Hi nursery, I hope you enjoyed your weekend and ready for another week of some home learning activities.

Yet again, thank you for all the photographs you have sent me of your work and other fun things you have been up to! I really do love seeing them.  J This week I have added some more activities for you to have a go at home, if you would like. Don’t forget to have a go on your Doodle and collect your stars.

I will also be looking for my shooting star of the week. Missing you all lots, have a good week.

 

 

 

On Thursday at 11:00 am we will be having our first Zoom ‘hello’ session and story time. This will be an opportunity for the children to see their teacher and say hello to some of their friends whilst we share a story.

 

If you would like to join, message the school from Tuesday at advice@mapledeneschool.com for the invite. You must sign in with your child's name if you wish to be let in to the meeting- this is for safeguarding purposes. 

 

If you haven't already and you would like your child to be part of the zoom meeting you must fill in the form below.

Also, please read the second link below regarding Mapledene’s Zoom policy and procedures.

 

https://forms.gle/Qs4QZrfRo1TSu9m76

 

https://www.mapledene.bham.sch.uk/zoom-meetings/

 

 

 

Home learning activities week beginning 25th January

 

• Wow, have you had fun in the snow? What did you do? Did you make a snowman? Did you go for a walk in the snow or did you enjoy looking at it from your window? I would love you to send me your snow pictures!

  Here is the snowman we made. He is called Billy the snowman.

 

           

 

 

• Literacy & CL –Watch and listen to Mrs Walsh read the story, called, Ridiculous! (YouTube link below)   Can you remember any of the animals that Shelley met in the story? Why were the animals telling Shelley she was ridiculous, where should she have been? How did Shelley get back to her home?

 

• UW – Watch the power point (link attached below). It shows you some animals that sleep during winter. This special word is called hibernation. Can you make a picture of an animal that hibernates during winter? You could use paint, felt tips, crayons. It would be amazing to see your work!

 

                           

 

 

 

• Maths – Watch Mrs Walsh’s shape video. (YouTube link below) Can you name any of the shapes? 

 

 

 

• PD, Maths & EAD – Can you have a go at cutting out a shape polar bear. Have a think about what shapes you might use for different parts of your polar bear. You could have an oval body, a circle head triangles ear and rectangle legs. Remember to cut out your shapes carefully to make your polar bear. Don’t forget to send me a picture of your finished work!

 

Here is mine!

 

 

 

 

 

• Maths – Can you give the teddy the correct amount of cakes? https://www.topmarks.co.uk/learning-to-count/teddy-numbers  

 

• Maths – Try going on a number hunt indoors and on a walk. What numbers can you find? They are all around. Signs, house doors, cars, packaging and many more places.  I would love to see some photographs of your detective work.

 

 

• Phonics- This week we are learning about the letter sound ‘d.’ This is a bouncy sound d-d-d-d-d-dinosaur.

 

        

 

 

• Can you go on a letter sound hunt around your house and find me anything beginning with the ‘d.’ sound? I would love you to send me a picture of what you have found.

 

 

• PD - Fine Motor - Threading Challenge - Today I have a threading challenge for you. See what you can find around your house that you can thread with. You might choose to use a pipe cleaner, straws, string, or wool and then thread on some cheerio’s, some pasta, some buttons or some beads. I can’t wait to see what different items you can find to thread.  

Here are some of Mrs Walsh’s.

 

          

 

 

 

 

• UW – Fingerprints- Talk to your children about their fingerprints. Explain that they are tiny patterns on the ends of their fingers that are unique to them. 

Draw around your child’s hand. You can either dip your child’s fingers into ink, or very lightly into paint. 
Can they print their fingerprints onto their hands? What patterns can they see? 

 

 

 

 

•  PE – Balls and Tunnels game - Just using some card and a bit of tape, it is easy set ups these tunnels in door or outdoors.  The children then practise their gross motor skills and coordination together the ball through the tunnel..
  To extend the activity you could write numbers on the top of each tunnel and asks the child to aim for a particular number or ask them what number tunnel their ball went through. 

 

          

 

 

 

• PSED – Kids cosmic yoga https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XU1y7pX7dNo&t=6s Fernado the silver fox. See the YouTube link below.

