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