Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy by Lynley Dodd

Hi everyone!

During our phonic sessions we have been focussing on rhyme these last few weeks  and children are becoming more confident.  One of my favourite stories is Hairy Maclary.  It’s an absolute cracker of a rhyming story and another opportunity for you to practice rhyme.  Understanding, hearing and generating rhyme is a really important skill to have which will support their ability to write words independently.  There’s always a pattern with rhyme so listen carefully.

Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy (Hairy Maclary and Friends) : Dodd, Lynley, Tennant, David: Amazon.co.uk: Books

https://f.io/o7yVfQlX

Literacy:  Find the rhyming words!  Could they offer a different word which also rhymes?  They don’t have to be real words, it’s the rhyming ability that counts.  There are so many different characters which could each have their own accent when you read aloud.  Children really enjoy when adults do ‘silly’ things.  Using a different voice for the characters will engage your child and they can join in the refrains.  How much of the rhymes can they remember?   You could make up your own rhymes such as Muffin MacLay like a bundle of hay had a great day.  The most important thing is to have fun with it.

Maths:  Count the rhyming words!  Discuss the journey using a variety of positional language.  Can your children find the words in the story that describe the journey of the dogs?  Over, under, through, around, next to, behind are all words you could use.  Go for a walk and describe your journey using positional language.  Draw a map of your journey and use positional language to describe it.

Until next time, do good looking for adventures, clean your ears out for good listening and turn your noggins (brains) on for good learning.

Take care and stay safe,

Mrs Howe, Mrs Ogilvie-Jones, Mrs Mitzman,  Mrs Hill and Mrs Bence