 

 

• Keep practising writing your name. Try letting an adult write your name (yellow felt tip is best) then trace over it. Can you show me your name writing?

 

 

Big Bird Watch – why not join in with the RSPB bird watch 29-31st January. See which birds come into your garden! Follow this link to find out more. https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/activities/birdwatch/

Why not have a go at making a bird feeder and see what birds visit your garden? See link below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi nursery, I hope you have all had a lovely weekend. Missing you all lots! Thank you for all the photographs you have sent me of your work and other fun things you have been up to! I love seeing them; it puts a smile on my face. J This week I have added some more activities for you to have a go at home, if you would like. Don’t forget to have a go on Doodle and collect your stars. 

I will also be looking for my shooting star of the week!!! 

 

Home learning activities, week beginning 18.01.21

 

• Literacy & CL - Watch the video in the attachements below of Mrs Walsh reading The Gruffalo’s Child.  

 

I am going to ask you some questions about the story. 1) Who did the Gruffalo’s Child want to find…A Big Bad Rat or Big Bad Mouse? 2) What was the weather like in the story? Who lived in the treetop house?  When the moon shone on the mouse, did it make the mouse look big or small? With an adult talk about how it made the mouse look this size.

 

 

 

• UW – Can you have a go at making shadows? It’s really fun!! Ask an adult to hold a torch to the wall and have a go at making funny shapes.  Here are some pictures of my children making shadows. They made up lots of funny stories and animal shapes?

What did you make? Can you send me any photos?

                                  

 

 

 

 

• Literacy - Have a go at practising your name, maybe practise copying your name in flour or foam, which looks a bit like snow!

                               

 

 

 

 

• Maths - For this activity you will need lots of the same object (for example pasta shapes). Take it in turns with your child to pick a number. Count out the matching amount of pasta shapes. After you have both had a few turns, see who the winner is. Can your child say who has the most/least? Which pile has many/few? I have attached some number cards, or write numbers on pieces of paper.

 

 

 

• Maths – I would like you to have a go at making some repeating patterns with objects you have around your home. Have a look at the video in the attachments below of Mrs Walsh showing you how to make some patterns. I would love to see some photos of your pattern work.

 

 

• PD & Maths - Can you have a go at cutting out the mittens and matching them up? Choose some of the mittens you would like to use, you don’t need to cut them all out.  When you have cut round them, ask an adult to mix them up. Can you match them to find the correct pairs? I have attached the activity below. Don't worry if you haven't got a printer, with adult support you could draw some and colour them in.

 

 

 

• Phonics – This week our sound of the week is ‘s.’ This is a stretchy sound sssssssssssss

 

 

• Phonics- Can you go on a phonic hunt and find some objects around your house beginning with the s sound.

 

 

• PE - We are going to practise to aim, throw and catch. We are going to pretend the ball is a snowball and we have to aim it carefully! You could aim for a bucket, hoop, or saucepan-whatever you have in your house! You could take turns and keep the score of how many times you get the ball in the target. Once your child becomes more skilled in aiming and throwing the ball, you could work on helping your child to catch the ball. If your child can throw and catch with ease, increase the distance to make it more difficult.

 

 

 

• PSED & PE – After a busy day why not have a go at some cosmic kid’s yoga – click on the link below to go on a yoga adventure all about Pedro the Penguin.  Can you follow the moves?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi Nursery, missing you all lots!  It was lovely to see the work some of you sent me last week, well done! I am super proud of you! It would be lovely to see more this week.

 

I will be choosing a 'Shooting Star' of the week each week, so keep a look out! I will also be making some phone calls to you this week too; looking forward to speaking to you. 

 

I have added some new activities for this week for you to have a go at if you would like.  Our theme this term is 'Winter,' so each week I will add some Winter theme activities.  

 

Please send any photos of your work or anything else you get up to, to advice@mapledeneschool.com  

 

Home learning activities week beginning 11.01.21

 

Happy Blue Year

We have decided to go ahead with our 'Happy Blue Year' event on Monday 11th January as originally planned. Children working at school and at home will be able to join in with learning about the different ways in which we can help to protect our environment. It will be a non-uniform day and everyone at school, and at home, is encouraged to dress from top-to-toe in blue or ocean-themed clothes! On this day, Year 4’s documentary ‘Blue Planet’ will premiere on both our website and our YouTube channel, ‘Learn it with Mapledene’, at 9am.

