Good Morning …HELLO EVERYONE……….Have you heard the birds again!!

On my morning walk yesterday birds singing was  all I could hear… it was just so beautiful. I had not realised that it was International Dawn Chorus day on 3rd May. The birds were  certainly singing their hearts out …as they got ready for the busy day ahead!   Have you heard the birds sing louder and louder on your walks? 

I know that flower pressing has captured your interest. It is a beautiful, classic art. The images I have been sent will last for years in your homes. They are GORGEOUS and contain real natural items.

Beautiful Natural images

In a gallery this would be worth a fortune..

Cooking has also continued to be a strong interest.  Helping to cook dinner and cooking playdough. You are both looking so grown up and skilled.

Yesterday as well as hearing the birds singing I tried Mrs Breakwell’s challenge of blowing the dandelion trumpet...I WAS RUBBISH! I could not make any sound at all. I hope you were all better than me.

I JUST love the different ways that you are being creative as families. Look at this LIGHT…..

I wonder what creative explorations you will try this week?  I’ve started crocheting mini snails for my nephew’s birthday. Mine is a little bigger!

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So today’s challenge is about making Mini collections …    Below are two photos of an egg box a family used when  they were completing the counting to ten challenge. BRILLIANT THINKING. The last photo shows how we all find and discover different things that we find fascinating and want to keep. What will you find?

• What small items will you collect and put into your egg box sections?
• What is the smallest item that you can find to place in your egg box?

Miss Lofthouse wondered if you might like to send a HUGE hug to someone special and to the people you miss. It will bring a HUGE smile to their faces!

How BIG will your hug be?                  Who will you send your HUGE hug too?

Thank you for your kind messages about Mrs Heap’s Rhyme time sessions…..I keep forwarding your messages and she will reply to you this week. Today  Mrs Heap has a new session called…‘sounds around’  .It made me smile and laugh…Enjoy.

Today’s story has a small balloon which grows into a HUGE Balloon..…!

F2 families:-  Please do let me know if you are having any difficulty accessing bug club, I have had three families telling me about issues. I will help in any way I can and find a way that works for you and your child to ensure that they can access reading books.

Enjoy your day and remember to keep doing things that make you happy. Keep smiling and Keep being active in your learning. Miss Butler, Miss Lofthouse and Mrs Breakwell.

Hello everyone

I hope you were able to enjoy the weekend? 

On Friday Mrs Heap and I enjoyed chatting on the phone with some of you, those we missed, or were out, we will endeavour to call you on Wednesday. The weather this weekend has been changeable;  sunny on Saturday and a bit rainy on Sunday but both weathers are great to have walk in as the world can look so different. You have continued to send me photos of your fantastic learning and especially enjoying going outside for a walk!

It has been great to hear and see how much you are enjoying Mrs Heap’s rhyme time. Today is the last of the rhymes but I think that, like Brooke, Ching Ching has been out exploring and there will be new video coming very soon. Please enjoy the last rhyme time and I think you will all be moving along to this!

Click on the blue writing for the words:Day Five

I am so humbled by the ideas that you come up with at home and the games and things you are doing.

Cyrus’ mum told me that they had planted seeds from a tomato in half an egg shell in some soil and the seeds were beginning to grow!!

Alfie made his own skittles game using toilet rolls. This fun game develops his coordination, numeral recognition and calculating skills!

Brooke has enjoyed playing so many games and also making a story book called “I miss my friends” something we can all emphasise with.

Cooking too still is a favourite home activity Kieran is especially proud of his gingerbread biscuits!

Why not try some of your friends ideas and let us know which ones you enjoyed.

Have you been able to find any snails and look at them closely? If you put them on a see through lid you can really watch muscles ripple as they move!

Challenge: On your daily walk collect a few wild flowers, or grasses or leaves to bring home to press. All you need is kitchen paper and something heavy~ books work well. Place the flowers on a piece of kitchen roll and then put a sheet on the top, then place something heavy on the top (5 big books would do!) leave for at least five days before you take the books off and look at your flattened flowers you should be able to make a picture with them.

Remember to ask your parents before you pick any flowers

You have a choice of two stories today. On The foundation stage home learning Base 1 you can listen to “The enormous Turnip” and below click the link to listen too “Mad about Minibeasts!”

Have a good Monday and “May the fourth be with you!!”

Mrs Penn, Mr Heap and Mrs Coleman

Hello Good Morning Everyone.

