Marsden! The children had to collect two bears and put them on their ten frame. The children moved the bears around on their ten frames and checked that it still showed two. After half term, we will finalise our number 2 learning and move onto number three.
F1
The F1 children have also continued with their phase one phonics activities. On Tuesday, they had to watch carefully to different body sounds and pass it around the circle.
On Wednesday, the children went on a musical instrument hunt around the outdoor area. When a child found an instrument, they talked about its sound and compared it to the other instruments.

What else have we been up to?
We made playdough spiders.

In the sensory area, the children enjoyed melting the frozen hands!

Next half-term, we will become story tellers and look at some traditional tales. The children will come up with actions to help them retell the stories. We’ve chosen traditional tales because they usually follow a typical structure and include lots of repeated phrases.  Here’s a clue to help you guess one of the books we will be looking at…  It will help with our number three learning. 

Here are some pictures of the displays in our classroom…
Foundation Parents
A Parental Partnership presentation will be uploaded onto the class news page on Monday 2nd November.

I hope you all have a lovely half-term break!

Home-Link Challenge

 

Busy Bees!

I can’t believe it’s nearly the end of the first half-term! I am so proud of all of the Foundation children. They have settled so well into school life and showed great resilience during these tricky times.

We have continued learning all about Autumn.
In the sand area, we made conker slides using ramps. We measured how far they travelled using tape measures and meter sticks. We had some very competitive children!

On the creative table, the children used a fork to paint a spiky hedgehog. We looked at a fact file and had some great discussions about hedgehogs.
In literacy, we continued looking at the story Leaf Man. The children created missing posters. We talked about why they are useful and the important features. They were great at describing Leaf Man!
“He has red hands.”
“He has a spiky nose.”
“He has yellow legs.”
In maths, we have started learning all about number 2! The children have been great at pairing the socks on the washing line in the home corner.
We used mirrors to spot pairs.
“two eyes”
“two ears”
“two eyebrows”
We have introduced the part-part whole model and found out which two numbers can be added together to make two.
“One is a part. One is a part. Two is the whole.”
“Two is a part. Zero is a part. Two is the whole.”~
Next week, we will continue learning about number two!

Phonics
F2 children have finished learning the first set of phase 2 sounds s,a,t,p,i,n.
We have focused on saying the pure sounds and correct letter formation. We have enjoyed listening to the Jolly Phonics rhymes and joining in with the actions – they really have helped us remember the sounds! Your child will now have their word passport and sound book at home. Weekly phonics practise at home will really support your child’s learning.
F1 children have started their group times. Each week, they have two phase 1 sessions. The children have loved making silly noises with their mouths and watching what their mouth does in a mirror. Check out their faces!
On Wednesday, they made different body percussion patterns. For example, clap, clap, clap, stomp, stomp, stomp.

Dough Disco – check it out!
This is one of our favourite activities.
We use dough to exercise our hands and fingers to improve fine muscle control. The movements help us get ready to do some super writing!

Parent Partners 
We know it’s frustrating as a parent not being able to come into the classroom – it’s very strange for us as well!
In Foundation, we really value home-school communication and have been thinking of ways to share more of the classroom with you.
Here are some of the ways:

  • Next week, you will receive a collage of pictures of your child playing and learning.
  • During the school year, if your child is in F2 they will be  a ‘focus child’ for a week. There will be more information on this in our upcoming Parent Partners presentation which will be posted the first week back after half-term.
  • The Class News page is regularly updated with what we’ve been up to in the classroom.
  • Our Parent Partnership board in the classroom is updated weekly with your home-link emails.

Don’t forget to email any WOW moments at home – we would really love to see these!

Reminders
Your child needs a pair of wellies in school!
PE is every Wednesday. Your child needs to come to school in their PE kit.
F1 and F2 Parent-Teacher Zoom meetings next Tuesday and Thursday – see you then!

Home-Link Challenge
Have a lovely weekend!

 

 

What have we been up to in Foundation this week?

This week has been full of laughter and smiles in Foundation. All the children have come into school really happy and have been eager to get busy in the areas.
Here’s some highlights of our great week…

Watch the conker and acorn run in action!

Next week, we will continue our learning all about autumn. We will be thinking about describing words and making missing posters for Leaf Man. In maths, we will be starting our second focus number. I will give you a clue… It is one more than one and one less then three. That’s right, it’s number two!

PS Don’t forget to listen for a rustle in the leaves because it could be Leaf Man!

Home-Link Challenges
F2
F1

 

 

Word Passport

NOTICE FOR F2 PARENTS!

The F2 children will be bringing home their word passports and first words. By Friday, they will have done the first set of sounds: s, a, t, p.
Some of the words will include ‘i’ and ‘n’ – please don’t worry about reading these words until next week when we have done them in phonics.

 

Squiggle While You Wiggle

Last Friday we started Squiggle While You Wiggle. It is a kinaesthetic approach to stimulate early writing. Children use movement with music to develop their motor skills in preparation for writing. Through Squiggle While You Wiggle, children begin using scarves or ribbons to rehearse a range of shapes, which lead to children making those shapes on paper.
Check out us in action!