Nursery
Welcome to the Nursery Class page.....
Well we are nearly at the end of the first half of the Summer Term.
We hope you have all enjoyed the wonderful sunny weather and have had lots of fun playing outside in the garden and going for bike rides and walks!
I really enjoyed talking to you all on the phone and it was lovely to hear about all the exciting things that you have been doing at home! If you need to speak to me at any other time, please phone school and they will send a message for me to call you as soon as possible.......Mrs Lucas.
It has been lovely to see all the work and activities completed on Purple Mash but for the next week and for the half term week we are going to suggest a different set of activities.
In Nursery, the topic for this half term would have included 'Minibeasts' so you are invited to select from the following activities (if you wish) and then anything that you complete at home can be brought in to school when you return.
You can select as many as you wish. It really is up to individual families how much you decide to complete. There are lots to choose from so hopefully there will be something that you would like to try and do with your child at home!
There will be no activities set on Purple Mash for the next two weeks but you can still explore Mini Mash and save work in to your 'trays' if you wish.
Communication/Language/Literacy -
- Share a story about minibeasts e.g. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Bad Tempered Ladybird, Superworm, The Very Busy Spider. You may have the storybook or you may find the story online. Can you retell the story and draw a picture of your favourite character.
- Make a name caterpillar - Draw the head, add features then draw circles for the body....write each letter of your name in each circle.
- Ask Mummy and/or Daddy to write a list of minibeasts and see if you can copy the words. Then draw the minibeasts.
- Think of your favourite minibeasts - Can you think of some adjectives to describe them e.g. hairy, scary spider......spotty, red ladybird.
Maths - - Make paper or playdough 'worms' - make them different lengths and see if you can put them in order from shortest to longest. Talk about long, short, thick, thin, longer than, shorter than as you make them and order them.
- Count the legs on minibeasts and spots on ladybirds.....Draw 5 ladybirds....can you put 1 spot on the first one, 2 on the second and so on....up to 5! You could do the same with spiders, adding legs from 1 to 8.
- Make a symmetrical butterfly painting.
- Counting the bugs that you find on a bug hunt.
- Count the fruit and food items that the Very Hungry Caterpillar ate.
Science/Knowledge and Understanding of the World - - Make a bug house out of wood, plant pots, sticks, logs, pine cones etc......or just use a plastic bottle with the bottom cut off and fill this with leaves and twigs before placing it on its side in the garden. Look inside it each day to see who has moved in!
- Go on a bug hunt and count how many of each minibeasts you find.....ants might be tricky so you might have to estimate!
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar ate through fruit each day. Make a delicious fruit salad to eat at home! Look at the outside and inside of each fruit as you add them to the salad.
- Watch 'Minibeast Adventure with Jess' on Youtube....there are lovely episodes to choose from!
- Find out about the lifecycle of a caterpillar or ladybird. You could have a go at drawing the different stages.
Expressive Arts and Design / Physical Development - Draw or paint a minibeast.
- Make a minibeast out of recycled materials.
- Make a 'bug' headband starting with a strip of card to go around your head. You could add bug eyes and feelers!
- Listen to 'The Flight of the Bumblebee' by Rimsky-Korsakov on Youtube and create a Bumblebee dance!
- Listen to 'The tiny caterpillar song' - (KC music) - on Youtube to see the life cycle as it happens....Try to create different actions- wiggle, munch, spin, fly!
- Sing 'Incy Wincy Spider and 'There's a worm at the bottom of the garden'.
- Create playdough bugs and minibeasts.
- Print a caterpillar with your fingertips or the end of a cardboard tube dipped in paint.
- Punch holes in a card circle or card 'butterfly' and sew with wool or string.....sellotape rolled around the end of the wool makes it easier!
- Have a snail race! Try placing snails on a black piece of paper to see their trails appearing!
- Make a pitfall trap. Sink a small jar or pot in to the soil. Pop 4 pebbles at the corners and lay a tile on the top. Check each day to see which minibeasts have crawled in.....once you have observed them pop them back in to the garden.
