Nursery w.c. 11th March 2013

The children have begun to practise writing their name each day. I am really pleased with the way they have now settled in to this new routine and many children have come on leaps and bounds. This has had a great impact on mark making in general and children are showing a real interest in writing and drawing. When practising at home it is important that they use lower case letters except for the initial letter.

Maths

The children will be learning early calculating skills this week. For most children this will involve separating a group of 3 or 4 objects in different ways, beginning to recognise that the total is still the same. Some children will continue to make comparisons between quantities, saying which group has more/lots, and some will be finding one more from a group of up to 5, then 10, objects. As with many number/counting objectives, these can be reinforced through many everyday activities at home, e.g. by comparing amounts, using language related to more and less, asking 'If I have one more... how many will I have?'

Phonics

We are continuing with oral blending activities. Most children are able to blend body-coda words, e.g. ca-t, pe-g, so we will be breaking words down into their individual sounds for the children to blend, e.g. c-a-t, p-e-g. Here are some activities for you to try:

Oral blending

Make time for your child to listen to you modelling oral blending before they are introduced to letters. e.g. when asking questions or giving instructions you could segment (break up) the last word into separate phonemes and then immediately blend the sounds together to say the word (e.g. It’s time to get your c-oa-t, coat! or Touch your t-oe-s, toes! Can you stamp your f-ee-t, feet?)

Use oral blending when sharing books, particularly rhyming books where the last word in a rhyming couplet could be segmented (broken up) into three separate sounds and then blended by the adult.

•  a fish on a d – i -sh

•  a goat on a b – oa – t

•  a dog on a l – o – g

Clapping sounds

Think of words using the letters ‘s, a, t,’ ‘p, i, n’ (e.g. sat, pin, nip, pat, tap, pit, pip) and sound them out (segment/ break up) clapping each sound with your child, then blend the

phonemes to make the whole word orally.

As they develop their confidence, ask them to show  this activity to friends or family.