Northern Lights

As part of our minibeast topic this half term, we have been looking at butterflies and learning about pattern and symmetry.

During topic, the children cut out a butterfly and painted a design onto one wing. They then folded up their butterfly before opening them out again to reveal a beautiful, symmetrical pattern.

The children were amazed at how the paint imprinted on the other side and the different colours mixed together to create new patterns and designs.

Charlie was particularly impressed with his butterfly, telling Mrs Joyce excitedly that "It looks just like the northern lights".

"Art takes nature as its model" - Aristotle

A Solid Foundation

We are now in our second week of the new term and as ever, it is proving to be a busy one. The children have been settling back into the daily routines and joining in with lots of fun activities.

In our garden we saw a brilliant display of team work and problem solving from some of our Nursery children. After realising the house they had built was too small for everyone to comfortably fit in, the children thought carefully about how they could resolve the issue and worked together to reconstruct a bigger house.

 

These kind of problem solving activities are vital in helping children to develop their creative and critical thinking skills. Children who are able to problem solve in a variety of situations are often more confident and able to cope with new or different routines and situations. This can have a massive impact not only on learning in school, but is a life skill that can be carried forwards into the future. As we near the transition phase of our school year, finding ways to develop these skills is particularly relevant.

"Too often we give children answers to remember rather than problems to solve" - Roger Lewin

Red Nose Day 2017

This year at the Grove Academy Red Nose Day was BIG news!!

Our head boy and girl, along with their deputies planned a whole host of fun activities for the children.

The day started with an assembly, which saw the staff in Early Years and KS1 go head to head with each other in a race to see who was the best 'Mummy' in honour of the new red nose.

 

KS2 teachers were then faced with a series of challenges set up by our head boys and girls, including a doughnut eating competition and a very tricky tennis skills battle.

All the children (and staff) had a great time and lots of fun.


However, it is important to remember why we have this event and we took time to share the reason behind Red Nose Day with the children.


Thanks to the generosity of the children and parents in our school we were able to raise £453.85.If you would like to find out where the money raised goes to, please follow the link. http://www.rednoseday.com/


"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted" - Aesop

Observational Drawing

Now that Spring is finally upon us, we are taking every opportunity to make the most of the (occasional) good weather and take learning outside whenever we can.


During our topic lessons last week we decided to take the children out into the sunshine to complete observational drawings of cars parked in our car park. The children were taught how to use pastels and were able to use this particular medium to create some truly stunning representations.

Through this task the children are of course developing the skills that come with working with pastels, but when children are faced with the challenge of representing a real life 3D object on paper they are practicing their recognition of shapes and awareness of proportion as well as advancing hand eye coordination and an eye for detail.

It was amazing to see the children so engaged in their task and how proud they all were of their finished artwork.


"Every child is an artist" - Picasso

The Train Trip

As part of our 'Transport' topic, the children of Reception wanted to see what we could find out about trains.


The children and staff made the trip to Garston train station and were able to have a look at the signs, tracks and platform.

We spotted some wires over the top of the tracks and Jamie told me that "It's for electricity".


As we were having a look around the station we were lucky enough to see a train pass through, stopping to pick up and drop off passengers on it's journey.

The children behaved beautifully, listening carefully to all of the grown ups instructions and following all of the safety rules.

Short trips like this, where we venture outside of the classroom, allow the children to experience things on a more personal level and really help to bring learning to life.


"Knowledge gained through experience is far superior and many times more useful than bookish knowledge" - Mahatma Ghandi

Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice!

Last week the children in Reception worked hard to bake lots of delicious biscuits in honour of World Book Day.
We sold the biscuits and thanks to the generosity of our fantastic Reception parents we managed to raise £41 to spend on new books for our book corners.


The recipe that we used is quick and simple (and tasty!), so if you enjoyed the biscuits then why not make some at home over the long weekend!

Recipe for Animal Biscuits

Ingredients:

175g 6oz butter, softened

75g 2half oz caster sugar

175g 6oz plain flour

75g 2half oz semolina

 

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180'C/350'F
2. Add butter and sugar to mixing bowl and beat with a wooden spoon until soft and creamy.
3. Then stir in flour and semolina.
4. Dust lightly with flour before kneading, roll out (£1 coin thick) and use animal cutters to make biscuits.
5. Bake for approx. 10 mins – keep your eye on them.

Let us know how you get on and if you bake a few too many, teachers never say no to a biscuit or two!!

Once again, thank you for the generous donations to our biscuit making venture and allowing us to provide even more resources for the children! 

