AUTUMN 2020

Welcome to all our new children and parents in Ducklings and Ants.  The children have all settled into school life really well and have made new friends.  As we are learning in very 'different' times at the moment with the current pandemic, we will be putting on resources that you can use at home to support your child's learning if they are unable to attend school.

 

YOU DID IT!

Welcome to the final week of home learning. We are so incredibly proud of all of our families and how you have managed to navigate the last few months. We have loved welcoming back many children over the last few weeks and are really looking forward to seeing the rest of you in September.

 

For this weeks home learning, seeing as the children missed out on their first ever sports day (and even when we planned to do some events at school it rained!) we have provided some ideas for things you could try at home. We would love to see some pictures! More importantly though, your child's new (or perhaps already well known) teachers will be uploading some videos to support your child's transition into Year One. These videos can be viewed altogether or you can dip into them over the coming summer weeks, whatever works best for you. We will be working closely with Year One over the coming weeks and months to make the transition during these unprecedented times as smooth as possible.

 

May we just take this opportunity to say what a privilege it has been to teach your children this year. We cannot speak highly enough of how well they have adapted to this incredibly unusual situation they have found themselves in. They are a real credit to you. Thank you once more for your wonderful support in delivering your child's education over the past months. We have literally made history together. Have a fantastic summer and we look forward to seeing all of our children and families in September.

 

Very best wishes

 

Mr Shuker, Mrs Jenkinson, Miss Vallera, Mrs Sinclair, Mrs Ades, Mrs Sands, Mrs Longford, Mrs Davis, Mrs Ellis and Mrs Chapman

Week beginning 6th June

 

Welcome to our penultimate week of home learning. We are thrilled at how well the children who are attending school have been getting on in their bubbles/kingdoms. We are also so pleased to see all of the amazing home learning that is being completed by those of you who won't be returning to school until September.

 

We hope you enjoyed week one of our Under the Sea theme. We have a second week of activities for you, but this time focusing on the issues and problems that the wonderful creatures who live Under the Sea are faced with. At this time of year we also usually look to go on a 'litter pick' with the support of a local group Rubbish Friends. For obvious reasons that won't be possible this year but we wondered if anyone would be up for the challenge of doing their own litter pick / reduce / reuse / recycle activity during their home learning this week. We would love to see and hear what you get up to.

 

Have another great week

 

Best Wishes from all of the EYFS team

Week Beginning 29th June

 

Good morning! We have been so impressed with all of the wonderful 'minibeasts' and 'seaside' work that has been shared over the last couple of weeks. It appears that many of the children have really enjoyed this work, so well done everyone!

 

Moving forwards, during the last few weeks of term, the focus for our learning is going to be 'Under the sea'. Starting with a well known story that is the perfect transition from minibeasts to the sea. There is also the usual bank of suggested activities and any paper resources that you may need to accompany them. Each week we are trying to make the home learning as practical as possible and provide opportunities for learning through play. However, we also understand that for working parents sometimes a 'work sheet' is more appropriate. As always, pick and choose the activities that suit your circumstances best.

 

Have a great week, fingers crossed for more lovely weather!

Monday 22nd June

 

At the time of writing, it is still lashing down with rain. However, looking ahead to the forecast, I am hoping that at the time of reading it is now sunny!  Either way, this week we are going to start thinking about the seaside and our experiences of it.

 

Instead of a story focus, this week there is a video that we would like you to start off by watching. Following on from the video, there is the usual timetable of suggested activities for you to enjoy.

Monday 15th June

 

Hello! It was so lovely to see so many smiley faces last week. Whether it was in your bubble, on the playground or via a zoom call, it was great to see things slowly getting back to normal. We couldn't be any prouder of how you are all getting on. Those children who returned to school, did it with such ease and composure and for those who remain at home, we love seeing all of your hard work that you've been producing.

 

We have also been blown away by the standard of learning upon the children's return to school. The progress that they have made has been amazing, bravo Mums and Dads, you've done a brilliant job!

