Good morning everybody

I hope you are all well and have had a good weekend.

This week we are going to be following on from our topic of 'Babies and Growth'.

The title for this week is, 'Now I am bigger, I can...' and we will be looking at all the wonderful things that children can do now that they are getting ready for Reception.

Lets start the day with a song:

Today is 'Make-it Monday' so lets do some painting today.

Don't worry if you don't have paint- we are going to make our own paint using things from the kitchen.

To make home-made paint, you could:

• Mix a little water into ketchup
• Use soy sauce
• Mix a little hot water into a stock cube (then leave to cool)
• Pour hot water onto spices and mix
• Crush  herbs and then pour on a little hot water

Remember to let hot water cool down before letting children paint with it.

If you don't have paintbrushes, you could use household objects, eg. cotton buds, the edge of a spoon or even your fingers to paint.

You could paint a picture or pattern, exploring colours.

Or you could ask children to paint their name- now that they are bigger! (our topic this week).

For children who are struggling to remember how to write their name, parents could write their name first and then the child can paint over their writing. Have fun! 

Language and Literacy

Today there is a phonics challenge:

• say your name 
• can you hear the first sound in your name?
• can you make that sound a few times?
• can you think of 2 more words that start with the same sound as your name?
• SUPER CHALLENGE- can you think of 5 more words?
• can you find 1 thing in your house that starts with the same sound as the first sound in your name?​​​​​​​

Mini Maths

Explain to the children that now that they are bigger and getting ready for Reception, they can do 'adding'.

Addition for younger children is simply counting 2 groups altogether. 

Put a collection of same objects together eg. spoons or socks or pencils.

Separate into 2 sets eg. 4 in a group and 2 in another group.

Count separately.

Next push the two groups together and ask how many now?

Count the larger group and say, "there are 6 altogether".

Repeat with different numbers in the groups, with totals no bigger than 10. 

Physically moving objects and counting altogether is the best way to understand simple addition.

Storytime

Here, an older child reads the story for a younger audience:

If you have an older child at home, it is a good idea to get them to read to their younger brother/ sister.

This is beneficial for both children as it will inspire the younger child and also develop confidence in the older child, as well as improving well-being as it feels good to help someone else.

Have a good day.