Nursery Home Learning 6-1-21 to 15-1-21
Hello to all our Little Stars and Little Winners!
We are sorry that we can’t all play and explore together in our Nursery at the moment, but there are lots of things that you can do at home! Our topic for this half term is Nursery Rhymes. We will be exploring many different ones, learning all the words and singing it with our friends. Use the videos below to help you learn them. Which one do you like best? There are also many different activities that children can complete to help them develop in all the key areas. (These are listed at the bottom of the page for parents information.)
Miss Polly Had a Dolly
Play a game of doctors and nurses. Take it in turns to be the doctor or the patient. Discuss what their job is. What do they do and why? Talk positively to your child about your experience of visiting a doctors surgery or hospital. Why not encourage other members of the house to join in?
Build a crib for your favourite doll or teddy. You could use any construction toys that you have or why not find some boxes in the recycling to use instead?
Learn the rhyme and then ask an adult to phone a friend or relative. Can you sing it to them over the phone? I’m sure it would make someone very happy!
Update:
We have been learning about Miss Polly in class. Here are some pictures of what we made. We can add any photos of what you have done at home to our nursery gallery. Why not use the link to send us a message or photo!
Build your own bus. You could use cushions or chairs as seats, line them up and pretend that you are going for a ride on a bus. What could you use as the steering wheel? Can you make a ticket to get on the bus and pretend to pay the driver? Don’t forget to wear your seat-belt! Take it in turns to be the bus driver, the conductor or a passenger. Chat about what you might see out of the window. Where would you go? Who would you see?
Look at pictures of different buses. Are they all the same? How many wheels do they have? Where do you think people are going on the bus? Is there a number on the front of the bus? Chat with a grown up about what is the same and what is different between the buses.
Look out of the window. Do any buses go past your home? What about cars? Bikes? How many can you see? Can you count 10 cars?
Make a bus of your own. You could draw one, paint one, build it out of junk materials or bake a cake and decorate it like a bus. We would love to see what you have made, so why not send us a picture!
Go on a spider hunt around your house. Can you find a cobweb? Can you find a spider? You will have to be quiet so that you don’t scare it! Look closely. Can you count it’s legs? Don’t be scared! It won’t hurt you.
Can you make a spider sock puppet? What will you use to make the eight legs? Can you send us a photo?
Make a collection of 8 objects. You could find spoons, socks, Lego bricks or shoes. Make sure that you say one number for each object.
Get a tray/ plate. Lightly cover it with flour. Use your finger or a paintbrush to draw a spider. Draw the body first then add 8 legs.
Here, you can also find a selection of other Nursery Rhymes
Phonics
In Nursery, we are starting to look at sounds that we can hear around us and in words. This will help to prepare your child, ready to start blending sounds and words to read. In Nursery, we work on Phase 1 Phonics. The following activities are designed to get each child to become aware of the sounds around them in everyday activities.
Here are some phonics activities for you:
Start to learn the Jolly Phonics Songs and Rhymes
Try the following games to practise listening skills- Phonics Play
Also some phonics games from Phonics Bloom
Make a sounds and get someone to copy the sound that you make. You could use your hands, mouth or objects to make that sound.
Maths
In school, we are working on our counting skills. The videos below will help you to think about counting and begin to recognise the numeral. The best way to learn to count is to make it part of your everyday routine. Count steps as you’re walking upstairs together, count the number of cups you need to get out for everyone to have a drink, or how many shoes you need to put on your feet. Start with counting 1-5, then 1-10. Counting small amounts of things will help to develop your child’s understanding of number. This will be far more beneficial than them learning to say numbers in order without knowing what it means. We will add more maths activities over the next few weeks but don’t forget to have fun!
Information for parents/ carers
The following prime areas underpin everything in the early years:
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
We cannot stress how important it is for children to develop their personal, social and emotional skills to ensure that they lead healthy and happy lives. Being able to manage their emotions, have a positive sense of self and meet new challenges with a “can do” attitude will support their learning throughout their lives.
Communication and Language
In the early years we work hard to develop each child’s language skills. Conversations between adults and children are important from an early age.
· When your child is playing with their toys, chat to them about what they are doing. If they are building, what are they building? What is it made of? Who are they building it for?
· Look at different photos of different people in your immediate family. What is their name? What is their relationship to your child? (i.e. cousin, aunt, uncle) Talk about them and refer to when your child last saw them. Help them to remember what they did and where they saw them.
· Talk about different rooms in your house and what you do in each room. Try to name objects that are unfamiliar to your child. Discuss what that object I used for. Encourage them to ask questions too.
· Talk to your child about any pets that you, or any other family or friends, may have. What is their name? What kind of animal are they? What do they do?
Physical Development
As well as movement and exercise, physical development includes developing each child’s independence and self-care skills. Children love to be active and, while this may be different to normal, try to keep your child active. Also encourage them to start to use pens and pencils to make marks on paper.
The following specific areas help children to strengthen and practise the prime areas. Here are some ideas of activities that you could do at home to develop these skills.
Literacy
Introducing your child to books at a young age has many benefits. They can start to look at the pictures, which is a great place to start a chat, or turn the pages. These are all pre-reading skills that will prepare them for when they start to read words. Board books are great for early readers and are more sturdy for those who are learning to handle books carefully.
If you don’t feel confident reading to your child, don’t worry. Talking to them about what is happening in the pictures, holding a book and turning the pages one at a time are all just as important.
There are many stories that are read online for your child to hear the story, but this shouldn’t be a replacement for a book.
If you would like to borrow any books please feel free to speak us.
Mathematics
Maths is used everyday in our lives and can be brought into any play activities. How many cars are they playing with? What shape is your favourite toy? Number rhymes and songs are a fantastic way for children to introduce children to number and practise early maths skills. You can find a selection here. Some the children will already be familiar with, or why not learn a new one?
Understanding the World
Understanding the world involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community. The frequency and range of children’s personal experiences increases their knowledge and sense of the world around them. Enriching and widening children’s vocabulary will support later reading comprehension.
Expressive Arts and Design
The development of children’s artistic and cultural awareness supports their imagination and creativity. It is important that children have regular opportunities to engage with the arts, enabling them to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials.
Please remember how much children learn from chatting, playing and reading. Try to add these into everyday activities from chatting to them about the weather when they get up in the morning, spending quality time playing with your child and their favourite toy and ending a busy day with a lovely bedtime story.
We look forward to hearing from you soon!
The Little Stars and Little Winners staff