Remarkable Writing

Amelia in RG has been very busy drawing her own story mountain.

She recreated the story of 'Little Red Riding Hood' in picture form and was then able to use this to help her write out the story. She used her phonics to sound out some really tricky words and ended up with a truly fantastic piece of work.

“You can make anything by writing.” – C.S. Lewis

World Book Day

Last week saw children and adults alike celebrating World Book Day.

There were fabulous costumes and exciting activities which created a real buzz around the school.

    

Throughout the day the children had opportunities to share books and stories and discuss their favourite characters. At the end of the day each of the children received a £1 World Book Day token, which can be exchanged for one of 10 special World Book Day books, which have been specially written for this event.

Celebrating this love of books and reading is so important for children of any age, but if we can embed this passion in their early years it really can last a life time.

Don't forget to use your token by Sunday 26th March and visit http://www.worldbookday.com/ for more information.

Finally, a big thanks goes to Mrs Ayrton for organising another fantastic World Book Day at the Grove Academy!

  

"You're never too old, too wacky, too wild, to pick up a book and read to a child." - Dr Seuss



The Squeaky Story

As our Primary Writing Project continues, the children in Reception have been busy learning 'The Squeaky Story'. The use of story mountains provide children with a visual representation of the story that they are all able to follow and actions help to embed the pattern of the story.


Exposing children to as many different stories as possible, as well as repeating favourite stories, will support children on their journey to becoming independent readers and writers.


Have a go at sharing 'The Squeaky Story' with your child tonight and see how many actions you can pick up on!!

The Squeaky Story

Once upon a time there was a little girl and a little boy who went to stay with their Grandma.
Just before bed, Grandma said, ‘Goodnight’, gave them a kiss, turned out the light, and closed the door……


but the children said, ‘It’s too noisy!’


So, Grandma said, what you need is a cat….’.
So, she said, ‘Goodnight’, gave them a kiss, turned out the light, closed the door……
and the cat said, ‘meoooow!’ 


but the children said, ‘It’s too noisy!’


So, Grandma said, ‘What you need is a dog….’.
So, she said, ‘Goodnight’, gave them a kiss, turned out the light, closed the door…… the cat said, ‘meoooow!’
and the dog said, ‘Grrrrrrr!’


but the children said, ‘It’s too noisy!’


So, Grandma said, what you need is a sheep….’.
So, she said, ‘Goodnight’, gave them a kiss, turned out the light, closed the door…… the cat said, ‘meoooow!’
and the dog said, ‘Grrrrrrr!’
and the sheep said, ‘Baaaaa!’


but the children said, ‘It’s too noisy!’


So, Grandma said, what you need is a cow….’.
So, she said, ‘Goodnight’, gave them a kiss, turned out the light, closed the door…… the cat said, ‘meoooow!’
and the dog said, ‘Grrrrrrr!’
and the sheep said, ‘Baaaaa!’
and the cow said, ‘Mooooo!’


but the children said, ‘It’s too noisy!


So, Grandma said, what you need is a horse….’.
So, she said, ‘Goodnight’, gave them a kiss, turned out the light, closed the door…… the cat said, ‘meoooow!
and the dog said, ‘Grrrrrrr!’
and the sheep said, ‘Baaaaa!’

and the cow said, ‘Mooooo!’
and the horse said, ‘Neighhh!’


but the children said, ‘It’s too noisy!’


So, Grandma said, what you need is a pig….’.
So, she said, ‘Goodnight’, gave them a kiss, turned out the light, closed the door…… the cat said, ‘meoooow!’
and the dog said, ‘Grrrrrrr!’
and the sheep said, ‘Baaaaa!’
and the cow said, ‘Mooooo!’
and the horse said, ‘Neighhh!’
and the pig said, ‘Oinkkk!’ 

but the children said, ‘It’s too noisy!’

So, Grandma said, ‘OK’ - and she - Took away the cat - meow!
The dog - grrrr!
The sheep - baa!
The cow - moo!
The horse - neigh!
And the pig - oink!

Then she said ‘Goodnight’, gave them a kiss, turned out the light, closed the door……

and the children fell fast asleep.
Shhhhhhhh!

The end.

Mud Pies

This week the nursery children have spent some time exploring the mud kitchen during CIL and created some amazing mud pies.

Outdoor play (especially messy outdoor play!!) is a fantastic way for children to explore different areas of the curriculum. In this photo we can see three children working on their communication and cooperation skills as they share resources and work out what they are making, developing their physical skills as they mix and stir and handle tools and growing their vocabulary through experimenting with different textures and materials.


