Pre- School 2020 - 2021

Mrs Ellis

     

    Welcome to Pre-School 2020-2021

Teacher & Team

Mrs Ellis  EYFS Lead & Early Years Consultant. Owls Group Lead

Mrs Clarke  (Early Years Practitioner) – Frogs Group Lead

Mrs Roberts  (Early Years Practitioner) – Hedgehogs Group Lead

 

Hello everyone,

      We hope that you are now feeling a sense of relief that the first  few weeks are completed and that you can now begin to take a deep breath and relax a little. These emotions are only natural of course. We have seen a range of emotions displayed over these first few weeks with the majority of our children arriving excited and eager to explore their new surroundings, while a few have been a little tearful but only for a short while after leaving you. Please do not worry as this is quite natural and I can reassure you that we are dedicated to making this transition as easy and stress-free as possible for both you and your child.

We recognise that Pre School is a big step in your child’s life (and probably in yours) especially during the very strange times that we are living through at the moment.  It is an exciting time for your child, but it can also be exhausting as well. Do not be surprised if your child comes home during the first few weeks of school feeling tired. We have a very busy day exploring and learning new skills, so it takes time to adjust to these new changes. We would just like you to know that we do everything we can to ensure a safe, positive and welcoming learning environment for your children to enable them to develop into confident learners.

Our topic until half tern is called “Marvellous me and my world” and children will learn about how we are all unique. Children will have the opportunity to draw, paint and create collage pictures of themselves. We will be talking about what we ‘can do’ and this will be celebrated by photographs, children’s comments and art work. Over the next few weeks could I ask you to bring into school some of your family photographs so that we can talk about our wonderful families.

Children need to be able to develop self-care skills for pre-school and their own self esteem.  Help your child to have a ‘can do’ independent attitude to the following…. 

• Toilet
• Hand washing                                                  
• Tissues
• Food                                                               
• Dressing
• Putting on coat

Independence and a ‘can do’ attitude will help your child develop and feel confident about themselves and what they can do, which has a positive impact on all of their learning.

This week we have been making marks in our scrimbling activity to music. The children had so much fun drawing and wiggling. This activity is a great way to encourage fine and gross motor control and most importantly... it's fun!

During our phonics we went for a listening walk outdoors and down the wild woods to listen carefully to the sounds around us. Our children heard birds singing, children on the playground laughing, a truck and a motor bike. During our walk we also noticed a few signs of autumn as the leaves begin to change colour and drop from the trees.

 

The children noticed that we had been growing green beans over the summer and showed great interest in them, so we picked a few beans and looked closer at them. We talked about how we need to look after our plants and what they need to grow healthy. When we went inside we did a dance to the runner bean song (I have added this below for you to enjoy).

Here are a few more photographs captured over the past week to give you a glimpse into our busy but most enjoyable week together.

Thank you for all your support and we wish you a fabulous weekend.

 

We start our day with this song and actions, take a look at our hello song.

 

Love from Mrs Ellis, Mrs Clarke and Mrs Roberts. Xxx

 

Do take a look at the videos and resources below.

   Starting Primary School - The BBC have put together some articles, videos and resources to support you and your child with starting primary school.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/collections/starting-primary-school/1

 

  Hungry Little Minds - Ideas for activities to support children from birth to five.

https://hungrylittleminds.campaign.gov.uk/

 

Tiny Happy People - Activities and rhymes to support child development from birth to five

https://www.bbc.co.uk/tiny-happy-people/activities/zjh8hbk

 

 

 

Do take a look at our Offley Primary virtual Library ( refer to files to download) Enjoy the many story books to share.

 

Do login into your reading eggs this is a wonderful resource and we have had some wonderful feedback from you so thank you!

 

                          Looking After Ourselves.

 It has never been so important to recognise and look after our families’ mental health and well-being in these very uncertain times.

 When we express ourselves we do not have to be a great artist or a wonderful dancer. It’s not about being the very best at something or putting on a performance. Let’s encourage each other to find lots of different ways to get  express ourselves.