 

Below you will find three days of home learning (although if you are not currently attending school, you will find that there are also some additional activities, plus you will receive your zoom session too) We hope you enjoy it.

Monday 8th June

Good morning! For some of you, today will be a really exciting day as it will be your first day back at school! For others, it will be the start of another week of home learning. We have absolutely  loved seeing all of your work about Supertato...so much so, that we thought we would carry on with another story from the series.

 

This week, there is another five days worth of home learning provided below. However, if your child is attending school as well, completing three days worth of work would be plenty. In future weeks, we will start providing three days worth of home learning, we will endeavour to make this as explorative and play based as possible. During the children's two days at school, we will cover as many areas of learning as possible; maths, literacy, phonics etc...If your child will not be returning to school at this stage, you will have access to the three days of home learning and your child's teacher will also be in touch via email to schedule some additional zoom teaching sessions. In these sessions, we will be able to cover some of the areas that we will be teaching in school. Furthermore, if your child has not been placed in a 'Bubble' with their regular class teacher, don't worry. We will also be able to virtually visit the other 'Bubbles', checking in with the children to see their faces and what they've been up to.

 

Hopefully, this is the beginning of getting back to 'normal'. Have a great week and stay safe.

 

Very best wishes

 

The EYFS Team

Week beginning 1st June
 

Hi Ants and Spiders - welcome back to home school! (Sorry parents 😆) We hope you had a well deserved break during half term and spent some time outside in the lovely weather! We just want to say thank you again for keeping us updated on your child’s learning throughout this strange and uncertain time. You are all doing brilliantly and we have loved seeing the photos and work you share with us - they put a smile on our faces and we really miss your wonderful kids! We are looking forward to seeing some of you again from next week onwards and will do our very best to support your child’s transition back to school.

 

This weeks activities are planned around one of our favourite stories... SUPERTATO!

Please remember there is no pressure to stick to our timetable - just do what you can, when you can. For phonics this week, focus on your own child’s individual areas for improvement that you might have identified during the home assessment. Please get in touch via the class emails if you need any help. Enjoy the story and have a great week!

Week beginning 18th May

 

Good morning, welcome to our final week of home learning before half term. Obviously, there are ongoing discussions about what situation we will be faced with come June 1st. At the moment, this is out of our hands so our focus will remain on providing quality home learning for you and your child. Hopefully, next time we update our page we will have much more information to share about a return to school.

 

This week, we have planned around what will be a familiar story for many of you, we hope you enjoy it. For this weeks phonics sessions, we are asking you to carry out an assessment of your child. There are sheets and flash cards uploaded for you to use. Should the children return on June 1st, it will be really useful for us to see what consolidation/progress the children have made. We fully appreciate that everybody's commitment to home learning varies drastically, depending on family circumstances. Do not worry if you have not been able to cover everything but it will be really helpful if we can quickly identify where the gaps in learning are. Should schools not return on June 1st, this information will inform you on what gaps to focus on after half term, so either way it's a worthwhile exercise. Try to keep it more like a mixture of games and less like a test. Incorporate games online, bingo, race against the clock, anything that makes it less formal.

Week beginning 11th May

 

Good morning everybody! Welcome to another week of home learning. Thank you to everybody who has been busy sharing all of the wonderful work that is being produced. The children seem to have really enjoyed the work on space and we, as teachers, are also enjoying planning and seeing the end results. We would like to reiterate what a great job you are all doing. Do not worry if you don't complete all of the activities each week, they are suggestions. You may find some of the suggestions too challenging, you may find some too easy. Keep using your discretion and do what is best for child. If in doubt, refer back to your child's individual report and work on some activities suggested there.

 

We are hearing of a few children who are becoming slightly reluctant when it comes to mark making / writing. This is normal. We will continue to try and plan around books/stimulus that will be of interest and hopefully motivate the children. There are some letter family sheets attached in this weeks resources. Do not necessarily just sit and work through the sheets. You could practice the shapes/movements in a sand tray with your finger, with water and paint brushes etc... They will give you an idea which letters to teach together, which letters use similar movements. Just be aware that the tail letters are not accurate as with our cursive script we need the tail to loop back up.

