Happy Tuesday!

Talking Together

• Can you remember where polar bears live? Think about where in the world the Arctic is. And where is the Antarctic? 
• Would it be possible for penguins and polar bears to be friends?
• Did you spot any other creatures who live near the polar bear? I saw some seals in the sea a family of arctic foxes in a den. Did you see them too?
• Why do you think the arctic foxes had white fur?
• Why do you think the seals hid when they saw the polar bear?​​​​​​​

I wonder what other creatures live in the Arctic? Do you know any? Or maybe your grown-ups do?

Phonics 

Let's do some Robot Talking! (Oral Blending and Segmenting)

Each week we are going to do Robot activities in nursery. 

Grown ups, blending is the process of saying individual sounds in words and then running them together to make the word. For example, c-a-t and making cat. This is a vital skill for when your child learns to read.

Segmenting is the opposite skill. To segment you separate a word into the individual sounds. This skill will help your child as they begin to write. It's good to model blending and segmenting words with your child and, if you think they are ready, pick a couple of games to play with them every day, just for 2 or 3 minutes! Little and often is the way! You may be doing most of the blending and segmenting to begin with but if you keep going the penny will drop and your child will begin to join in!

Here's a game you can play.

Bossy Bear

Choose any soft toy or puppet to be your Bossy friend.

Start standing up and the bossy dog whispers into your ear, which you then say to your child. He will say things like ‘Put your hands on your h-i-p-s!’ One word of the sentence will always be in sound talk. Another example would be ‘Touch your t-oe-s! N-ow!’ or 'Put your hand on your h-ea-d'. You can make this game as active as you want! You can also use the sound-talking to give instructions to your child as part of your daily routines such as, 'Time to brush your t-ee-th' or 'Time to put on your c-oa-t and do up your z-i-p'.

When your child is ready, they can give you instructions! That means they're practising segmenting.

Busy Fingers

Do it up! Clothes and Fastenings

Learning about fastenings is a key skill for independence as well as a good way to strengthen your busy fingers. Here are some ideas to get practising!

• Real babies' clothes for dressing up teddy bears and dolls.
• Have a shoe or a clothes shop with shoes with buckles and clothes with buttons and zips. Doing buttons up is great exercise for fingers.
• When you go out for a walk, make sure you have a go at doing up your own zip or buttons on your coat. Also put on your own shoes and do up the fastenings. Follow the link below for more ideas.

Mathematics

Let's start with a counting rhyme!

Our Colour of the Day - Red

Today we are going to be looking for things around the house that are red! Make a collection and then take a photo. How many different things can you find that are red? Are they all the same red or are some things lighter or darker shades of red? Play I Spy something that is red or spot red things when you are out on a walk, such as red cars or red doors.

Why don't you have a go at making a red collage using junk materials from the recycling? You could use bottle tops, buttons, paper, tissue, card - all sorts of things!

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I bet you have all been out and about in the snow! Send in any photos you have of you making snowballs or building snowmen or women!

Remember keeping your body busy will keep you healthy and help you to sleep well too. See you again tomorrow!