Family Learning
Week 1 – Independence and Health and Self-Care
We learnt about the value of independence, the children doing things for themselves. We played a game of rolling a dice and if you rolled 6 the child having to turn the jumper the correct way, put their socks and shoes on and put their coat on and do the zip before the next child rolled a 6 but the parents were only allowed to help by talking to their child (not with hands). We spoke about the importance of children to be able to dress and undress themselves and to manage their own personal hygiene. We practised dressing dolls with different fasteners – buttons, press studs and zips.
We made fruit kebabs and the children chose what fruit they wanted and then peeled the fruit (oranges/bananas). They used a knife confidently and put the fruit onto kebab sticks using fine motor skills.
We spoke about routines and the children cut out pictures of hand washing sequencing and put them in the correct order.
The parents were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding their child’s routine, likes and dislikes and best practices to share ideas with one another.
Family Learning Week 2 – Communication and Language
This week in family learning we looked at the Early Years Curriculum and the learning objectives we learn in class. We recapped last week’s area of learning Health and Self- care and talked about their progress made in dressing themselves.
We discussed language in stories , songs and vocabulary building. We read the story of Goldilocks and the three bears and used questioning to develop language and their understanding.
We shared stories together and they were able to take a story home for reading a story before bed every night as part of their home routine. We talked about asking the ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘when’, ‘why’ and ‘how’ questions to check their child’s comprehension of the text and to also stimulate further discussions about the book and ideas their child may have.
We talked about story pots to build vocabulary and ways to make your own story pots or story sacks with props as visual aids. They also had pictures to stories to sequence to show what happens at the beginning of the story, middle and end. A challenge set was for the parents to watch their children sequence Goldilocks and the three bears without correcting them, but prompting reordering if necessary through questioning.
We showed the importance of developing language through role-play and small world activities. We played games which developed mathematical language. They sorted different objects into size order in the Goldilocks role play area. They hid the teddy and had to describe using positional language where the teddy was.
At home this week the children are to read at home with their parents (the books in their book bag or the book given to them today or a book of their choice) and upload an observation onto Tapestry.
Family Learning Week 3 – Mathematical Development
This week the focus was Mathematical Development: Number and Shape, Space and Measures. We discussed what the children should be expected to achieve by the end of the year and we showed them activities that they could do with their children at home to help them achieve this.
Counting: we explained that they should be able to count objects with one to one correspondence and you can do this with lots of different things at home- counting coins, buttons, food, blowing bubbles etc.
Number recognition: we spoke about using different opportunities to recognise numbers and that numbers are all around us -phone, tablet, calculator, tv, signs, shops, birthday cards etc.
Matching amount to numeral- we played a game where the children had to match the amount of bananas to the monkey number on the bag.
Ordering numbers- with magnetic numbers, number cards, foam numbers, stampers etc
Estimating- guessing the amount and then checking- e.g. how many sweets in a jar.
Maths through role-play- we played making cakes with playdough and cut out different shapes using cutters, encouraging the parents to ask the children if they could name the shape.
One more and One less- games and songs that help us with this e.g. 5 little speckled frogs, 5 current buns in a baker’s shop, 10 green bottles etc. Using objects, fingers, counting and number lines to find the correct answer.
Calculating: addition and subtraction with objects, counting, number lines and fingers to find the answer. Playing games that help with these skills.
Size- ordering and sorting different sized objects, then measuring with rulers, metre sticks, string, tape measures etc.
Weight and capacity- using the language of heavy/light, heavier/lighter, heaviest/lightest and for capacity which holds the most or least, which is full, empty, half full with water play and different containers.
Shapes and Patterns- flat and solid shapes and patterns when making things in arts and crafts, constructing and recognising shapes all around us in the environment, wrapping different shaped parcels.
Time- saying and ordering he days of the week, months of the year and sequencing pictures.
Week 4 Literacy- Phonics, Reading and Writing
This week the parents were invited to participate alongside their children a Phonics/Letters and Sounds lesson so that they could see the structure of a Phonics lesson and how we teach it. We then discussed the benefit of after learning a sound looking at it in words and practicing writing it and discussed digraphs and trigraphs. They could also see the differentiated activities and how we link Phonics, reading and writing into our provision.
Then the children had the opportunity to play some phonics games and activities with their parents. We looked at the content of the Phonics pack and reading books in their book bags. The parents now feel more confident to support their children with their phonics, reading and writing at home.
