Whalsay Early Years Blog 2020\21

Here’s the activities grid for the week. Remember there is no pressure to do all/any of these activities. They are here for you to dip in to and to give you an idea of some things that your child might do in nursery. Also feel free to re-visit anything that was enjoyable over the last few weeks. Share your learning with us if you can!

Whalsay Early Years Home Learning Grid 1st Feb

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Sing these number songs – CBeebies – BBC

It’s been a cold week of weather, but very beautiful with the frost, ice and little bit of snow. It’s super to see so many photos and get so many updates this week. Thank you 🙂

Everybody has been trying so hard to independently get dressed for the cold weather.

Bobby really likes winter clothes and can do his own zip. Practising zipping is great for developing fine motor control.

Harry’s been practising getting dressed to go out too, he does a ‘thumbs up‘ when he puts on gloves which mostly helps get his fingers into the right hole! Great strategy!

Ali tried hard to develop his numeracy skills using the family welly boots. He ordered the boots from biggest to peeriest. He counted the 5 pairs then the 10 individual boots.

Stanley compared sizes of boots by trying them on. It looks like he had fun trying on big boots!

Everybody has been very active when playing in the snow and getting outdoors this week.

Jim did a lot of pushing, rolling and pressing when making a big Frosty the Snowman. These movements are brilliant for developing gross motor control and core strength.

Sledging is also a great way to develop core strength and balance as well as learn about different speeds!

And exploring ice helps to develop perseverance and problem solving skills. Ali used a hammer to release Spiderman and Harry tried to release his truck by prodding it with a stick and then realised smashing the ice with a big stone would work better.

The snow has provided a brilliant backdrop for mark making too! Lottie and Maisie used sticks while Ali used his mittens. Lottie drew lines, Maisie drew circles around her feet and Ali practised writing his name.

Henry made marks in the ice as he tried to break through it…

and Maggie made “her letter”, a M for Maggie in the sand when she was at the beach.

There’s also been a lot of marvellous mark making indoors as well.

Thea drew around the objects that she had collected and coloured in twinkling stars, adding faces to them by herself.

Annie coloured in a flashing fire engine on the I-pad and would like to visit the fire engine hut in the future which is a great idea.

And Bobby made marks when using a fork to press down the custard creams he was helping to bake.

There’s also been lots of busy building over the past few weeks.

Thea gathered a box full of stuff to make a model.  It was santie driving his car to his house.

Jim made a road from blocks and things he had collected.

Annie made a lovely gingerbread house.

And many people celebrated Up Helly Aa by building galley boats. Three cheers hurray!!

Here’s the activities grid for the week. Remember there is no pressure to do all/any of these activities. They are here for you to dip in to and to give you an idea of some things that your child might do in nursery. Also feel free to re-visit anything that was enjoyable over the last few weeks. Share your learning with us if you can!

Whalsay Early Years Home Learning Grid 25th Jan

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Thank you for all your updates and photos this week, it’s been lovely to see and hear how everybody has been getting on. Sorry if I don’t include some of your photos but please keep them coming!

Even though the weather hasn’t been great this week there has still been lots of outdoor learning happening.

Stanley found ditches and puddles to explore. This is good for balance and I bet it sounded great splashing and squelching!

Jim had an exciting time learning how to asses risks and learning about speed by racing his car! While Lottie used a flat surface to see how fast she could get her scooter to go.

Bobby wrapped up warm and went on a walk to look for signs of winter.

Playdough has continued to be popular this week, as has other baking activities which is great for developing hand strength, motor control and life skills. Thea enjoyed making her playdough and then kneading it and sticking candles into it. Stanley spent a long time cutting his up into pieces and sharing it with his brothers as well as being creative with it and Maggie made a princess, using sprinkles and small balls to decorate her and give her eyes.

Emmie used her hands to make bird feeders which were sticky like playdough! Ali helped to knead, roll and chop to make a delicious looking pizza, yum, while Ross helped to peel vegetables.

A lot of children have been creative with loose parts and art resources too this week.  Maggie made “Mrs forky” by using pipe cleaners, a lolly stick, some googly eyes and feathers!

With a little bit of help, Bobby made his own cat using paper, pens and sticky tape.

Ross and Emmie built using blocks. Emmie made identical dinosaurs.

There’s been lots of favourite books and stories this week and some children have enjoyed playing the listening and reading games too. Lottie listened intently for her baby and helped to make her feel better by wiping her nose and giving her medicine at the right time.

