Beechwood Primary School

Foundation Stage Blog – 22 March 2018

This week the children sprung into their new topic of Easter and Spring. They started with the question “What is Easter?” and then they watched a video of the Easter story. Following this the children talked about what happened in the story. On Tuesday the children followed on their discussion about Easter and were asked to think about why they celebrate Easter. The children watched short video clips about how children prepare for and celebrate Easter. This encouraged the children to share what they do to celebrate Easter and then this led onto a discussion about Easter symbols and signs of Spring. On Wednesday the children learnt about what happens in Spring and were encouraged to think about how the world around them changes during Spring (e.g. what happens to nature during Spring? How do the trees change in Spring?) On Thursday the children developed their fine motor skills and pencil control by doing an observation drawing of some Spring flowers. It was fantastic to see the children taking care with their drawing and colouring within the lines. Whilst they were doing their observation drawing the children talked about the parts of a plant, the colour of the petals and why the flowers are growing now. On Friday the children developed their self-confidence by talking about themselves and what they like to do in-front of the class. Then their peers were encouraged to ask the child how, what, where, why and when questions. During this week’s handwriting the children have been practising forming the letters r, h, m, n and p correctly using the Read Write Inc. rhymes they have previously been taught. You could practise forming these letters at home using the letter formation rhymes on the back of your child’s Read Write Inc. flashcards.

During PE this week the children participated in a class yoga session about Peter Cottontail the Easter bunny. The children joined Peter Cottontail on an Easter egg hunt and discovered that the Tickly Monkeys had taken all the eggs. The children learnt about Easter through vocabulary such as bunnies, daffodils, Spring sunshine, Easter eggs, etc. During this week’s PSHE discussion the children talked about the importance of sleep and their bedtime routines. It was lovely to hear that lots of children listen to their parents read them a story before they go to bed. The children were asked to talk about if they had something special to cuddle up to when they go to sleep and whether they had ever had a dream. The children were asked questions such as: what time do you go to bed? What do you do before you go sleep?

During this week’s Maths inputs the children have learnt about number bonds and money. They started the week learning about number bonds and the children were challenged to make up the eggs to make a given number (e.g. 2+3=5) and then they worked with a partner to use cubes to find different ways to make the same number. On Tuesday the children started by talking about money and whether they have used coins to pay for something in a shop. The children learnt about the coins 1p-£2 and began to talk about the value of each coin. They talked about being able to buy more with the silver coins that the copper coins because they are worth more. At the end of the input the children talked about which coin was worth the most and which coin was worth the least. You could help your child to develop their coin recognition and the understanding of the value of coins by playing with coins at home and allowing your child to pay for items when you go to a shop. On Wednesday the children developed their understanding of coin value by using 1p coin to make the amount of other coins (e.g. How many 1p coins are worth the same as a 2p coin?). Then the children were challenged to add different groups of coins (e.g. 2p, 2p, 1p). On Thursday the children continued to explore different ways to make amounts using coins. They were faced with the challenge that a rabbit costs 6p but there isn’t a 6p coin so how can they make 6p to pay for the rabbit. The children explored how many different ways they could make 6p using a combination of 1p, 2p and 5p coins. On Friday the children explored ways of sharing money fairly between different teddies (e.g. children were given 3x1p coins, 3x2p coins, 3x5p coins and then asked to share the money fairly so that they each had the same amount).

The children have been learning a song about a Spring chicken in preparation for the schools’ Easter church service next Monday (26th March). Alongside all of this learning the children have engaged in a variety of activities linked to the topic of Spring and Easter such as: designing an Easter egg; making Easter cards; painting letter shapes on the playground using large paintbrushes using water; playing shops using money and price tags; egg box adding; feeding the chicks pasta using tweezers; making Easter egg mosaics; making spring paper flowers; using their imagination in the garden centre shop; exploring Spring themed objects in an exploration tray; making Easter cakes and hot cross buns using playdough; Easter egg potato stamping; and painting Easter pictures.

This week’s home learning challenge is for the children to design their own Easter bonnet to wear on the last day of term (Thursday 29th March).