Dear Parents and Carers

If you or your child develop any Covid symptoms or receive a positive Covid result - you will have to isolate for 14 days. During your child’s time away from school, please take this opportunity to continue to help develop their learning.

I will be set the children tasks through Purple Mash and Mathletics. These tasks are linked to what the children would currently be learning in Reception. It is important for children to complete these activities to minimise gaps in their learning. When children hand their work in through Purple Mash, you or your child can send me a message to let me know how they are finding the tasks. It would be lovely for the children to keep in touch with me and let me know how they are getting on with their learning tasks at home! Children can also email me via '2email' on Purple Mash if they have any questions they would like to ask about their work. I will mark the Purple Mash activities handed in and reply to children's comments. This will be a great way to keep in touch  

Please contact k.flanagan@holycrossprimaryschool.co.uk for your child’s login.

Home Learning Ideas

For children in the Early Years Foundation Stage, it is important to make learning as fun as possible. While you may have some extra time at home with your child you could try some of the following:

• make a daily journal
• making cards, pictures, letters for the elderly or sick
• baking together
• making your own play dough or slime
• singing songs and rhymes
• storytelling
• write your own story or fairytale 
• make sock puppets and put on a puppet show
• go on a treasure hunt
• play sorting, counting and matching games
• draw, sketch, colour pictures of springtime
• create patterns outdoors with leaves/flowers/pebbles etc. 
• go on a 2D or 3D shape hunt
• make something from old recycled materials e.g. a robot from a cereal box
• create and play your own board game
• cook together

Please see the link below for some more Home Learning ideas: 

Talk4Writing

Click on the document below for an English Home Learning activity booklet. This booklet is designed to inspire and support your child to develop skills and confidence in speaking, reading and writing.

In this booklet, you will see 8 different types of learning activities:

• Let’s read together

• Let’s talk

• Rhyme time

• Ladybird Words

• Let’s pretend

• Ready, steady, write

• Out and about

• Let’s get creative

Reading

I recommend reading as much as you can with your child.

Reading with your child is one of the best ways of covering many curriculum areas. Reading with your child will improve their listening and attention, communication, language and speaking, imagination, reading and writing skills. 

You can read any book with them; fiction or non-fiction. These can include stories, traditional tales, stories in your home language, encyclopedias, atlas', books from your school reading scheme (Biff and Chip), magazines, comics etc. 

While you are reading with your child you could encourage them to talk about the pictures they see and read some simple words or phrases. 

See link below for some free online e-books and videos: 

Read Write Inc.

In Reception, children learn to read and write using the Read Write Inc. phonics scheme. Read Write Inc. phonics teaches children to read accurately and fluently with good comprehension. They learn to form each letter, spell correctly, and compose their ideas step-by-step. Lively phonic books are closely matched to their increasing knowledge of phonics and ‘tricky’ words and, as children re-read the stories, their fluency increases.

Along with a thought-provoking introduction, prompts for thinking out loud and discussion, children are helped to read with a storyteller’s voice.

For more information, see the links below: 

Some useful links for literacy learning:

https://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/

https://www.teachyourmonstertoread.com/

https://www.ictgames.com/mobilePage/literacy.html

https://www.phonicsbloom.com/

http://www.letters-and-sounds.com/phase-2-games.html

http://www.letters-and-sounds.com/phase-3-games.html

https://www.mrmcmakingmemories.com/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/shows/alphablocks

https://epicphonics.com/games/phase/2

https://epicphonics.com/games/phase/3

Maths

Reception children can watch 'Number fun' videos on YouTube. This will include Maths songs, challenges, problem solving and interactive learning.

Please see the link below:

Some useful links for Maths learning:

https://mathszone.co.uk/tag/eyfs/?s=

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/3-5-years/counting

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/5-7-years/counting

https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/topics/numeracy

http://www.crickweb.co.uk/Early-Years.html

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b08bzfnh/numberblocks

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zr99cqt

PE

While you are away from school it is important to keep your body fit, healthy and active.

Joe Wicks has uploaded daily exercise videos to his YouTube channel. These are an excellent way of keeping both children and adults fit and healthy physically and mentally. 

Cosmic Kids is another website that offers meditation, yoga and mindfulness activities in a child-friendly way. Reception class often complete these activities in class and they really love them! 

PSHE

Here are some useful links for keeping your child safe online:

Music

https://www.singup.org/home-schooling/?embutton - Sing up home schooling page

https://youtu.be/j4mZhv9HS-g - free body percussion workshops 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/bring-the-noise - new set of resources from the BBC launched last year

https://www.mydso.com/dso-kids/ - Dallas symphony orchestra’s site just for children 

Thank you for your ongoing support!

Miss Mitchell