 

We have also uploaded the White Rose (maths) Reception guidance for progression during the Summer term. There is no direct reference to it within this weeks suggested activities, however it is well worth a read to familiarise  yourself with for future use. There are suggestions for games, activities etc... to support addition and subtraction, geometry, number and place value, multiplication, division and measurement.

 

Below, you will find this week's resources, linked around the story 'Here Come the Aliens' . We hope you have fun and look forward to seeing the end results.

Week Beginning 4th May

 

Happy Monday! Thank you so much to everybody who threw themselves headfirst into their teddy bears picnics last week, we hope you had fun with it. We thoroughly enjoyed seeing lots of photos and work throughout the week. Apologies that we managed to choose the first week for about 2 months that its rained, but that's just typical I guess.

 

This week, our home learning is based around a book Whatever next! You may well already be familiar with it. If you have a copy of your own at home, brilliant. If not, don't worry, there is a video of the story being read below. You will also find all of the documents/resources that you need for this weeks activities. We have tried to keep the focus for this week around the moon / science as following on from this we are going to look at space and aliens (therefore try to hold fire on any alien ideas this week!) We hope you have a good week, for any help, tips, questions etc... please don't hesitate to contact us via the class emails 

Week beginning 27th April

 

Good morning all! Welcome to another week of home learning. Many thanks for all of the lovely feedback we have been receiving via our class email addresses. We are so pleased to hear how well lots of our amazing Ants and Spiders are getting on with their home learning. Please do keep sending in examples of work to the class emails, or upload to twitter if you're happy to share with everyone.

 

Home learning is just as new to us as it is to you, for this reason we are always adapting our planning, trying to improve all the time. This week, we are providing you with a weekly overview of activities that you will find below. This is a suggestion of how you might approach this weeks learning. Some of the activities will be easier if you have access to a printer but if you don't they are all still possible, you may just need to make a few of your own templates or resources.

 

As the weekend would have been Shakespeare's birthday parade and we are also enjoying some nice weather, we thought this week we would combine the two and plan a teddy bears picnic to celebrate Will's birthday. As mentioned earlier, there are suggestions below how you might do this but this kind of activity when done in school, would be very open ended and the children would generate many of the activities themselves so see what they come up with! I wonder if we may even have some virtual teddy bears picnics come friday?! I'll leave that one with you! 

Week beginning 20th April - Summer term

Hello Ants and Spiders! Welcome back (sort of) to the Summer term. It's been lovely to see some of your Easter crafts over the holidays, I hope everyone has eaten plenty of chocolate! A typical first week back in EYFS after an extended break should all be about seeing our friends and reacquainting ourselves with one another - lots of games, turn taking, speaking and listening etc...Sadly, this is still not possible, however with the exciting opportunities technology allows us we will be attempting some of these types of activities in the coming weeks.

Below, you will find links to this weeks literacy and phonics planning. We have tried to keep the format similar to before Easter so that it's hopefully easy to follow and implement. If you are having any difficulties accessing or following the instructions, the introduction of class emails will allow you to contact us where necessary. Due to the fact that there are lots of possible outdoors/follow up activities linked to this weeks Literacy there is no new formal maths plan. However, you may want to play a few of the suggested games/activities taken from the White Rose maths document that was previously uploaded. Similarly, there are games and activities on the maths plan week beginning 30th March that can be revised/completed.

Exciting news! We now have access to a wide range of reading books and other resources via the website below. All you need to do is login via the 'My Class login' tab at the top of the page. Once logged in you can use the filters to find books relevant to the age/ability of your child. At school we would encourage re-reading of books to aid fluency and understanding and be changing them twice a week.

Username: spants

Password: home20

Week 2 – Monday 30^th March – Friday 3^rd April

 

Good morning and welcome to week two of our home learning page.

 

Today is a rather sad time as we should have been embarking on our school trip to Hatton Country Farm. Nevertheless, if we can’t go to the farm, then Mrs Jenkinson can bring the farm to us! Have a watch of the video and attempt the different activities suggested. You will find the activities written down in the literacy plan below.

