At Children's House we have a history of working closely with The National Literacy Trust: we are a flagship school showing the impact of their Early Words Together Programme.
We jumped at the chance to welcome a group of business leaders to come and see the wonderful work we do at Children's House and the fantastic families and children we serve. 25 business leaders came with KPMG and NLT: they met volunteers, toured the building and observed children in their play and learning. We really brought to life how important early support and engaging positively with families to support them is. They were so inspired. They also brought along a special visitor and some books!!!! Just look at the photographs. Over the past two weeks children have been sharing stories which are their classroom favourites.
On particular one was very popular: the story of The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson. Children enjoyed sharing the story many times with an adult, joining in and repeating words and phrases. Children talked about the main character: describing them and sharing their ideas! Next children began to tell their own stories, using small books, making marks and telling their stories to an adult to scribe. Some children chose to retell The Gruffalo, others created their own stories, Interestingly many children told stories which are based on ones they had shared previously. Some children are beginning to show an awareness of characters and story plots. Ahead of a special visitor, children also created a GIANT Gruffalo using junk modelling equipment. They used tools, joined materials and worked collaboratively: we think it looks incredible. Can you guess who is coming to Children's House? At Children's House we welcome families from across the world and love you to share festivals and traditions you observe.
Last week one of our Hindu families came in to share how they celebrate Durga Puja. Durga Puja is a festival which celebrates the Hindu goddess Durga. The family proudly shared their beautiful, special outfits. They sang songs and listened to music with the children and even shared some special food. As we know many Hindu across the world are preparing for the festival of Diwali, we have been supporting children to explore clay in school to create diva (diya) lamps. These are to welcome prosperity, knowledge and wisdom. Do you and your family celebrate any festivals? Do share with us and feel free to send any photos to Becky to print for your child's Special Book. Click here to email. Helping your child's development starts from the very beginning: sharing precious moments together smiling, laughing, talking, singing and having skin to skin contact will all help their brain development. At Children's House we work closely with The National Literacy Trust and we run the Early Words Together programme but they offer support from birth to help families to develop communication with their babies. Look at the booklet below and click this link to download rhymes and ideas to do with your baby/child. Let us know how you get on! Eagle-eyed families and children noticed we have a wonderful spider who has made their home outside our school.
They have spun their web across the pavement, above where we walk and the spider has been there for many weeks. They have survived wind and very heavy rain and they have grown bigger and bigger! Children have been able to observe the changes and talk about them. Some children are so intrigued and many have noticed all the insects which have been caught in its web. Some children were able to tell me facts they knew, such as spiders have 8 legs and they eat flies! We talked about respecting the spider and not damaging its home (some parents did not want to walk under the web!!!) One of our two year olds in the Red Building decided to name the spider "Mr Skinny Legs"! Update: We now have cats enjoying the garden too!!! Maybe you can borrow a book from school about spiders - we have some lovely information and story books! Help yourself! Try to notice wildlife when you are out and about. Do you know the rhyme Incy Wincy Spider? Click here to listen and watch the rhyme with signing. At Children's House we know young children need lots of experiences to develop their gross and fine motor skills.
Climbing, running, jumping, dancing, scooting and cycling help those big muscles. We also encourage children to mould sand, shape playdough, sculpt with clay, paint and mark make to help those smaller muscles. This means children will find they have more control when they start drawing and writing. Children develop confidence, independence by helping prepare snacks, serving themselves and clearing up after themselves every day. We regularly encourage children to make simple snacks such as sandwiches. Children engage in the whole process: making choices, selecting ingredients and equipment, washing their hands (and preparing the table). Spreading margarine with a knife is a real skill, we allow children time and many opportunities to do this (and make mistakes) so they can develop skills and confidence. Using the sharp knife to cut cucumber is also supported by using hand-over-hand support. We teach children to use the equipment and trust them. The simple task of making cucumber sandwiches is rich and filled with language and warmth. Children develop relationships with the adults and their peers. Can you and you child prepare food together at home? Feel free to send any photos in for their Special Book! |
Our BlogThe blog is updated regularly with a range of learning from across our wonderful school. All the rich learning experiences the children have been involved in will be in their Special Books so please do borrow those regularly. Archives
November 2024
|