Hello everyone!

We are all learning at home this week so below, I have set some activities, videos and pictures of activities that you could do. Any questions or if you have any photos to add to our Nursery Gallery, please email me at ce.williams@win.jtmat.co.uk.

There will also be a Zoom session on Wednesday at 11 am. Information will be sent via text nearer the time. It would be lovely to see everyone there!

Our topic for this week will be The Gingerbread Man. Watch the video below, ask an adult to read the story to you or role play it with other members of your family.

Make a gingerbread Man- Ask an adult to draw a Gingerbread Man for you to decorate. You could paint, use crayons or stick paper. Send me a photo and we can make a collection to add to the Nursery blog!
Follow a recipe- Why not have a go at making your own Gingerbread Man? Here is a recipe that you could follow. If you don’t have the ingredients, choose another recipe. You could make rock cakes, cornflake cakes or pizza. BBC goodfood have a great selection of easy recipes to use with children.
Make a puppet- Make your own Gingerbread Man puppet to retell the story with an adult. You could make a sock puppet or a stick puppet.
Become a Gingerbread Man- Sellotape together some old roles of wall paper, newspaper or any other large sheets of paper or card you can find. Get your child to lay down on the paper and draw around them. When they stand up, ask them where they are going to draw the eyes, nose, mouth and buttons? Encourage them to count and chat about what they are doing, as they complete the activity.

Early Writing

Early writing skills is not about sitting children at a table and making them copy words. It is about developing their confidence, the strength in their hands and their hand eye co-ordination. Therefore what one child might be doing could be very different from what another child is doing. We value it all! Equally, you will all have different resources that are available to use. Remember these are ideas and you can adapt them according to what’s best for you!

Below are a list of activities for the children to complete to develop their early writing skills. Have a go at the activities that are appropriate for your child.

Sensory tray- Find a tray or container that is flat but has a lip around the edge (a baking tray or plastic tray would be ideal). Lightly cover the bottom of the tray in flour, rice, salt or cereal. Encourage your child to make marks, patterns or letter shapes in the tray. They could use anything (For example, fingers, a stick or a paint brush) to do this.
Painting with cars- Cover a table with newspaper or a cloth that you can wipe clean. Cover your child with an apron or old shirt and find a toy car that you would be able to clean afterwards. Put a small amount of paint on the paper and encourage your child to drive their car through the paint. Point out the marks that the car is making. Repeat with another colour.
Painty bags- Put a small amount of paint into a zip-lock or freezer bag. Close the bag and make sure that it is secure (you may need to sellotape the corners and the seal). Lay the bag on a flat, covered surface (Just in case the bag leaks) and encourage your child to push the paint around using their fingers or a cotton bud. What marks and patterns can they make? Can they draw a face? The first letter of their name?
Writing for a purpose- As adults we write things down everyday, be it a shopping list, a note to leave on the fridge or to send a card to a friend or family member. Throughout your time at home, encourage your child to write with you. Talk about what you are writing and why. Children love to imitate adults around them!
Use what you have- Most of us have notebooks, colouring books, old magazines and scraps of paper in the bottom of a drawer somewhere. Get them out and encourage your child to draw, write or make marks on them. Allow them to choose what they write on from a selection of items; encourage them to choose the colour of pen or pencil. Whether it keeps their interest for 10 minutes or 10 seconds, all practise is good practise. You can always come back to this activity throughout the week.

Phonics

In Nursery, we aim to prepare the children for school with good foundations and understanding. We therefore work on Phase 1 Phonics to ensure that they are ready for when they start Reception. Follow the links to online games and why not try the activities below?

Phonics Play- Free to everyone until 2nd April using code March 20 and the password home
Phonics bloom- Access to some games without subscribing
Epic Phonics- Practise your listening skills and play What’s behind the door?

Little Winners

Listening skills- Play a game of What’s in the box? Find any toys or pictures that you may have of animals. Take turns putting one animal in the box. Make the sound that the animal makes. Can the other person guess which animal it is? Open the box and find out if you were right!
Listening skills- Sound Hunt-Go outside or into different rooms in your house. What sounds can you hear in each room? How are these different from what you can hear outside?

Little Stars

Alliteration- Make a collection- Make a collection of objects that start with one sound. You could choose the sound that your name starts with. How many can you find? Repeat with a different sound. Mix up the objects and practise sorting them according to the sound that they start with.
Alliteration- Play ISpy- Play a game of I Spy. What sounds do different objects start with? Look in a book. Can they find the letter that makes that sound?

Maths

Counting in everyday situations will develop your child’s understanding of number in real life. Continue to count with your child as they play, dress, eat and move. Please find below some examples of counting activities below:

Cooking- If you are cooking, get the children to count the ingredients, the buttons on the Gingerbread Man.
Cars- If they are playing with their cars, count the wheels, the number of cars they have or get them to match the car to the correct parking space.
Teddies- Collect your teddies together and have a tea party. How many plates do you need? How many cups?
Dinosaurs- How many steps can your dinosaur take across a chair? Encourage them to count the “stomps”.

Practical counting is the best way for your child to develop their number skills. To support this learning, here are some links to counting songs and games:

Gingerbread Man Counting Game- Count to 5 and then to 10.How many buttons are there on the Gingerbread Man?
BBC EYFS Number Songs- Practise recognising numbers and counting
Bud’s Number Garden- Join Bud the bee exploring his magical garden

Well being

Now more than ever is a time when we need to look after our own mental health and well being, and that of our children. Encouraging children to talk about how they are feeling, and to identify their feelings and emotions from a young age will support this. It is very important that we look after ourselves and keep safe. This means looking after our bodies and our minds. The following activities will help you to think about this.

Take Notice- Stand outside your back door or, if you’re not isolating, go for a walk. What you can see, touch, smell, hear and taste. Look up. What can you see in the sky? Clouds? What shape are they?
Connect- Connect with someone who you haven’t seen for a while. You could write them a card, send them a photo or give them a call on the phone. Let them know that you are thinking about them.
Be Active- Start your day with a Wake and Shake. Dance along to these songs. Can you get someone to do it with you? You can also find online PE sessions with Joe Wicks or Cosmic Yoga.
Give- Draw a picture. Make sure that it is the best picture you can draw. It could be a picture of yourself, a flower or your favourite animal. When you have finished, choose someone to give it to.
Keep Learning- This week we are learning something new! Find out why some people use sign language to communicate here. Use the video to help you to learn some sign language. Can you sign the letter in your name? Or learn to sign the song “Take you Home”.

You can watch short videos about feelings at BBC teach. Use the words in everyday situations and keep chatting!

Story Time

As always, read, read, read! Listen to story, share a book, role play a well known story are all fantastic ways to engage children and go to places that we are unable to currently visit. Other reading skills to develop are as follows:

Point out the pictures and the print. Develop the idea that what is written means something.
As you read to your child, follow your finger under the words. Support your child in understanding that English is read from left to right and from top to bottom.
Point out any letters that are familiar to your child. This could be the letter that starts with their name. What sound can that letter make? Can you find more of these letters on the page?

I hope that you have a good week. It would be lovely to see what the children are doing so that we can share their learning. Send photos to the email link above and please use this link if you need to contact me.

Stay safe and have fun!

The Winshill Village Nursery Team

Nursery Home Learning- 8th to 12th March 2021