Snowflakes B

                       Welcome to Snowflakes B class page

Here you will find information and pictures showing what the children have been doing in class and outside in the playground.

The staff in Snowflakes are Mrs Badger and Mrs Wilkinson.

                  January 2021 Home Learning

RE       Epiphany

This morning the children watched the power point which told them about The Epiphany and the journey of the Three Kings to see baby Jesus. Here is a link to the Power point and an activity which the children might enjoy doing.

7th January Home Learning

Developing good pencil skills is a very important part of the Early Years curriculum and we try to do some pencil control activities every day. Here are some lovely winter pictures to trace over and finish off. First use your index finger to trace over the dotted lines and then use a crayon or coloured pencil to draw over the dots. Go slowly and carefully trying to stay on the lines. Remember to hold your crayon or pencil correctly with the index finger sitting on the top and all the others tucked underneath.

                  We Wish You A Merry Christmas

Please use this link for the words and music to We Wish A Merry Christmas.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=g-OF7KGyDis 

Early Years - Reading

These links provide lists for suggested early reading books for Nursery children:

https://www.booktrust.org.uk/booklists/1/100-best-0-5/

https://www.booktrust.org.uk/booklists/1/100-best-0-5/

https://schoolreadinglist.co.uk/reading-lists-for-ks1-school-pupils/100-best-picture-books-to-read-before-you-are-5-years-old/

                                Religious Education

Our first RE task was to be part of a whole school RE project which looked at different crosses and how they are used.

We looked at and handled a 'Holding Cross'. We helped to make a large Holding Cross which has gone up on display in the school Hall.

                                                                  Religious Education

This week in RE we have been talking about our families, and the children brought in photographs of themselves when they were babies. Each child stood up in front of the class to show their photographs. We talked about how much they have grown and how different they look and that we are all different and special. We are all part of God's family.

We have also had a lot of fun painting self portraits and making our handprints.

                                             RE

In our RE lesson this week we talked about the prayer table and how important it is for us to look after it in the classroom. As we gathered around the table we thought about our families and how we are all part of God's Family.

When we say our prayers in class we sit quietly on the floor and put our hands together. 

                                                            Thank You 

Sadly from next week we have to say goodbye to Mrs Unegbu as she leaves Snowflakes B to help in another class in the school.

Myself, Mrs Wilkinson and all the children in Snowflakes B would like to say a huge thank you to Mrs Unegbu as it has been lovely having her in the class to help settle the children into their routines. We will all miss her but I know that she will always be able to pop by to see us again.

                                                                  Fine Motor Skills

Developing your child's fine motor skills is a very important first step to being able to hold a pencil and to make marks, leading to writing. One way to do this is by using playdough. Squeezing, pulling, rolling out and pinching playdough strengthens the fingers and helps to develop the pincer grip needed to hold a pencil. It is not until the hand is strong enough to do these actions that a child will be comfortable enough to make marks or write. This happens for every child at different times but we can help by giving them the opportunity to experience more of these actions.

Buying tubs of playdough can be expensive and so we have found a very simple microwave recipe which we use in school to make larger batches of playdough. It is also something you can do with your child but do be careful as it is hot when it first comes out of the microwave.

                                    Funny Bones

This week we have been learning all about our bodies. We watched Funny Bones and read a Funny Bones story together. Afterwards we built the skeletons to go on our display. We were very good at connecting the right bits together. We all thought they looked very funny!!!

Mrs Wilkinson then helped the children to make their own skeleton hands using black paper and cotton buds. We also looked at x-rays of different parts of the body.

                                              RE

Following on from last week's RE lesson, with some help from Rainbow Bear, the class talked again about how we are all special and how we are all good at doing different things. Then, as we gathered around the prayer table, the children came up to pin their special stars on the collective tree.

We all think that the tree looks very pretty.

                         Developing our Gross Motor Skills

This week we have really enjoyed learning all about scarecrows. The children have been able to take part in lots of different activities which have helped to develop their learning skills. They have particularly enjoyed joining in with our action songs.

Being able to move different parts of the body, to manoeuvre around objects safely and follow instructions are all very important skills to develop. Large body movements which become strong and purposeful help towards finer motor control skills such as holding a pencil, pen or crayon for mark making. A child will only be able to control their finer motor movements if they have strong upper body and core strength. Dancing and moving to music is not only a fun activity to do but it is also of huge developmental value for children of this age. It is also something which you can have fun with at home as well.

The children loved pretending to be scarecrows, wearing their flippy floppy hats and shaking their hands and feet whilst singing 'I'm a Dingle Dangle Scarecrow'.

Here are some of our class displays.

We have made Autumn leaf stick puppets and we talked about lots of different things we could see when it is Autumn.

We also made some shapes and stuck lots of coloured paper on them. Which shapes can you see?

In RE we talked about how God created the world.