- Take art outside and use leaves, twigs, stones and other garden materials to create a picture of a minibeast.
WE HOPE YOU ENJOY COMPLETING SOME OF THESE AT HOME!
If you have taken part in the 'Share a Story Reading Challenge' we would love to know how many books/stories you have read at home! You can send a message on Purple Mash where it says 'Hand in note' on the 2Do's.......or send a Tweet!
We have added the Summer Term 'Home Activity Grid' to this page. You may find it useful if you are looking for additional activities to complete with your child at home.
Home Activity Grid – Summer Term
|
Communication, Language and Literacy |
Find 5 items in your house that begin with the letter ‘S’ and draw them. |
Choose a book that you haven’t read for a long time and share it with someone at home. |
Play I Spy with my little eye……in the house and when you are on a walk. |
|
Mathematics |
Play a throwing and catching game in the garden. How many do you catch without dropping the ball? |
Play ‘What’s the time Mr Wolf?’ outside and count the footsteps very carefully! |
Count how many giant strides it takes to go from one end of the hall/lounge/garden to the other. Repeat with tiny footsteps! |
|
Understanding the World |
Go on a bug hunt in the garden. Make a bug house with stones, wood, bricks and plant pots. |
Go on a sound/listening walk and draw 5 things that you hear. |
Talk about and find items to put in your recycling bin. Talk about the different materials that they are made from. |
|
Creative Development |
Use leaves and flowers to make a picture. |
Draw a picture of your favourite animal. |
Make up a dance to go with your favourite song! You could have a show for your family at home! |
SCHOOL CLOSURE
Please check www.purplemash.com every Monday for your child's weekly learning activities. Activities will be uploaded every Monday and can be submitted at any time during the week.
The activities set will appear when you click the '2Do' tab at the top of your child's log in page on Purple Mash.
Well done if you have managed to complete some of the activities at home with your child ....I have really enjoyed looking at your child's work and it is really nice to read the comments that you have written! We are certainly missing everybody and we know that the children are all missing seeing their nursery friends too! 
Some of the activities do not need to be saved and are just for your child to explore a number of times. These might be maths or language games/activities, for example Maths City 1 and 2.
Your child also has a 'tray' on the Mini Mash home screen where work completed on Mini Mash can also be saved if you wish to do this as well. I will then be able to see what your child has been doing at home and has put in the tray.....as well as any 2Do's that they have completed. It does sound complicated but hopefully it will begin to make sense after a while! We are learning together as we go along.......as it is a new way of working for us too!
Purple Mash is just one way of supporting your child's learning at home but you may choose to do different things instead!
Making playdough is fun (if you can get flour!!) and there are recipes online......you can then google 'Dough Disco' and there are lots of songs and opportunities to join in! We do Dough Disco in Nursery and the children absolutely love it!
Yogabugs (online) also have lovely themed yoga stories for the children to join in with too....there is one called 'Jungle Adventure' which you might like to start with!
Have you drawn or painted a rainbow of hope? Remember to put it in your window! They look beautiful when people walk past your house and are bringing smiles to faces!
Within www.purplemash.com there is a section designated for Early Years children called 'Mini Mash'. This contains a wealth of activities, games and experiences that you can share with your child while the school is closed. It has lovely games and activities for the children to complete and is very appropriate for early years children.
Some other website suggestions are;
www.teach your monster to read.com - phonics games
www.readingeggs.com - phonics games (recommended by a parent! Thank you!)
(30 day free trial available)
www.mathseeds.com - maths games and activities
www.kidstv123 - phonics and maths songs
www.oxbridgebaby.com - traditional stories/nursery rhymes
www.phonicsplay.co.uk - phase 1 and 2
www.busythings.co.uk - all curriculum areas
www.topmarks.co.uk - age 3-5 - literacy and maths games
www.cbeebies.co.uk - numberblocks, alphablocks
www.jollyphonics.co.uk - phase 1 and 2 songs
www.phonicsbloom.com - phases 1 and 2
www.famly.com - activities to do at home
hungrylittleminds -Department for Education website
www.activeforlife.com - ideas for physical play
www.pinterest.com - lots of indoor learning activities and suggestions
www.twinkl.co.uk - this has a home learning hub which requires a free access code (UKTWINKLHELPS) and has lots of lovely activities for each day.
