Welcome back to the Summer Term!
We hope you all enjoyed the Easter break and look forward to hearing all about what the children got up to. This week we welcome new families to our pre-school. We know the children will do a super job of making our new children feel welcome and supported and that they are excited to make some new friends. Please do say hello to new faces you see outside and introduce yourselves.
This week we will begin our new focus story, The Pirates Next door. We will use this story to introduce the Character Education focus this term which is, Flourishing. We will be discussing the questions, 'Do I know what is good for me?' and 'What should I look for in a good friend?' Our learning environment will be enhanced with lots of pirate themed invitations to play such as a sea themed tuff tray, a treasure hunt in the sand tray and pirate dress up. We will also be learning some piaratey songs and dances! We know that many of the children love taking part in Pirate Festival each year and hope they will be super excited to enjoy learning through our pirate theme in the run up to the festival which takes place from 29th April to1st May.
In Phonics this week we will be revisiting sound discrimination of environmental sounds. The children will join in activities such as listening moments, drumming outdoors and sound lotto. The aim of these activities is to raise children’s awareness of the sounds around them and to develop their listening skills. These skills are the very first building blocks needed on your child's journey to reading.
In Maths this week, we will be focusing on what numbers1-5 mean. We will practise counting in order up to 10, sing counting songs and practise counting and matching amounts to numerals. We will also be exploring subitising which is the ability to recognise small amounts without having to count each object. For some of our children, we will look at larger amounts and ask them, "What do you notice?" as we explore noticing 2 in one corner, 3 at the bottom etc. and then putting the numbers together to find out the total.
In Makaton this week, we will introduce some signs linked to our reading focus as well as continuing to sign our emotions and instructions throughout the day to support the children's communication. Please find a short clip below if you would like to practise the signs at home. https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/watch/something-special-pirate-ship-flag-treasure
As the weather turns hotter, please send your child into Pre-School with a named sun hat and sun cream applied. If you would like us to reapply your child's sun cream at lunch time, please put it in a named sandwich bag and place it in the red reading bag box outside. We we will then reapply your child's sun cream after lunch.
Parents of children who are new to Pre-School will receive a memo on Tapestry in the next few weeks letting you know who your child's Key Worker will be. Please let us know if you have any questions about how to use Tapestry and we will be more than happy to help.
As always, please ask if you have any questions or concerns :)
The Pre-School Team
