Week 20th April 2020

Area of Learning-Language Development

Following multi-part instructions – Collect 3 ‘containers’ (e.g. bowl, plate, mug), 3 pieces of cutlery (eg fork, knife, spoon) and 3 edible items (e.g. apple, biscuit, carrot).Name all items first, then begin with 2-part instructions, e.g. “Can you put the apple in the bowl?” before moving on to 3-part, eg biscuit and spoon on plate.Then have a go at 4! Make sure you have your child’s full attention each time. This helps develop attention and listening skills as well as working memory (holding information in your head). Why not play Kim’s Game – cover 5-6 items with tea towel and take one away each time, challenge to work out what’s missing – also helps develop memory.

Area of Learning-Mathematical Development

Exploring pattern – In the garden or out on a walk, collect 5 of each of 3 different kinds of leaf (ie 15 leaves in total). Talk about shapes – long, wide, narrow, pointed, rounded. Make an alternating pattern (*+*+*) with 2 kinds of leaves and invite your child to predict what comes next in the sequence.Create different kinds of patterns together and encourage your child to make their own.Progress to 3-part patterns (*+#*+#). Helps develop awareness of concept of pattern.

Area of Learning-Personal, Social and Emotional Development

Encourage your child to put on their own clothes, to promote independence and gain a sense of accomplishment from their ability to do so unaided. Praise their efforts and allow them to put on/off clothes on dolls and soft toys to become independent in their self-help skills.

Area of Learning-Physical Development

Fine Motor Skills – Wash basket weaving – gather shoelaces, narrow belts, pipe cleaners, pieces of wool/string or rope and weave through holes of a wash basket. Alternatively you could punch holes in a piece of cardboard from cereal box and thread items through. Helps develop control in fingers, hands and wrists and also reinforces awareness of pattern (see maths).

Gross Motor Skills *Daily spurts of vigorous exercise are great – run, jump, dance, skip etc!

Climb the beanstalk – Create a chalk/string beanstalk on the ground. Encourage your child to climb the beanstalk by moving forwards on hands and feet (‘bear walking’) and climb down, moving backwards. Helps develop strength and control in shoulders, arms and wrists and core strength.

Area of Learning-Creative Development

Frogs – use a paper plate or cut out large circle of card paint or colour all over green. Cut out 2 smaller white circles for eyes and place 15p of the large circle, carefully colouring a black spot in the centre of each white circle. Then draw a huge smiley mouth on the large green circle. Voila your very own frog.

Sensory play – pond – basin, pebbles/stones, sticks, gems, leaves, green jelly, small amount of water, little ducks or frogs or may small character. This allows your child to explore and experiment with a wide variety of textures and progress imaginative small world play. Continue to ask open ended questions, ‘how does it feel?’ ‘let’s see what happens when we mix these together’

Area of Learning-World Around Us

• Talk about life cycles of the frog – eggs, tad pole, hind legs grow first, then front legs as tail begins to shrink.
• Show your child photos of themselves as babies, toddler and then as a pre-schooler. Allow them to observe the changes that have taken place in their own bodies
• Develop an awareness of personal safety e.g. need to continually wash their own hands as they attend to their own needs.

Jack and the Beanstalk

Nursery Rhymes

Mary, Mary Quite Contrary.

Songs

• Five fat peas

• Once I found a cherry stone

• Mm mm went the little green frog one day.

• Colour song – Orange is a carrot Tune I had a little nut tree

Yellow is the sun

Green is the grass

Browns a cookie when it’s done

Purple is a plum and blue is the sky

Blacks a witch’s hat and

Reds a cherry pie