Favourite stories this week include “Stick Man”, “Stinky Sprouts”, “Peppa Pig”, “Baby shark wash your fins”, “Baby shark hide and seek”and fairy tale books such as “The three billy goats gruff”. It’s lovely to hear how many children enjoy sharing reading times with their siblings and with mum or dad 🙂

Here’s the activities grid for the week. Remember there is no pressure to do all/any of these activities. They are here for you to dip in to and to give you an idea of some things that your child might do in nursery. Also feel free to re-visit anything that was enjoyable last week. Most children engage in activities differently at home than they would at nursery so the most important thing is for these to be positive experiences for both of you.  

Whalsay Early Years Home Learning Grid 18th Jan

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It sounds like everybody has had a busy week. Thank you for the feedback we’ve got so far.

It sounds like playdough was one of the favourite activities so please feel free to repeat this and play with it in different ways any time!

Ali practised making number worms with his playdough.

Bobby was great at using the rolling pin and getting his playdough nice and flat.

Hello everybody,

Here is the link to the home learning grid for you to dip into throughout the week 🙂

Whalsay Early Years Home Learning Grid 11th Jan

If you have trouble downloading it try clicking view. If you still can’t see it please let us know at gw20sandisonmichelle@glow.sch.uk

What better way celebrate the end of a term than by sharing food with our friends and having a party! All the children had a great time on Thursday, socialising with friends, eating a special snack and taking part in party games organised by an all singing, all dancing Christmas tree and Elf!

We played games such as musical statues.

and pass the parcel.

We made a disco ball. As Joanna quite rightly stated “you can’t’ have a party without a disco ball.”

And we did a lot of dancing!

We took part in musical bumps.

And we listened for our names being called out so we could get a present from the elf.

At the end of the day there was a lot of happy faces 🙂

We wish everybody a very Merry Christmas and we look forward to seeing you all again, at some point, in the New Year 🙂

Before we begin to write letters we need to be able to “make marks” by creating patterns using a lot of different materials such as sand, mud, playdough, water and paint. When we make these marks we are developing the skills that will help us to write in the future. Every day in nursery we are busy making marks!

Mark making can be used to tell stories, enhance our play, express our feelings, make sense of the world and problem solve as well as being fundamental to formal writing in the future.

Mark making on large bits of paper on the floor, decorating big cardboard boxes using different sizes and thicknesses of crayon and pencils and using paintbrushes, whiteboard pens and chalk on vertical surfaces are great ways in which we develop shoulder and arm stability which we need for future writing. Mark making in these ways also enhances our imaginative play and communication skills.

Freya, Jordie and Annie drew volcanoes, talking about bubbles, lava, heat and “science suits” as they described their pictures to each other. David wrote out numbers for their boat play. Elsie created patterns on the front of the “fishing boat”.

Policeman Ertie wrote some rules for the “jail” and Freya used her marks to explain to others where the treasure might be hid.

Outdoors is a fantastic place to practice our mark making skills. Using chalk, washable paint, mud, water and natural resources we can develop our physical and creative skills as well as further our imaginations. The temporary nature of outdoor surfaces and the marks we make helps us to become confident in experimenting with writing.

Henry “wrote” his name using chalk so that he could get a turn on the wheelies. Henry, Micah and Maisie collected “dinosaur bones” and painted the different lengths and shapes while developing their game. Emmie found a “Secret Symbol” and wanted to use objects from her “boat” to make a symbol in the wheelhouse.

Mark making using playdough and utensils, fingers and different objects in the sand and using paint on natural objects helps us to develop an awareness of textures, patterns and lines as well develop our pencil grip, hand strength and finger mobility.

Emmie, Maisie and Sophia made “cupcakes” in the sand. They made marks using their fingers and sticks.

Annie and Sophia used a variety of utensils to create patterns in the playdough as well as kneading, rolling and stretching it with their hands and fingers.

Freya, Maggie and Jordie spent a long time discussing their shell creations and noting the different effects of the paint. Ross chose to mix colours and layer paint on his stone, painting in different directions.

Through daily routines and play we become motivated to write and engaged in creating marks on paper. It is important the we enjoy the process of mark making so that we enjoy formal writing later in our school journeys. When we “sign in” on arrival to nursery we learn about letters, what our names look like and that there is a purpose to writing. Having writing materials readily available throughout the nursery, to be used as part of our play, means we naturally learn to enjoy using, and be creative with, writing materials.

Stanley looked as his name and “wrote” his name to show he had come to nursery while Ali created a picture nearby.

Micah, Maisie, Emmie used whiteboards, jotters and a variety of writing implements as part of their play.

Jackson found a “secret symbol”, he took it to the message centre to copy so he could give it one to his friend. He chose to use a ruler to make the lines straight.