 

Ordinarily, in the week leading up to the Easter Holidays, school would be all bout learning the easter story, making easter cakes/bonnets/cards etc…May we suggest saving some of these types of activities for the easter holidays themselves as it could prove to be a rather long two weeks that need filling. To try and keep some sort of routine for the children, we have produced a weekly plan for literacy, maths and phonics which you will find below. Remember, these are just a suggestion. We don’t want any parents feeling under any sorts of pressure/obligation to complete them all. However, some children thrive on having a routine and if this is your type of child then hopefully they will be of use. This amount of Literacy and maths is way more than we would cover in a standard week in EYFS. Obviously, we have 23 children to work with either 1:1 or in small groups which takes much longer. Please do as much as you feel is right for your own child. There is no right or wrong. Many thanks for your support.

Here is the video to assist with the literacy work on Little Red Riding Hood. A thousand apologies to Miss Vallera for referring to her as Miss Archer at the end 

The website below is a great additional resource that we would be using in school. The main features of the websites are to teach the children the story of Little Red Riding Hood and tell the story through songs. There is much more on there as well if you have time to explore.

One more reading book to keep them occupied for 5 minutes

Friday 27th March

It's Friday!! Or Friyay as we call it. Well done to you all for the amazing job you are doing!

 

Earlier in the week your child may have chosen a topic that they were going to learn about (if not, scroll down to Mondays activities). Ordinarily, we would suggest visiting a library or somewhere to research your topic further. Obviously, during these unordinary times that is not possible therefore we may have to be a bit resourceful. Perhaps using the internet or books you have at home can you find out some interesting facts about your chosen topic? If not facts, can you tell me something interesting about your choice? Why did you choose it? Can you write 2 or 3 facts/sentences describing your chosen topic. Can you teach your teacher something they didn't know? Once you've completed your sentences, perhaps you could accompany them with a picture or painitng. We look forward to hearing/seeing them. 

Phonics

 

Next week, in the phonics lessons we will be using the websites espresso (see yesterday) and phonics play (today). Hopefully yesterday you had a go at exploring the espresso website so today we'd like you to login to phonics play and have a...play. It's a very self explanatory website with loads of great games.

 

Username: march20

Password: home

Maths (on a Friday afternoon) blimey that's mean!

 

Below are some blank tens frames that the children will be familiar with from school. If you can print them out great, if not just draw them on a piece of paper. It's important that the pattern is the same though, rows of 5. See if your child can use playdough (or anything else) to make/count out the correct amounts to match the 'teen' numbers. We would encourage them to always fill the first 2 rows with 5 and another 5, making 10. Then add the additional 'ones' required to make the correct amount. Encourage them to count slowly and carefully as once we get past 10 it is typical that they may start to miss count.

Have a good weekend everyone, we hope you are all keeping well. Should you wish to contact your child's class teacher in private, the easiest way would be to send them a direct message via twitter.

Thursday 26^th March

 

Good morning. I hope everyone is enjoying the wonderful weather. Above, you will find a document entitled Activities to try at home. In this document you will find the Early Learning Goals for the 17 different areas of learning in EYFS. These are the things that the children are expected to be able to do by the time they leave reception. Typically, at parents evening we would be highlighting any areas of strength and any areas for potential improvement. You may find it useful to have a read of this and familiarise yourselves with the different objectives. If there is an area that you feel your child needs to improve, if you scroll further down in the document you will find some suggested activities. Why not spend today trying some of these. It can often be the case that the areas the children need to improve are the areas that they don’t particularly enjoy. You may want to incorporate some of their strengths/favourite activities too.

 

Also, why not have a go at logging into the website below

Username: student29804

Password: willow

Once logged in, click on the foundation tab along the top, this will take you to the reception section where you should see the 7 main learning areas down the left side. Have an explore of all the wonderful things this website has to offer. We often use the video clips and activities to support our teaching, the maths and literacy sections are particularly useful. Try some of the activities in the phonics section for todays phonics lesson. From past experience we have found the games don’t always load through internet explorer, you may need to install firefox instead.