I hope that you all had a lovely weekend. The sun continued to shine on Saturday!. I had time to get rid of weeds in my front garden. I was also pleased at how my greenhouse seedlings are starting to grow. I will share photos later this week!  I wonder how your plants are growing at home?  On Friday I was sent even more AMAZING photos of your plants and IMAGINATION fun!!  What SUPER LEARNING and Fun..Brilliant 

Creative Imagination continued!!!

At the start of this home learning blog I was sent a picture of a pea plant that a family had been caring for since planting it at school.. I’ve been sent an update on the plant..JUST LOOK at how it has grown. Also another family have been replanting their cress seeds.

…. How did you manage with the spirals last week?  Remember scribbling is Vital so that eventually when muscles are strong, images start to develop. Continue to explore Spiral drawing today and see if you can complete your own spiral image, your spirals might be small, large fast or slow and controlled. I wonder how you could use spirals in a picture?  The more you draw and scribble the stronger your finger and wrist muscles will be…P.E for fingers! Can you remember how we scribble fast to music in our write dance sessions? Maybe you can draw your spirals while listening to your favourite song?

Amazing Scribbles

Today’s Challenge is from Mrs Breakwell …. How many big snails and how many little snails can you find?

When you find your snail place it on glass so that you can see the underneath when the snail is crawling across the glass. Can you see its muscles moving? 

Second Challenge from Mrs Breakwell : Dandelion trumpet challenge! Have you ever made a dandelion trumpet? Find a chunky stem and remove the head, give it a quick wipe and then blow. It can be tricky and may not work first time, GOOD LUCK!

I’ve added the same story as last week to develop their memory skills… Can you join in with any of the words this time? Can you remember who comes next to help pull up the Enormous Turnip? 

Today’s video is Mrs Heaps last Rhyme time session this week. Tomorrow you will find out that she has taken Ching Ching on a listening walk. Click here for the words..Day Five

Have a Wonderful Monday and Keep Enjoying yourselves being so CREATIVE as a family. The images you are sharing show the wonderful experiences you are having together. Continue to enjoy these times together. From Miss Butler,  Mrs Breakwell and Miss Lofthouse

Happy May Day all!

Tomorrow will be Alesha’s birthday and she is 5 years old! ( she is our only birthday this month – May in Base 2 ) We wish her a very happy day!

It is Friday already, the end of another busy week and the weekend awaits with some sunny weather I hope! I know you have been enjoying Mrs Heap’s rhyme time and I was sent a video today by Alesha of her beating her numbered tins and singing 1,2,3,4,5! We have another two rhyme times from Mrs Heap one today and one for Monday.

Enjoy today’s song and instrument making I think this you will all know this rhyme!

As usual click the blue writing for the words of this song! Day Four

How did you get on yesterday finding snails and perhaps making a snail obstacle course ?

On Base 1 post yesterday Miss Butler suggested you try drawing spirals you could try this ~take a look at the post from yesterday. I think you could also try using your collage skills to create a snail like the famous artist Matisse. Take a look can you see the spiral shape of the shell?  Have a try and send us photo of your efforts!

Did you all manage to name  Mrs Coleman’s  Knitted characters from the story “Jack and The Beanstalk” in the photo on yesterday’s post! Your Challenge is to make your own characters from the story and then tell the story with these. You could make a show for your family to come and watch complete with tickets! To help you I have a video of this story for you to watch. Enjoy!

We all wish you a happy weekend with your family keeping safe in your homes and on your daily walks! 

Mrs Penn, Mrs Heap and Mrs Coleman

Hello It is Friday AGAIN...Where do the weeks go!  It turned out to be a lovely sunny afternoon on Thursday. I hope that you managed to get outside after a morning of heavy rain... Did you find any snails and see their spiral shells? 

How did you manage with your spiral pictures? Forming a spiral is harder than we think because it involves the coordination of SO many skills. This simple challenge shows why letting children Scribble and Scribble onto blank paper is extremely important. Keep exploring the scribbles that you can make, each scribble is important in the development of finger, wrist, hand, arm coordination. As children’s skills develop their scribbles turn to recognisable forms without  an need for copying. I wonder how many F2 children managed controlled anti-clockwise and clockwise spirals? 

Building a Foundation for Literacy with Imagination, Role play and Story squares.