 You will find lots of links and activities below suggested by Place2Be that can be used with children at home including activity ideas, stories and much more.

https://www.booktrust.org.uk/news-and-features/features/2020/june/how-to-help-your-children-return-to-school-5-top-tips/

If children are worried about returning to school, then Ruby's Worry by Tom Percival and The Huge Bag of Worries by Virginia Ironside can help spark some conversations, as can any books around identifying feelings (there are lots out there)

• Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henks (book)

This book is aimed at 4-8 year olds and is about anxiety and worry. It is beautifully illustrated and is available from libraries or Amazon (£5.39 new).

• The Colour Monster by Anna Llenas (book)

This book is aimed at 4-8 year olds and can be used to explore young children’s feelings. A pop-up version and a colour monster activity book are also Available from libraries or Amazon (£5.35 new).

Family outdoor Activities  .  https://famly.co/blog/the-environment/eyfs-outdoors-38-activities/

https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/childrens-mental-health/?WT.tsrc=search&WT.mc_id=EMMParentsSearch&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIj5Kp19SX7wIVjLTtCh0NMw0tEAMYASAAEgJvj_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

The Squiggle Game - Children's Mental Health Week 2021

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozKW1M97JXE&feature=youtu.be

• Teach Outdoors

https://www.teachoutdoors.co.uk/childrens-mental-health-week-2021/

                                      

• Cosmic Kids Yoga & Meditation
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4CaR0syf1g

 

 

 You will find a guide for parents from Learning book on http://content.learningbook.co.uk/how-to-support-and-engage-with-your-childs-learning-journey-a-guide-for-parents .

 

Here is the link to the Toy theatre ICT website   https://toytheater.com/category/math-games/    Have FUN !

You will find the files and more to download at the bottom of this page.

 

 

PS. Just a reminder to please label everything and ensure that your child has a warm coat and please bring in your wellies.

 

Useful Websites 

.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EecFubqxvoE&feature=youtu.be    Can You Do That? (Take a look)

readingeggs.co.uk/login1      (use your given login )

http://www.phonics play.co.uk/

http://www.letters-and-sounds.com/

http://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/reading-owl/expert-help/phonics-made-easy

http://jollylearning.co.uk/overview-about-jolly-phonics/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/alphablocks/

http://us.educationcity.com/us/content/letters-and-sounds-september-2007

http://www.ictgames.com/phonemeFlop_v4.html

http://www.teachyourmontertoread.com/

Youtube Mr Thorne does phonics.

www.topmarks.co.uk (mathematics)

www.crickweb.co.uk

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/numberblocks/

youtube  Get squiggling letters (to help with pencil control and letter formation).

https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resources/covid19-school-closures (free resources)

https://www.aldi.co.uk/activities-for-kids  (Lots of fun making and baking activities)

https://whiterosemaths.com/homelearning/  (mathematics)

https://earthcubs.com/resources    (Science / Understanding The World)

Out of the Ark www.outoftheark.co.uk/ootam-at-home   (music)

Sticky Kids Youtube: Sticky Kids  (Fun and fitness songs)

BBC Bring the Noise https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/bring-the-noise  (Online music activities for age 4-7).

https://literacytrust.org.uk/family-zone/birth-4/

https://www.pacey.org.uk/working-in-childcare/spotlight-on/being-school-ready/

https://small-talk.org.uk/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/collections/starting-primary-school/1htps://jollylearning.co.uk/overview-about-jolly-phonicshttps://www.stokespeaks.org/

 

 

                                             Independence You Can Do It !

Children need to be able to develop Self-care skills for pre-school and their own self esteem.  Help your child to have a ‘can do’ independent attitude to the following…. 

• Toilet
• Hand washing                                                  
• Tissues
• Food                                                               
• Dressing
• Putting on coat
• Walking rather than pram
• Giving up dummies/comforters

Independence and a ‘can do’ attitude will help your child develop and feel confident about themselves and what they can do, which has a positive impact on all of their learning.

Giving children the opportunity to do little jobs at home, such as  laying  the table, feeding  a pet, helping with the shopping, pairing the socks or putting their own laundry away will help their self-confidence and independence.  Tidying up own toys will help prepare them for life in pre-school where they will be expected to help to tidy up their own and others toys or activities indoors and outdoors.