 

From next Monday, we plan on posting a weekly plan for phonics / literacy and maths. All of the content posted so far will remain on the website so if there’s anything you haven’t done / done your own thing then you can always return to it in the future.

 

Finally, coming soon on trinity tv, Mr Shuker will be doing a live outdoor maths lesson and Miss Vallera will be reading your hometime story so look out for those!

Well done to all of the mums, dads and carers out there doing such a brilliant job home learning, don't do it too well though, otherwise we'll be out of a job once this is all over!

Wednesday 25^th

Good morning, welcome to day 3. I’m so encouraged to see/hear about so much amazing learning taking place.

PE with Joe Wickes on youtube – if you’re looking for something else to start your day try searching for Cosmic Kids Yoga, these are great too!

Following on from yesterdays story Noah’s Ark, listen to the song below

Discuss the 2 by 2 element of the song. Counting in 2’s is something we have started looking at in maths. If possible, find some resources to support counting in 2’s (pairs of socks) Count the socks in 1’s to begin with up to a number your child is comfortable with. Ball the socks in pairs and show them how you can count them in 2’s. 2,4,6,8 etc… If possible write out some missing number tracks and see if the child can fill in the missing numbers 2, 4, ?, ?, 10 and so on. Extension activity, counting in twos starting from 1.

 

There are loads of other ideas for number games in the white rose document that was uploaded yesterday (scroll down to yesterday)

 

In phonics today have a look at the sheet below, we don’t phonic lessons to become too ‘samey’ and boring. You could print the sheet out but this is not essential.

WARNING! In the coming days we will reinforce our learning on 3D shapes by doing some junk modelling…yay! Start collecting your recycling now, provide opportunities for your child to talk about the names of the shapes and the properties of them.

Reading, thank you for your patience whilst we try and source an online option for quality reading books. In the meantime I have uploaded another video, this time with a few added instructions.

Understanding of the world - Bean diary. If your child was well enough to attend school last week, they should have come home with their bean plant and recording sheet. Get your child to draw and label what their bean looks like currently (they may have already done this as I forgot we wrote the dates on ready for you to use, A+ for those of you who have!). Should your child not have been able to bring theirs home, have a look at the attached powerpoint and attempt to draw and label a picture of a bean plant. You could even purchase some beans and have a go at planting another one if you’re feeling adventurous and are able to. Mrs Musgrove uploaded some brilliant videos all about planting potatoes to trinity tv on fb, if you haven't already, have a watch and maybe get outside in this lovely sunshine and have a go at planting and growing something yourself.

 

Tuesday 24^th March

 

Good morning! Well done everyone for surviving day 1, it was so lovely to hear about/see so much amazing learning taking place.

 

If you took part in the Joe Wickes live PE session, I’m sure you’ll agree it’s a fantastic way to start the day, it really set the whole Shuker family up for the day ahead. I would suggest, where possible start with this every day.

 

Maths – Below you will find a document entitled Reception – Spring. This is the scheme of work from White Rose that we loosely follow. Over the coming days we will share with you the objectives that we are working towards in all areas of learning. For now, have a read of the document and familiarise yourself with it. If you scroll towards the bottom you will see the headings 3D shapes. Where possible you could attempt some of these activities. If you successfully made playdough yesterday (ours was a bit wet I must admit, but nothing a bit of flour couldn't fix!) you can use it to make some of the 3D shapes. Go on a shape hunt, what 3D shapes can you spot indoors and outdoors – the main focus for reception is naming cubes, cuboids, spheres and cones. We have also taught pyramid and cylinder. There is also a sheet (doesn’t need printing) that you could attempt.

Phonics – For those of you who haven’t seen it, there is a short video on facebook (Holy Trinity Primary School page) which I hope is useful in understanding the basics of phonics. Below are some Phase 4 flash cards if your child is currently working in Ants Class during their phonics lessons. In the near future, had we been at school, we would have been ready for all of the children to start phase 4. For now, keep consolidating those phase 3 sounds and we will start phase 4 from the beginning for those of you in Spiders phonics group in the coming days/weeks.