A mother once approached Albert Einstein and asked him what she might do to prepare her young son for a successful career in science. “Read him fairytales,” he replied. “And, if you want him to be very intelligent, read him more fairytales. This short statement was part of an article I was sent today as I was developing an  Early Years  course for schools,  it is from an Early Years Specialist group. I thought it linked PERFECTLY with our focus this week on told stories, imagination and story squares and it was something  to share. We all have our own favourite fairytales. Have you shared your favouite tales with your child? They will hear the excitement in your voice as you read something that you love and recall from your own childhood.   I wonder which story you will each choose? I would choose Snow White and Red Rose.

I was thrilled to bits to read some of your emails;  explaining your children’s love of engaging in role play exploration for the first time,  reading your children’s Story Squares (scribed stories) and watching your children use different mediums to express their imaginative thinking. Keep exploring story telling in as many different ways as possible, it is so valuable in the development of their language and creative thinking and children LOVE it.

Friday’s Challenge links to role play and story telling. Can you create a mask for yourself or your family? 

You are all GREAT at drawing your own masks, what ever shape or character you want to design. It could be bigger or smaller than your face but that doesn’t matter. Its the imagination and confidence to try, which is the most important part.

Your mum or dad can cut out your mask, if cutting a shape is still difficult for you. However, I know lots of you can cut shapes out without any support,  so do try. Remember how we use and hold safe scissors.

Who is behind the mask.. I wonder if you can all remember?

Another challenge you might like to try is………

I wonder how you can make a 3D snail out of a flat piece of paper?

F2 children looked at different ways of folding paper …Do you remember? . I wonder if you can remember how to make a snail / spiral from a thin strip of paper and a pencil?  

F1 children will need your support to start the spiral but after a few turns they could try to coordinate their fingers and thumbs to turn the spiral. See what happens. Its great to develop finger strength and manipulation.

Day Four of our Rhyme Time...Enjoy your singing session. Click here for the words Day Four

We have looked at this story with the F2 children,  I wonder if they can remember the repeated refrains in this traditional Fairy Tale?  Can you change your voice so that you sound like the three different trolls?  Enjoy and have FUN..

We love acting out The Three Billy Goats in class,  I wonder if you can act it out as a family? 

Enjoy today’s challenges and any other house hunts, cooking or walks you explore together as a family. Have a lovely weekend and I will look forward to finding out about your learning on Monday.  From Miss Butler,    Miss Breakwell and Miss Lofthouse. 

Hello everyone!

It was so good to talk with some of you on the phone and receive some emails of the things you have been doing at home! Some of you have been learning to ride your bikes without stabilisers and succeeded, while others have enjoyed craft activities and writing.

Maybe you could make some little people and create a story which your grown up could write down exactly in your words to share with us. This is called a story square!

Mrs Coleman just wanted to say hello and she says she has been busy at home knitting! She has knitted the characters from the story of “Jack and The Beanstalk” They are marvellous don’t you agree? Can you spot all of the characters?

It was a very rainy morning but a lovely afternoon. In the garden we saw lots of snails  enjoying the rain. Can you find some snails and maybe race them along a chalk line or create an obstacle course for them? Can they climb up and over a block or go through a tunnel? Did the biggest or smallest snails win? Take a closer look at the snail and it’s shell. Take a look at this facts about snails.

Are ready for Mrs Heap’s rhyme time complete with a tube! Mrs Heap had such a long tube didn’t she! It has been good to hear you are enjoying these sessions and I know some are trying to send video , try emailing it to: Admin@haytorview.devon.sch.uk for the attention of Mrs Penn. I am waiting to see this and to share with Mrs Heap!

Please Click on the blue writing for the words: Day Three

Don’t forget to stop and listen together. What sounds can you hear today?

Are they different from yesterday? Are you finding it easier to stop and quietly listen for a minute?

Also put on your favourite music and dance! Maybe you can dress up to do this?

Have fun together and enjoy your wonderful learning

Mrs Coleman, Mrs Heap and Mrs Penn

Hello Everyone ,  THE  PHOTOS YOU ARE SHARING ARE ABSOLUTELY AMAZING and being in a school without your wonderful children, the photos bring A HUGE smile to my face. I even had someone singing Our Pirate song down the telephone to me yesterday afternoon. It’s Fabulous news that you are remembering our class songs that always made us laugh together. A personal Thank you from me for your time. It means a lot to me. 

So today I have a few of those lovely photos to share…You are all GREAT LEARNERS.

Active Learning encourages all areas of development and is SO much FUN. I love seeing it in action. 

We have previously spoken about Baking and Cooking and identified how many skills your child is using by making their own breakfast,  lunch or snack…!! These photos show their fine motor control developing as the tools are being coordinated. Beautiful learning with such a yummy end product… mmmmm.