We spoke about all the different colours and painted a rainbow.

                                   Sharing stories

This week your child will be able to choose a book to take home with them on Monday which they can keep for the week and bring back to school the following Monday and swap for another one.

Sharing a book together is an important part of children learning about reading.

Choose a quiet time when you can both take time, not only reading the book but also looking and talking about the pictures. This is just as important and helps to develop vocabulary and understanding. Don't forget to look at the cover of the book and tell your child who wrote the book and drew the pictures.

Ask some questions:

What can they see?

What are the people/ animals doing?

What might happen next?

What do they think the story is about?

Take time to ask who/ what and where questions and then give your child time to answer.

Sometimes you might find that, just as we as adults enjoy re-reading a story several times your child might choose to take the same book home again. They might also choose a non-fiction book or information book rather than a story, these are a great source of information and can help reluctant readers and talkers to engage in words and speaking.

                                                               RE

In our RE lesson today we talked about how we can help each other and those around us.

Rainbow bear needed help and we had to see if we could sort it out for him.

First he had got stuck in the basket. How could we help him to get out?

Then he couldn't put his trousers on. Who could help him?

He wanted some breakfast but needed some help. Could any of the children help him to eat?

Rainbow Bear was thirsty. How could we help him to drink?

Then he couldn't put his hat on. Could someone help him to do it?

                     We used our helping hands all day in class.

                           A Very Active Thursday

In PE today the children had a great time pretending to be fireworks. They used soft scarves and moved their arms around to make firework actions. The scarves were lots of different colours and it looked lovely as they twirled and twisted. They even had to put the scarves on their heads to pretend to be fireworks which hadn't been lit yet.

                                                         Autumn is Here

Our maths activity this week involved making a graph. The children had to choose a leaf from the basket and put it in the correct colour section. Which colour did they choose? Which colour has the most? Which colour has the least?

                           Fireworks and Diwali

The children loved making their firework pictures by using the cardboard inside of a kitchen roll which had been cut at the end. They dipped it in to different coloured paint and used it to print. They then added some glitter to make their picture sparkle.

We looked at the way people use fireworks to celebrate different festivals and special days. Our RE lesson was about Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights. The children listened to the story of Princess Sita and Prince Rama. They then made a Diva which is a special candle holder to decorate your house.

                          World Nursery Rhyme Week

Wheels on the Bus - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HP-MbfHFUqs

Five Little Speckled Frogs - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSC-gHBU_d0

Old MacDonald Had A Farm - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wm4R8d0d8kU

Miss. Polly Had a Dolly - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJLfpBDBa_Q

Nursery rhymes provide bite-sized learning opportunities for young children to develop key developmental skills and can often be the trigger for hours of creative and open-ended play. They are a powerful learning source in early literacy and enable children to become interested in the rhythm and patterns of language.

Rhymes are fantastic vocabulary boosters. They often feature a pleasing rhythmic pattern and simple repetitive phrases that babies and young children find easy to remember and repeat. In order to develop their phonological awareness, children need to be repeatedly exposed to spoken language and nursery rhymes provide the perfect way to do this.

                           Christmas is Nearly Here

The children have been getting very excited in the class this week as each morning they come into the classroom, rush over to Elfie's basket to see if he is still there and find that he has disappeared. Where has he gone? So far he has managed to hide in a Christmas stocking, sit on top of the reading corner canopy, perch on top of the fire alarm and squash himself behind the Christmas tree. I wonder where he will be when we come to school on Monday?

                                           RE

Our lessons have focused on the Christmas story. We have learnt about what happened in Bethlehem and talked about how Mary and Joseph were told they were going to have a very special baby. The children have then been able to dress up as characters from the story, looking after baby Jesus and playing in the decorated stable in the classroom.

We put the Nativity scene out on the prayer table and went into the school hall to see all the beautiful class display boards which told the Nativity story. We had made sparkly stars to put on our board.

                                It's Christmas!!!!!

The children have had a fun filled week. They have been in the school hall to sing We Wish You a Merry Christmas, they had a visit from Santa and they really enjoyed thier Christmas party at the end of the week.

                                              A Huge Thank You

Myself, Mrs Wilkinson and the staff in Nurture,( Miss Hennesey and Miss Tatum) would like to say a huge thank you to all of you for your generosity and kindness. We were all extremely touched by the gifts sent to us for Christmas.

Starting back at school has been challenging but it is wonderful to arrive each morning to see the smiling faces of the children as they come through the door eager to start their day. We have had a lot of fun together this term.

We all wish you a very safe and happy Christmas and we look forward to better times ahead in 2021.

Mrs Badger

In January Deborah will be moving in to Mrs Claridge's class. We know that she will have lots of fun and wish her well.

We will also be getting 4 new friends joining us in Snowflakes B. We would like to welcome Lois, Louis, Teddie and Reece.