The Foundation Stage children have immersed themselves in the topic of Chinese New Year this week. On Monday morning the children learnt about how people celebrate Chinese New Year and looked at where China is located on a globe. During their adult-led activity the children made Chinese lanterns and Chinese dragons to decorate the Foundation Stage area. In a class discussion after lunch the children learnt about the Great wall of China, animals found in China, the types of food people eat in China and the music Chinese people like to listen to. The children ended the day by learning the Chinese New Year song ‘ Gung Hay Fat Choi.’
On Tuesday the children started their day by watching a Chinese dragon dance video and explored the differences between the Chinese New Year dragon and the dragon from the Room on the Broom story they had recently been learning about. Then the children listened to the Chinese New Year story about animals crossing the river. During their adult-led activity the children wrote a list of the animals in the Chinese New Year story. The children participated in dragon addition during their Maths input, exploring the different ways to make 10 using Chinese dragons. It was wonderful to see the children attempting to record additions on a whiteboard.
On Wednesday they learnt about children receiving red envelopes with money in as part of their Chinese New Year traditions. Then the children used 10 gold coins and 2 Money pouches to explore different ways to share the coins and then they were challenged to find the corresponding addition card. During their adult-led activity the children continued to develop their understanding of pairs to make 10 using gold coins and money pouches. In the afternoon the children role-played the Chinese New Year story.
On Thursday the children explored how many Chinese dragons were hidden in the river (under a blue cloth). The children counted how many dragons they could see and then showed this on their fingers. After this the children were challenged to find out how many dragons were in the river by looking at how many fingers they still had folded down. The children were introduced to completing missing number additions e.g. 4 + _ = 10. During their adult-led activity the children explored different ways to make 10 using Numicon. After lunch the children tasted a selection of Chinese food (noodles, rice, prawn crackers).
To end the week the children explored the concept of subtraction using animals from the Chinese New Year story. The children counted how many animals were waiting to cross the river (blue cloth), some animals were moved into the river because they were trying to get to the other side. Then the children had to check how many were still on the land and an adult modelled how this would be recorded as a subtraction. As a class the children read the subtractions and then the adult emphasised what had happened (e.g. There were 10 animals waiting to cross the river, 2 jumped in, which leaves 8 animals still waiting to cross the river.) It was lovely to hear about what the children had achieved during this week’s celebration assembly.
During this week’s PE the children carried out their own dragon dance and then engaged in a dragon themed Yoga session. In PSHE this week the children talked about how to be a good friend. Additional Chinese New Year activities the children have engaged in this week include: Chinese dragon ordering game https://www.topmarks.co.uk/ordering-and-sequencing/chinese-dragon-ordering ; exploring noodles with chopsticks and tweezers; making animals masks to act out the story; making egg box dragons; constructing the great wall of china using different construction materials; exploring the Chinese café; acting out the animal race; and looking at non-fiction books about China and Chinese New Year.
After half term the children will be learning all about Space.
Below are some ideas for home learning during half term: (It would be lovely to see pictures of what the children have been doing in Half Term on Tapestry)
- Make words using Read Write Inc. flashcards.
- Read and write simple words and sentences.
- Go outside/ look out the window when it is dark and talk about what you can see. Can you count the stars? Can you find the moon? Does the sky change from one night to the next?
- Make some pancakes following a recipe. Add chocolate chips or blueberries into the mix. Which is your favourite?
- Hunt for shapes and numbers in the environment when you are out (e.g. road signs).
- Go to the park to develop your physical skills.
- Take photos using an electrical device e.g. Camera, Phone, Ipad.