So today’s challenges:-  We have been looking at snails this week and I wondered if you could create your own spiral pattern. This is a complex skill. You can make it easier by just letting your child start as a spiral and then because it  is a coordination task the spiral will turn into a scribble …but that’s fine and will happen because are muscles developing.  As fine motor control develops through play the children will be able to keep controlled lines to form a spiral. All attempts are PERFECT. 

Can you draw your own coloured spirals, like you see on a snails shell?  If a spiral is easy… they can you create different sized snails with your spirals? Even harder……completing clockwise and anti-clockwise spirals. 

Meet ‘ Sonic the Snail ‘ He has a lovely snack…..look strawberries how nice. 

I wonder if you can find a snail to look at while you draw your own spirals?

Day Three of Mrs Heap’s Rhyme Time session…We need to ask her,  where did she find her long long tube! You only need a little cardboard tube! Click here for Day Three Words 

TODAY’s story is one of our familiar stories ( Our Core Stories )  I wonder if you can recall parts of the story or can you join in with phrases you remember… Enjoy,  it is a very classic imaginary story. 

Keep exploring active ways of learning, choosing things that make you happy.  Keep Smiling. I look forward to finding out what you have decide to learn next. Miss Butler, Miss Lofthouse and Mrs Breakwell.

Good morning all!

We hope that like the natural world you were able to enjoy our first wet day for a while?

How did you all get on yesterday with the challenges set? Please email your photos as we love to see them because we miss seeing you all.

How did you enjoy Mrs heaps video? Here is day 2. click the link as yesterday and enjoy making some music!

and click  the blue writing for the words: Day Two

As yesterday, it would be great for you and your family to stop for one minute either in your home or on your daily walk and listen to the sounds you can hear. Who heard the most? were the sounds different today? Please play this listening game:

Challenge: find a selection of items that make a noise from around the house: for example: keys, bells , two blocks, 2 spoons you will find much better ones

Hide from the person playing with you; so they can not see the sounds you are making and play each sound. Can they guess the sound ?

Can you guess more than them when it is your turn??

Make some instruments like Mrs heap suggests and play along to some of your favourite tunes and have a band time with your family!

I hope you found a collection of items to order and count yesterday and if you didn’t  you can find some today. Why not place them in different ways on a 10 grid and make ten in as many ways as you can. 

Enjoy the story I have chosen today. As Mrs Heap’s song is about a fish I felt that you needed a fish story so sit back and enjoy “Hooray For fish” by Lucy Cousins

We all wish you a happy Wednesday. Last day to up load your drawing or model for Captain Tom! Take care and stay safe

Mrs Penn, Mrs Coleman and Mrs Heap

Hello all!

I hope you all had a good Monday the weather was better than I expected and we managed our daily walk and Ollie, our dog, tried to pull a fallen tree from the stream again! Enjoy the photos below!

I believe that today is going to rainy but I hope you will still manage a daily walk in the rain. The world looks and sounds so different in the rain; so put on your rain coats and welly boots and enjoy this wet day!

Today I am excited to post the first of five musical activities devised and filmed by Mrs Heap and her husband! I will post one each day. It is a fabulous watch and will also inspire you to make your own instruments. Please  click the arrow  below to watch:

Please click the blue day one for the words to this song!

Day One (1)

When you go out today for your daily walk or in your house get everybody to stay still and quiet for a minute and after the minute talk about the sounds you could hear.

Listening skills are so important to all areas of our learning and the more we practice listening the better we will get! Listening is vital for us to hear and distinguish sounds which aid our reading as well as helping us to dance to a beat of some favourite music or tap along in time to the beat of song as in Mrs Heap’s video. Mrs Heap would love to see photos of you making music.

Yesterday I suggested you cut circles to make different moon shapes inspired by the story “Papa get the moon for me!”~ did you manage this! Did you create a full moon(whole circle), half a moon (semi circle) and did you manage a crescent shape moon and a slither of moon. This was a challenge for your scissor skills!

Practice your cutting skills by cutting out your favourite pictures from magazines or cutting up play dough!

Kieran enjoyed finding stones which became his moon rocks which he ordered by size and counted. Can you find items around your house and arrange them or sort them in your own way and count them?

I have added a very short story for you to watch. The animals in this story get very muddy! It is called “Mrs Wishy Washy.” Enjoy!

We hope you have fab day  creating music, splashing in puddles, taking time to listen, cutting and drawing but above all having fun and staying safe!

Mrs Heap, Mrs Coleman and Mrs Penn