 

The Revised Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)                        

A parent’s guide to the EYFS.

What is the EYFS?

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) was originally launched in 2008. It is the statutory framework for all early years providers in England but it is held in high regard worldwide. 

 The Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage sets the standards that all early years providers must meet.  Early years providers in England who provide care and learning for children from birth to the end of reception class must comply with the EYFS Statutory Framework.

 Ofsted regulate and inspect all early years providers against the safeguarding and welfare requirements and areas of learning to determine how well children are kept safe and healthy.

Changes from September 2021

From September 2021 a revised EYFS will come into force. The key messages about the reforms include:

• Reducing practitioner/teacher workload and needless paperwork to allow for more quality time and interactions with the children
• Improving the outcomes of all children and addressing/reducing the disadvantage gaps
• The importance of workforce knowledge and professional development to inform assessments.  Reflect upon the need to assess every child’s development against ‘check lists’, saving formal steps of assessment for when they are necessary
• Making early learning goals in the reception year clearer and more aligned to Y1 curriculum.

 

What do the changes mean to me as a parent/carer?

The safety of your child and the quality of the education provided will not change. You may not see any changes in terms of the activities and opportunities on offer to your child. However, you may notice that we are not physically recording as many observations and assessments of progress.  Please be reassured that we will still be supporting your child’s development and responding to their interests.  We will be using our professional judgements to assess your child’s development during our daily interactions and activities. 

 

Our curriculum

The 7 areas of learning and development within the EYFS have not changed, these are:

 

• Communication and language
• Physical development
• Personal, social and emotional development
• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Understanding the world
• Expressive arts and design

 

The prime areas of learning form the essential foundations for healthy development and future learning. Once a solid start has formed within the prime areas we continue to build upon these skills, opening to explore more learning opportunities within the specific areas of learning.

These 7 areas are the basis for our curriculum. Careful thought is given to inform our enabling environments (indoors and outdoors), to provide resources, activities and learning opportunities to meet each child’s unique requirements. Ofsted call this ‘curriculum’. 

Our curriculum is very flexible and responsive to follow children’s interests. At Offley Primary Academy we support each child’s unique developmental journey and following their interests and fascinations.

 Young children learn through play.  The EYFS refers to the Characteristics of Effective Learning.  These are:

• Playing and exploring
• Active learning
• Creating and thinking critically

The Characteristics of Effective Learning  tell us about how each child learns not what they are learning. We look for things such as what engages or motivates a child, problem solving, resilience, changing strategy etc.

Play is essential for children’s development; it helps to build their confidence as they learn to explore, relate to others, set their own goals and solve problems. Children learn by leading their own play, and by taking part in play which is guided by adults.

The new curriculum gives us the opportunity to spend more time interacting and playing with the children. This means that we will not be completing as many written observations and putting them on Learning book. This does mean that we will know your children very well.

Examples of really significant learning will be shared on Learning Book, along with group observations and we will still use it to communicate important information.

Developing children’s language and vocabulary

There is a new focus on early language and extending vocabulary.  We will do this by:

•       Providing a rich language environment where we have quality learning conversations and interactions with the children.
•       Reading a range of stories, poems, rhymes and non-fiction texts.
•       Teaching new words and vocabulary.
•       Having a selection of core books, that children become familiar with and grow to love.
•       Modelling language that promotes thinking and challenges children, as well as adding language and new ideas.
•       Offering open-ended questions to encourage more thinking and longer responses, e.g. “I wonder what would happen if…?”

What can you do to help your child?

•       Chat, play and read to and with them.
•       Encourage them to be independent, e.g. use a knife and fork, dress themselves, zip up their coat, put their shoes on.
•       Play board games with them.
•       Engage in action rhymes, e.g. The Wheels on the Bus, Row row row your boat..
•       Expand on your child’s vocabulary by adding a word when in conversation, e.g. your child says “I’ve got a car” and you reply “yes, you have a red car.”

Oral health

Promoting oral health has been included in the EYFS. This is because good oral health habits need to be formed from the earliest age. Tooth decay is largely preventable, but it’s still a serious problem among young children. We will promote oral health by talking about healthy foods and drinks that help to grow strong teeth, and those that do not.