 

• Nursery, as part of 'Happy Blue Year' could you watch the ‘Under the sea,’ PowerPoint attached below. It shows us some of the wonderful creatures that live in our ocean which is why we need to keep our oceans clean! Can you send me a painting, collage or drawing of your favourite sea creature?

 

• Literacy - Listen to the story 'Duck in the Truck', see attachment below.  Can you hear the words that rhyme? Can you tell your adult what some of the rhyming words are?  

 

• Phonics - Rhyming pairs - In a pairs game, use pictures of objects with names that rhyme. Take it in turns to turn two cards over and keep them if the pictures are a rhyming pair. If they are not a rhyming pair, the cards are turned face down again and the other person has a turn. Start with a small core set of words that can then be extended. (Don’t try to use all the cards, that would be too many.) The children need to be familiar with the rhyming word families before they can use them in a game – spend time looking at the pictures and talking about the pairs. See attachment below of Mrs Walsh showing you how to play the game!  Rhyming cards attached below too, don't worry if you don't have access to a printer, with adult support you could draw some pictures that rhyme. 

 

 

• Phonics - This week’s sound of the week is 'a,' this is a bouncy sound a-a-a-a.  Refer to the video attached; week beginning 05.01.21 to listen how to pronounce the letter sounds correctly. 'Alpha blocks' is also very good, to show you how to pronounce your letter sounds correctly.

 

 

• Can you go on a phonic hunt around your house and find any object beginning with the 'a' sound. Send me a picture of the objects you have found.

 

• Maths - This week, practise oral counting. Can your child count to 5, 10 or 20? Encourage your child to clap along to each number. Next time, jump to each count.

 

• Maths - See the picture below.  Have a go at drawing some snowmen of your own. With an adult, write some numbers on the snowman, start with 1 to 5 then have a go at drawing the correct amount of buttons. If your child can easily add buttons to 5, extend to 10. It would be great if I could see a photograph of some of your work.

 

 

 

 

 

• UW and EAD - Watch the winter PowerPoint, I have added the link below. Can you have a go at making a winter picture? You could use cotton wool, glitter, chalk, foil or glitter pens.  I would love to see what you have created? Here are some examples below.

 

   

 

 

 

 

• PSED - Play Games!  Playing board games is such a great way to develop turn taking skills. It helps children to learn patience and if there's a dice involved, it helps with number recognition or counting too! Children learn best when they're playing, they won’t realise they are learning at the same time. There are some  great games out there; Orchard games are fantastic - really fun too!

 

• PD - What happens to your body when you exercise? Give your child some exercises to do, see the attached document below for ideas. You could ask your child to do 10 of each. - choose which exercises you feel your child is able to do. You could hide these cards around the room so it's a bit like a treasure hunt. Once they find the card they need to complete that activity before searching for the next one. Once they have a completed a few, encourage your child to feel their heartbeat. Is it beating fast or slow? What's happened to their breathing? Is it quicker, louder etc.?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you have all had a lovely break at home. I know this isn’t the start back we were hoping for but I will upload activities you can have a go do at home each week. You can send me pictures of any work using the school email address, as I would love to see your work. The email address is: advice@mapledeneschool.com 

 

Remember, while at home your child can continue to develop their language skills by sharing books, playing games  and talking with family members.

Home learning activity ideas week beginning  05.01.21

 

• Draw a picture of something you did in the holidays. Maybe you can draw a picture of you and your favourite toy? Maybe you enjoyed a walk in the snow? Can you tell a grown up about your picture so they can help label it or write what you said about your picture.  If you can add some of your own mark making that would be amazing. I would love to see a photo of your work.

 

• We are learning to use new words to talk about winter. I have attached a document below, called, ‘sorting winter and summer clothes.’ The children can carefully cut the pictures out and sort them into the correct columns Winter/Summer.  Don’t worry if you haven’t got a printer, you could choose some clothes from your child’s wardrobe to sort into summer and winter.  Model using vocabulary, such as,  “You need to wear gloves in the winter when it is snowy”, “You need to wear boots/wellies in the winter, when the ground is frosty and icy”. Take a photograph of your child in their winter clothes and send it to me.  Ask your child why they need to wear these clothes in the winter time and send me a quote of what they say.