 

Phase 3  – Review known sounds – flashcards and can you write the sound ee, igh, ai etc… Teach (focus) sound ‘ch’. Practice writing words – chug, chip, chat. Apply – write the caption ‘a chick will hatch’

 

Phase 4 – Review known sounds – flashcards and can you write the blends nd, mp, nt etc… Teach (focus) sound ‘nd’ . Practice writing words – hand, send, pond. Apply – write the caption ‘send a letter in the post’

R.E. / Art – Rainbows. You may have seen in the media, that children across the country are being encouraged to put pictures of rainbows up in their windows to put a smile on everyone’s face and reassure that everything is going to be ok. Watch the story of Noah’s Ark below (or read the book if you have a copy) and discuss the symbolism of the rainbow. Allow your child to make a picture of a rainbow to put in their window, this could be pencil crayon, paints, collage, finger paints, anything. We would love to see some of the finished creations.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vjjhMWJ2wE

Monday 23rd March

Good morning Ants/Spiders and good morning world.

First of all, can we just say thank you for all of the lovely messages and well wishes throughout last week. We have never experienced a week like it in our careers. Moving forward, we are all in this together and we are so impressed that there has already been means of communication set up between yourselves. Not only that, but mystery reader has even continued! It’s this togetherness that will see us through these troubling times. Over the next few weeks,possibly months please keep encouraging each other and us with ideas,suggestions, tips etc... We will be posting lesson ideas daily but there’s so much more out there to share. Just remember, early years is predominantly learning through play so please try and bare this in mind. We will attempt to keep all ideas accessible, if you don’t have what you need don’t worry, just adapt where necessary. Thank you again for your continued support, never has it been so valued.

PE - If you didn’t catch it live at 9 o clock, get those PE kits on and get moving with Joe Wickes - search on YouTube

 

Literacy - Allow your child to choose their own topic for learning (a hobbie,interest,tv show) Draw a picture and attempt to write a sentence, adult could dictate the following and ask child to write - I am going to be learning about... Phonetically written this may look like - I am goaing to be (both tricky words) lurning abowt...

 

Phonics - See post further down, we don’t want to over do it on day 1!

 

Making playdough - having some playdough over the next few days would be really useful so you could get the children to help you make a batch - See if they can help read the recipe and measure the ingredients - 1 cup flour, 1 cup water, half cup salt, 2 tbsp oil, 2 tbsp cream of tartar, any food colouring or essence. This is the fool proof recipe that Mrs Ades follows and it produces excellent results. We fully understand that during these times you may not have access to all of the ingredients. Perhaps search on google for alternative recipes if required

 

Story time - only fair to let the child choose on day 1

 

Please send us your photos of day 1 via Twitter, we would love to see some familiar faces!

 

Phonics - Everyday, ask your child to read the sounds on the flash cards attached below. If you are able to, you could print them out and cut them up but this is not necessary. You could also ask your child to practice writing the sounds using school cursive letter formation. We will constantly be updating new phonics lessons as this plays a key part in children's reading and writing development but using this as a lesson starter every day is good practice. Please visit the following website which has granted free access and become familiar with some of the games that we will plan to use over the coming weeks   

 

www.phonicsplay.co.uk 

Username: march20 

Password: home

The website below is a fantastic teaching resource for all areas of learning. It contains video clips, interactive games and actvities. We will attempt to use this website over the coming weeks where possible so please log in and have an explore around the EYFS section. When you click on 'login' you may need to then select the 'Espresso' section.

 

www.discoveryeducation.co.uk

Username: student29804

Password: willow

Reading Books

We are hopeful, that very soon we will be able to give you access to a wide range of online reading books. We would encourage you to continue reading to your children, bedtime stories, chapter books, newspaper, comics etc...In regards to reading books that your children would normally bring home from school, we are hopeful that by uploading the pages to youtube this will still give the children opportunities to apply their reading skills. You will probably need to pause the video at certain points and support your child where necessary.

EAL Resources