For children, play is key in developing skills that they can use as they learn throughout their school and adult lives.




For children, play is learning.


"Play is the highest form of research" - Albert Einstein

Take a Walk Little Bear

Across the school, the children have been hard at work learning lots of different stories as we put our Primary Writing Project into practise.


In Reception, we have been leaning the story of a little bear who followed a bee in search of some tasty honey. The children have been using pictures in the form of a 'story mountain' as well as actions to help them remember how the story goes so that they are able to tell it to their friends and teachers.

 

Jessica's Little Bear 'story mountain'

Some children even had a go at turning their favourite stories from home into a story mountain!

 

Hungry Caterpillar 'story mountain' by Bradley

Learning and retelling familiar and much loved stories is such an important part of learning to read and write for children and using pictures to represent a well known story in this way gives children the opportunity to practise their writing and reading skills, even before they know how to read and write!!


To make the story come to life even more, the children discovered exactly what the little bear was hunting for by tasting honey and discussing why they thought he was so keen to find some.

If you would like to find out more about the Primary Writing Project then please talk to your child's class teacher or follow the link for more information... Primary Writing Project

The universe is made of stories, not atoms - Muriel Rukeyser

Internet Safety

As part of our space topic this half term, the children have been researching  rockets and what makes them fly. In order to find out this information we logged on to the internet and the children suggested the well know search engine 'Google' as a good place to start our research.


This raised an excellent opportunity for discussing internet safety and how to stay safe online. Nearly all the children in Reception are lucky enough to be able to access the internet on a wide range of devices and will regularly search for favourite games and websites. Unfortunately, this freedom to explore the online world leaves children open to discovering inappropriate or upsetting content and people, however innocent the search may have been.


In our classes we discussed how sometimes there may be things on the internet that are just for grown ups and suggested ways that we could make sure we stay safe online, just like we do in the real world. The children were very sensible, making suggestions such as asking a grown up to help them and keep them safe.


We then introduced a search engine specifically designed for children and explained that each time we log on to the internet, we should head straight to 'Kidrex' as this lets us search for things in exactly the same way as 'Google' but in a much safer way.


If you would like to find out more information about keeping your children safe online, then please talk to your child's class teacher or follow the links below. 


https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/


http://www.childnet.com/


https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/


http://hectorsworld.netsafe.org.nz/teachers/hectors-world-safety-button/

Space Adventures

Our half term space topic began with a bang (or should that be crash...), with an alien landing in our classrooms.

The children were keen to find out more about our visitors from space and thought of a range of questions they could ask. Some children even had a go at writing their questions down, using their phonic skills to sound out each word.

Inspired by their new alien friend, the children have been busy with lots of other space themed activities including rocket making and addition space games.

The Early Years staff work hard to find lots of different ways to engage the children and capture their imagination.

“Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere.” ― Albert Einstein



Feed the birds...

This week the nursery children have been hard at work creating their own bird feeders to hang in the garden

The Ladybird group with their bird feeders.

Mrs Ricciardi - "We used a needle and string to thread the cheerios to make a delicious snack for the birds now winter is coming!"

At the Grove Academy we believe that outdoor play and learning is vital in developing a broad range of skills and encourage the children to spend time outside on a daily basis. 

For more information on the benefits of outdoor learning, the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom (LOtC) are a great resource.

“Let Nature be your teacher.” – William Wordsworth

Stay and Share

It was lovely to see so many parents and carers last week for our 'Stay and Share' sessions. These drop in sessions are a great opportunity for you to have a look through your child's Learning Journal at the progress they have made so far, as well to see their targets for future learning.

The best way for children to achieve these targets and to progress to the best of their ability, is through continued support from teaching staff and families. When we are all on the same page with children's next steps in learning and are working towards the same goal, success for every child is both achievable and inevitable.

If you were unable to make the 'Stay and Share' sessions in Nursery and Reception last week then please feel free to chat to your child's key worker who will be more than happy to share your child's progress and next step targets.

"A little progress every day adds up to BIG results". - Satya Nani

Word of the Week: Noisy

Each week the children in Reception are introduced to a key word for the week. We talk about the meaning of the word, what sound we can hear at the beginning and try to find a word that rhymes. In addition, we learn the Makaton sign that accompanies the word and try to use it regularly throughout the week.

This week the word of the week is :noisy 

The Makaton sign is:

 

Have a go and see what 'noisy' things there are in your home!

