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School Closure Home Learning
February 2021
Following the Prime Minister's announcement to reopen schools on Monday 8th March, we look forward to welcoming all children back to school. Look out for Parent Mail's from Mrs Johnston regarding whole school arrangements. Please send in your child's Home Learning Workbooks. I look forward to looking through them and seeing all the wonderful things they've been doing and the progress they must have made.
Thank you for supporting your children with home schooling, whilst also possibly juggling other children and working from home. I know how difficult it must have been. Thank you also for the many emails keeping me informed on your child's progress and learning at home. They really have kept me part of the process and have given me an insight into where to move to next each week and when we return to school. Thank you also for the many kind words. All these emails have kept my spirits up during this difficult time. Let's hope and pray this is the last time we will have to do this!
Mrs Long, Mrs Matchett and I look forward to seeing the children return to school on Monday 8th March.
God Bless
Mrs Turley
Welcome to Reception's Home Learning webpage. We have a strange few weeks that will be very difficult for children to understand why they are not allowed to go to school and play with friends. Explain to the children that the school is closed to protect them against any germs with the virus. You might like to share this story with your child to help them understand why school is closed:
At this unusual and difficult time, the most important thing is that children are happy, safe and feel loved. Don't worry if your child is not in the correct mindset for focused activities or if you've got lots of your own work to do. Play and creativity is the most important thing at their age. The children will benefit more from staying calm and relaxed at this time. Once the children return to school, staff at St Anne's will ensure that any learning continues, gaps are filled and children return to making the progress they were making before the closure.
In Reception, we suggest about 2 hours of formal learning to take place at home. This hour of learning should not be attempted in one big session. Children of Reception's age cannot be expected to concentrate for that amount of time. Break the learning up into smaller chunks, divided by less formal activities. My daily messages and activity schedule will point you in the right direction with activity ideas, PowerPoints, web links, videos and printouts to use with your children based on what we would be doing in class. The activities that are on the daily schedule will be far more that the hour recommended learning, so choose which activities that interest your child. Please always make sure that phonics and maths activities are completed. Activities will focus on daily phonics, daily maths activities and one other piece of learning that could focus on RE, creativity or Understanding the World. The subject pages on the class website will also give you more ideas to further learning and help you get creative.
The government have created an initiative called 'Oak National Academy' which has brought together teachers and experts to create a learning platform that you can use at home. There are video presentations from Early Years teachers to support learning at home. You might want to supplement your child's day with these. Please click the link below to find daily activities for Reception:
https://www.thenational.academy/online-classroom/reception/#schedule
Please try to send me one or two photos or videos of what you're up to. I will upload them to the class webpage (just as we do in school) for the class to see what their friends are up to.
Love and prayers
Mrs Turley
Things to do Daily
- Daily Prayer
- Sing & learn hymns
- Share bible stories
- Take part in Mass online (information on the Catholic Life web page)
- Meditation
- Play
- Daily Fine Motor Control Activities (practical games and activities, pencil control & letter formations)
- Daily Phonics Activities (including Phonics Play website)
- Daily Maths Activities (including number formations, counting sets of objects within 10 / 20, learning about 2d & 3D shapes and measuring things)
- Share Stories
- Role play and dress up
- Be active
- Go outside
- Daily Walk or scoot
- Be creative
- Make things (including junk modelling)
- Colour, cut and stick
- Listen to music
- Dance
- Try some science experiments
- Play games (traditional board games and computer)
- Visit zoos and exhibitions online
- Watch previous videos from the class website
- Have a pyjama day and watch a DVD / Netflix
- Look at family photographs and videos and talk to your child about these memories
- Have fun!
Phonics
We are currently finishing learning the Phase 2 sounds and reading regular words. Phonics Play (using your log in) is a good place to play games within Phase 2 to practice the skill of segmenting and blending to read 3 letter regular words. Next week we will begin to learn the 'tricky words'. I have sent home the flash cards of new sounds to learn and the tricky words (up to Easter) and sound books that you can add to (just like Mrs Long does in school). I have also added a new sound book for when the sound book 1 is completed. Please look on the Phonics webpage for more information.
Letter Formations & Handwriting
Your child has been given a whiteboard and pen to practice writing the letters using the correct formations. This is an important skill that children need to master in Reception. Perhaps take this time to spend 1:1 time with your child learning to hold a pencil correctly and form letters correctly. Perhaps use a highlighter pen for your child to trace over if your child is struggling to do this by themselves. There is a PowerPoint which shows you how to form each letter on the handwriting webpage.
General
Please ensure you have pencils, crayons, felt tips, scissors, glue and possibly collage materials for your child to use whilst away from school. Puzzles and games would also support children during this time. You might want to keep any activities completed in a scrap book.
Please don’t feel your child needs to be learning all day every day. We suggest 1 hour through the day. Learning at home is different than learning in school. I don’t advise that you try to do this all in one go if it’s a formal task. That would not be appropriate expectations for a child of 4 or 5. Spend 5 or 10 minutes and then let them have a snack/play/practical task and then return later. Remember, anything can be learning. From making a sandwich, playing a board game, playing Lego, dressing up, to playing with coins.
You might like to make a learning timetable, behaviour chart or even put children in their school jumper, cardigan or school PE top to suggest it is time for learning. Find what works for you and your family. If you find something works then share this with the class group.
Your child might have questions for you. Answer them honestly, but at an age appropriate level being careful not to scare your child. Be careful what news pictures are on in your house - even if they are playing in a different room. Children see things differently to adults and something small to us might cause children to worry unnecessarily.
I would love to see how the children are getting on. I ask that you send me one or two pictures a week of something your child is proud of. I intend to add pictures to the class website just as I do when we’re in school.
Remember to make time for prayer. The children could share the morning prayer, grace before & after meal prayers and the evening prayer. You might like to create a little altar at home.
If you do something that works with your child, please let me know so I can share with other parents.
Useful Documents:
General
Some things to try at home