We also use www.youtube.co.uk to source number songs, alphabet songs and nursery rhymes that you might find useful to continue with at home. The Jolly Phonics songs on youtube are also helpful to sing along to as we have recently started to learn these in class to support our phonics activities.
One of our Parents asked about the structure of the nursery day as they wanted to try to replicate it at home as much as possible.
If it helps we split the session into 'times' and they are as follows:
Quiet Time - This is when we complete a number or phonics activity.
Busy Time - This might be painting/drawing/writing/reading /imaginative play/
dressing up/baking/gluing/cutting out/playdough/role play/construction/puzzles/ sand/ water/musical instruments/shape and number or phonics games....
Rainbow Time - sitting together and chatting whilst we have milk, fruit and snacks.
Outdoor Time - Physical play outside e.g. riding bikes, climbing, ball play, running etc.
Story Time - sharing books, singing rhymes and songs, making music.
Lunchtime
The afternoon then follows a very similar structure.
Please remember that your child's pack of activity sheets is available to collect from the school office if you have not already done so. The office is open from Monday to Friday 9.00am to 3.15pm.
Fun things to do at home!
Have a go at ... writing your name (first name and surname) and other letters/numbers, sharing stories, singing rhymes, planting bulbs or flowers, keep a diary and draw a picture every day, make a card for a relative or friend, have a duplo/lego challenge, make a bug house, play board games, paint pictures, cut out pictures from a magazine or comic, make playdough and have a dough disco!, keep fit, dance to music and play musical statues or musical bumps, make a music band, have an indoor picnic, dress up and become a story teller, ride your bike or scooter, learn to skip with a skipping rope, make a den inside or outside, go on a bug hunt and enjoy being at home with your family making memories.
We look forward to seeing you when the school reopens and we hope that you are all staying safe and keeping well.
Thank you for all your support during this very difficult and challenging time.
Welcome to the Nursery Class Page
Mrs Lucas is the Class Teacher
Mrs Rowlands and Mrs Wright are Teaching Assistants in the morning.
Mrs McLoughlin and Mrs James are Teaching Assistants in the afternoon.
Mrs Willocks teaches the children on a Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon.
Mr Murphy teaches P.E in the Nursery on a Monday and the children need to wear a tracksuit/trainers/joggers/leggings on this day.
The children need to bring their book bag to Nursery every day and if there is a book inside we will exchange it for another library book. If there is no book inside it means that you wish to keep the library book at home for a little longer.
Please look out for our regular topic newsletters which will outline our activities that we will be undertaking in the classroom with the children.
If you have any questions...please ask!....we are all here to help!
Are you looking for some inspiration for different
things to do at home?
Try some of these websites for ideas.....
https://www.seftondirectory.com/kb5/sefton/directory/advice.page?id=1Vg0VbjhmNY&localofferchannel=0
A list of useful resources from Sefton council.
http://www.thesensoryprojects.co.uk/covid19-resources
This website includes plans for rhyming multi-sensory stories with Makaton and links for music activities. There are also videos on how to learn how to juggle, play boccia and making sensory dough.
https://www.mathematicsmastery.org/free-resources
Some nice English and Maths activities that you can print off at home.
https://www.hamilton-trust.org.uk/blog/learning-home-packs/
These are free learning packs.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/grownups/help-your-child-with-maths
This has some nice links and practical ideas for things to do.
https://www.stem.org.uk/primary-science
We know a lot of you have enjoyed your own projects at home- you could use this website to explore some more ideas for Science.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006mvsc
https://www.nhs.uk/10-minute-shake-up/shake-ups
Some nice little PE based activities.
Mental health and wellbeing document from British Psychology Society.
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