Our trip t0 the library

This past week the children really enjoyed the stickman and Stanley's stick stories. Many of them being able to recall the story in the correct order. The children have been making some lovely pictures from sticks, which we will continue with this coming week. The children have also been enjoying finding words with S in. We will be continuing this task this week, can you think of any at home, to add to our list?

The finger frenzy jobs have also been going well, thank you for all the positive feedback, telling us how much the children have been enjoying the challenges.
This week we are off to the library. We will be having a look around, and choosing books to bring back to share with the group. Which will give us some ideas for future themes and topics.  We will also be looking for books in preparation for chinese new year, which will be a topic in the coming weeks.

Our next steps for the whole group will be communication and literacy, concentrating on the children's interest in books, story setting, illustrations and structure.

JIGSAW we continue with challenges and never giving up. The children will be bringing home a challenge this week. To ask an adult or brother or sister  to write down some favourite books you enjoy at home and bring the list back to pre school. We will be sending home a decorated paper to write on. AG

stickman

This past week we have enjoyed hearing all about the children's Christmas holidays, the lovely gifts they received and if Father Christmas visited them! (CL good recall)
Lots of the children enjoyed the finger gym (finger frenzy) challenges and they were all determined to complete the activities we set them, and in some cases challenges they set themselves.

Every day we had a story that rhymed, and the children chose the book they enjoyed the best. The book your child chose will be coming home for you to enjoy. Please pass on as soon as you have finished enjoying the book so the next family can share the book.

SO...
This week we will be reading the story 'Stickman' by Julia Donaldson and Stanley's Stick' by John Higley.
There is so much exploring and learning we can do with these stories. There is lots of imaginary thinking and imaginary play in the stories as well as our first job which will be collecting lots of sticks.
  Mathematics, ordering sticks into size, and counting.
Expressive art and design, making stickmen and stick pictures.
making a small world scene from the story and much more.
As a group our next steps this coming week will be MD continuing ordering by size.
PD, using one handed tools.
SOUNDS AND LETTERS, continuing rhymes and listening.
LITERACY, letters and recognising letters and their sounds.
JIGSAW, we will be providing children with problems to overcome, in construction and maths.
At home talk about trying hard and explain as grown ups how we have to try hard at what we do. Don't forget a brilliant book is 'the hare and the tortoise'.

Our WOW board is empty so don't forget to bring one in, about anything you like your child has done.
Also, If you find a stick on the way to school bring it in with you!

AG

Happy New Year!

Welcome back to the spring term. We have lots of fun and exciting exploring and learning planned for the coming term.
The beginning of the week we will be reflecting with the children about what they did in the holidays and new year celebrations. This helps children to recall events in the correct order. (CL)

Our next steps for the whole group this week will be LETTERS and SOUNDS, rhythm and rhyme, we have lots of songs and games to enjoy within this aspect (4). We will also be continuing on with listening activities. Our books this week will rhyme, we will be encouraging the children to join in the rhymes at the end of sentences. This is fun to do when reading stories at home.

our next steps for the whole group in MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT will be positional language and ordering by height and size. At home good questions to ask are 'whats behind?' or 'whats in front?' .

JIGSAW this half term is Dreams and Goals. We will be setting the children little challenges and helping them to stay motivated to finish their challenge.
 AG

christmas week

a very busy week that usually flies by!
Last week we were very busy baking christmas cakes, making decorations and exploring new activities on the finger gym table.
 The finger gym table combines Physical development, mathematics and motivation from the characteristics of effective learning. We encourage the children to finish one of the tasks, and they have all done very well.
This week many of the children will be enjoying a trip to the garden centre to look at the decorations.
We will be using the trip to observe the children's next steps in physical development 'adapting to changes in routine'. Also Understanding the world,( technology, ) which will be using the camera to take a picture of their favourite decoration or display.

Letters and sound this week will be using musical instruments to accompany singing (christmas songs), and listening games.
The children will continue to decorate their cakes, finish off their decorations and explore and enjoy some new finger gym activities.

DON'T FORGET, christmas party on Friday.

From us all a very Merry Christmas and a happy new year.

we continue our preparations for christmas

Last week the children made some beautiful crowns to decorate a Christmas tree, which is on display at the Christmas tree festival at St George's church Fordington. If you didn't manage to go to the festival, we took some pictures, which we will put up soon. The children were also busy making christmas cards and bird food to decorate a tree outside for the birds.
We were also learning about the nativity and the story of Christmas, do fill in a WOW if your child tells you about the Christmas story at home.

This coming week we continue to learn about shapes and our next steps will be in ICT making Christmas trees and photographing them, then then using the computer to turn the photo's into labels for our Christmas cakes which ALL the children will have the opportunity to make.

Our Letters and sounds will be Aspect 2 Instrumental sounds. We will be listening to Christmas songs and music and talking about the instruments we can hear. We will also be continuing on with listening games, using the poem 'what's inside?' by Celia Warren to play a sounds game.

At home if you listen to music why not try and recognise the instruments!

AG

All things Christmas,!

Last week the children enjoyed discovering textures, sights and sounds on the sensory bus that we hired from Treats toy library. We incorporated our shapes topic into the week, so look around at the displays for art work and photographs.

This week we start our Christmas theme as we do every year by taking part in the St George's church Christmas tree festival. All the children make lots of tree decorations which we use to decorate the pre school tree with, and then it is displayed at the church as part of the festival. The theme is celebrations and we are making crowns as tree decorations.
The festival is at St George's Fordington, Friday 5th December 7-9pm, Saturday 6th 11am-7pm, Sunday 7th 12-4pm, and Monday 8th 12-4pm. Its a lovely start to the Christmas celebrations so do try to go along.

Our next steps this week is Mathematical Development, 'shapes'
Physical Development, using a pencil and writing cards. Using scissors to make a Christmas picture.
Letters and sounds will be more listening games, rhymes, and Christmas poems and songs.
JIGSAW is the same as last week.
Our stories will all be nativity stories thinking and talking about the Christmas story.
We are also going to make some bird food to hang outside for the birds as the weather is getting colder.
AG.

sensory bus

Last week some of the children had a very exciting start to the week when the school had a visit from Prince Charles. The children have been drawing pictures and painting pictures using red white and blue paints.
The children have also started a shape topic, using paint effects to decorate shapes.

This week we are having the 'sensory bus' from Treats toy library for the week. It is a super big bus full of amazing sensory experiences, colours and textures. Look out for photos and pictures and art work.

Our NEXT STEPS with the children this week will be talking about what they have observed and looking closely at similarities, differences and patterns.
Also shape and space (MD)

JIGSAW, we continue to think and talk about how we are all different and special.

LETTERS AND SOUNDS. The children will continue to play listening games, using different sounds, and listening games using rhyming words.

On the 26th November the children from year 1 will be having a bring and buy sale to raise some more money for children in need. in the main school hall.  It starts at 3.00pm and finishes after 4.00pm. Do drop in if you can.

    AG.