It has been so lovely to welcome everyone back after a well-deserved half term break. The children have returned full of smiles and stories about their adventures, and it certainly looks as though many of them have enjoyed spending time outdoors in the warmer weather. We noticed lots of happy faces with a healthy summer glow!
Although the weather did not quite cooperate with us this week, we made the most of every bit of sunshine we could find and threw ourselves into some exciting new learning.
This week, we began exploring traditional tales and talked about what makes them different from modern stories. The children shared their ideas about stories they already knew and quickly noticed that traditional tales are often passed down through generations and usually include familiar characters and repeated phrases.
Our focus story was The Gingerbread Man, and the children absolutely loved joining in with the repeated refrains. We read several different versions of the story and compared them together. There were lots of surprised faces when the children discovered that the ending is not always the same! In some versions, the Gingerbread Man cleverly escapes from the sly fox, while in others he gets gobbled up. This sparked some fantastic discussions about which ending they preferred and why.
In phonics, we have been learning the âfâ sound, which linked perfectly to our story. The children had great fun thinking of alliterative phrases using words that begin with âfâ. We came up with some wonderful examples, including fantastic foxes and flamboyant flamingos. The children enjoyed listening for the repeated sound and practising saying their funny phrases aloud.
Our maths learning was closely linked to our story too. The children became bakers as they measured ingredients to make play dough for their very own gingerbread men. They carefully scooped, measured and mixed the ingredients, developing their understanding of quantity and measurement while strengthening their fine motor skills. Once the dough was ready, they used their imaginations to create fantastic gingerbread men and pretended to bake them in our class kitchen. It was wonderful to see such creativity and teamwork.
We have also started an exciting new project in our outdoor area. The children have been busy helping to transform our greenhouse into a brand-new role-play space. We are keeping the theme a surprise for now, but the children are working incredibly hard and are very excited to reveal their creation soon. Watch this space!
How You Can Help at Home
Read traditional tales together and talk about how they are different from modern stories. Ask your child to retell the story in their own words or imagine a different ending.
Practise the âfâ sound by playing alliteration games. Can your child think of funny phrases using words that start with âfâ, such as friendly frogs or fuzzy feathers?
Explore measuring during everyday activities, such as baking or cooking. Encourage your child to help count spoonfuls, measure ingredients and compare quantities using words like more, less, full and empty.
We are looking forward to another exciting week of learning and discovery! đ