"Increasing vocabulary is an accomplishment. Celebrate mastery of every word" - Marilee Sprenger

Fantastic Phonics

As the children are introduced to each new letter in our phonics lessons, they are taught how to say the 'pure' sound that the letter makes. Using the 'pure' sounds really supports the children with their early blending and reading as it makes it much easier for them to work out what word they are trying to read.

A link to the Read Write Inc. sound pronunciation guide can be found in the 'Parents Evening FAQ's' blog post below to support you with correct sound pronunciation when you are helping your children at home.

In addition to this , the children in RG have recorded some helpful clips to demonstrate the correct pronunciation for the first 5 phonic sounds that we learn in Reception. Please have a look and check out how they say each 'pure' sound.

m - Maisy, mountain mountain

a - round the apple, down the leaf

s - slither down the snake

d - round the dinosaurs bottom, up his tall neck and down to his feet

t - down the tower, across the tower

Check back next week for the next 5 sounds!!

To learn to read is to light a fire” — Victor Hugo, Les Miserables

Quick Quack Quentin

This week the children were lucky enough to hear the wonderful story of 'Quick Quack Quentin' when they visited Ms. Storms at the school library.

This story follows Quentin the duck who has lost the 'A' from his quack. He visits all of the animals to see who will help him to replace his 'A' but sadly nobody wants to help! That is, until he meets a friendly aardvark!

Why not visit the school library next Tuesday and look for this book to find out what happens to poor Quentin in the end!! Ms Storms will be in the library for you to borrow books every Tuesday after school.

“The only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library.” ― Albert Einstein

Parents Evening FAQ's

It was lovely for the Early Years team to get to meet so many of you during Parents Evening this week. There were many positive conversations and from a staff perspective, it is always useful to learn as much as possible about the children in our care from the people who know them best.


A few questions seemed to come up throughout the Parents Evening meetings and hopefully this post will help to address some of them.


Phonics
The phonics scheme that we follow at the Grove Academy once children are in Reception is called Read Write Inc. This is a system of teaching children the sound recognition and early reading and writing skills that will support them as they learn to become independent readers and writers in all areas of the curriculum.
The link below will take you to the parent section of the Read Write Inc. website and will hopefully help to answer any questions you may have about phonics as well as providing some handy hints on how you can help your child at home.


Read Write Inc. Parents Section


Another question that was asked many times was 'how do you teach the letter sounds?' At this stage we are not focusing on the alphabetic letter names, but instead the children are learning all about the sounds that the letters in each word make to support them as they learn to read. A really useful link is to the Read Write Inc. sound pronunciation guide, which will show you and your children how to form each of the 'pure' sounds that the letters make.


Sound Pronunciation Guide


Again, this is related to the phonics scheme followed once children are in Reception.


Observation Abbreviations/How can I help my child?
Many of you were curious as to what the letters and numbers at the top of our observations mean. These abbreviations are simply linked to the Early Years development statements that all of our learning is based around.
You may have noticed a coloured piece of paper with, for example, L: W: 40-60M written on and highlighted in your child's Learning Journal. This means that the learning we observed during that particular adult directed session was based on Literacy (L), focusing on writing (W) and what an 'average' child aged between 40-60 months (40-60M) would be expected to do.
Please follow the link below to see the 'parents guide' that accompanies the Early Years curriculum to see what we will be working on with your children through Nursery and Reception. This document also contains some great tips on how you can help to support and enrich your child's learning at home.


Parents Guide - What to Expect


Once again, thank you so much for taking time out of your evening this week to share in your child's journey through Nursery and Reception. These opportunities to come together really do benefit the children and help us all to grow and learn together!


"TEAM - Together Everyone Achieves More".

A Gruffalo, what's a Gruffalo?

At the Grove Academy, children are encouraged to enjoy books and stories at every opportunity. Stories are shared in class each day and children also have the chance to access many different books and stories during their Child Initiated Learning time.

 

The Book Trust states that "children who enjoy reading do better at school in all subjects", so fostering this love of books and reading at an early age can have a huge impact on children throughout their school life and beyond.

Sharing familiar stories at home, even at this early stage before children have become independent readers, is one way to help your child develop a love of reading. The Book Trust has some fantastic tips on sharing books...  http://www.booktrust.org.uk/books/children/how-to-share-books/

Don't forget to pop in to the school library on a Tuesday after school!

"I have a passion for teaching kids to become readers, to become comfortable with a book, not daunted ... learning to be a reader gives a terrific advantage." - Roald Dahl