Week commencing 7th December 2020 - Lindfield.

Welcome to our blog.

This week's post may be a bit shorter than usual - this is because we don't want to give away too many clues about what we have been up to this week. The children have been busy crafting for Christmas and it would be lovely for you to see their artwork in person first rather than here on the blog.

This week our focus has been Literacy – Writing.

Whilst making our observations we note whether the children …

Can give meaning to their marks as they draw or paint?

Can they write identifiable letters?

Can they write their name or other things?

Can they link the letter name and sound?

Can they hear and say the initial sound in words?

Can they blend sounds?

The children have had many opportunities this week to make marks in a plethora of different ways.

We have been super busy crafting and the children worked hard to make Christmas cards, calendars and decorations to take home at the end of term.

We practised our name writing in our Christmas cards. Some of the children wrote their name freely whilst others traced over the letters or joined up the dots.

Mark making doesn’t have to be just pencil – paper.

Have you tried any of the following at home?

Dipping a paint brush in water and painting the paving slabs.

Using giant chalks on you patio.

Putting some shaving foam on the table and encouraging your child to explore mark making.

Printing with fruit, vegetables, sponges, kitchen utensils.

Salt/flour tray drawing – tip some table salt/flour into a baking tray. Use a pencil or finger to push through the salt to leave marks.

Dip the wheels of a toy car in paint and encourage your child to push it around on the paper to leave tracks.

Drawing with sticks in the mud.

We made and decorated a Christmas tree to hang on our door. The children made paper chains and glued fluffy pom poms on to the tree.

We have enjoyed some music sessions with Miss Matthews this week and she taught us some new songs.

We enjoyed playing on the drums and with bells.

Next week we are hoping to record some of the children’s songs for you all to enjoy.

We have been learning some new signs this week and we can sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star using Makaton.

We also know the sign for Merry Christmas.

We made a holly wreath to decorate the front door at The Acorns,

Did you notice it when you arrived this week?

Here are a few more photos from the week ...

On Thursday some of the children carried out an experiment with feathers. Can they tell you about it?

In the experiment the children made predictions of which things would fall to the ground quicker .... the floaty feather or the heavy magnets.

The tried out lots of different experiments using items from around the room and were able to evaluate their own findings.

We celebrated Giisele's birthday this week. Happy 3rd Birthday!!

We also wished Merry Christmas to some children who have finished early for the term to allow them to shield before spending time with loved ones over Christmas.