 

• Watch this story called ‘One Winters Day’  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBKfbo60jlI  Did you like this story? Why?  Who did hedgehog help? What did hedgehog do that was kind?

 

• Have a collection of your child’s toys (up to 10), show your child a number on a piece of paper, can they count out the right amount of toys to match?  So if it is the number 3, how many toys do we need? Do they know to stop when they have the matching amount? If your child can easily complete this, extend to 15.

 

• We are starting 'sound of the week'.  Here is our first sound, ‘m.’ You say the sound by stretching it mmmmmmmmmmm.

 

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkXcabDUg7Q  This is a helpful link showing how we pronounce our sounds.

 

• Can you go on a phonic hunt around your house and find any object beginning with this sound? Send me a picture of the objects you have found.

 

 

• Making playdough – I have attached a recipe below to make your own sparkly snow cloud play dough. Maybe make a play dough snowman?

 

• https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/ Oxford Owl eBook Library Choose a book to read from Oxford Owl's free eBook library.

 

• Play the party freeze game. We love this this song and dance in nursery to get us moving! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UcZWXvgMZE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Useful websites and activities to help support your child’s learning at home

 

 

 

I have added a selection of websites that will support with maths, phonics, reading and PE.

 

• Phonics song  Phonics song - this really supports children to practice their initial sounds! I find myself singing it all the time with my own children at home!

• Oxford Owl Free E-books to access if you sign up.

• Topmarks Lots of interactive, fun maths games to improve counting, number recognition measure, shape and pattern!

• Cosmic Yoga Yoga and movement - This particular one is the story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. There are lots to choose from. I join in with my children at home!

• Nursery rhymes Nursery rhymes and songs for your child to learn and join in with.

• Alphablocks Alphablocks is a fun way to look at letters and sounds.

• Numberblocks All Numberblock programs and number games. This link also shows some great ideas of activities you can support your child with.

• Crickweb Lots of free maths and phonics games, including, Initial sounds, colours, compare and order, counting, matching and mouse skills and number recognition.

• BBC Bitesize Online games and videos to support shape recognition.

• BBC Bitesize Sorting and Pattern games

• ict games - Phonics pop Phonics game - to support letter sound recognition.

• Topmarks Lots of free interactive math's games to help support children's counting and number recognition.

• Education.com Rhyming word games. Hearing rhyming words helps to build key phonic skills. (free sign up to access activities)

• Topmarks A wide selection of rhyming activities.

Parents and Carers

Sometimes we all need someone to turn to for advice and support. We're glad to help and are happy for you to talk to us. In addition to what we can offer, please click on the following link where you will find information about organisations that you might find useful. Thank you. 

Welcome to Nursery

 

We have completed the first full week of nursery and your children have settled amazingly! We are so proud of them and we know you are too!

We have had a busy week learning our rules and routines, singing, playing and learning to wash our hands when we come in, in the mornings, at snack time and after outdoor time.

We are about to start our topic, ‘All about me.’ Our topic question is, ‘Why am I so special?’

 Please could you help your child talk about what they look like, e.g. eye colour, hair colour, hair length, whether they have straight hair or curly hair etc. We will also talk about and draw our families. Help encourage your child to be able to name their family members.

We are also sending home our curriculum leaflet which gives you an over view of what we will be learning this half term. I have also included a sheet of activities that might help your child’s progress at nursery. At this point, we are encouraging and teaching the children to become a little more independent, so that they can grow and get the best out of all the learning experiences we have on offer. We hope that you will find them useful.

We look forward to working with you, to make this a fun, learning experience for your child.

 

Many thanks for your support.

 

Mrs Walsh and Mrs Wynn.

 

 

 

 

 

Activities to support your child’s learning at home

 

• Practise putting on their own coat by themselves.

 

• Practise going to the toilet, wiping, flushing and washing hands independently.

 

• Reading stories; over and over and over again!

 

• Count – literally anything; steps upstairs, teddy bears, chocolate buttons.

 

• Practise recognising their name.

 

• Look for familiar signs.

 

• Play simple turn taking games.

 

• Make simple repeating patterns with colours, toys etc.

 

• Play I spy with my little eye or I hear with my little ear.

 

• Drawing faces