Week Beginning 1st June 2020
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Rainbow News |
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Dear Children and Parents,
Welcome back to the second half of the summer term. As with last half term this is not how I had expected the summer term to be and at present we are not sure what this half term will look like in terms of if or when nursery will reopen. All I can say is I really hope we do get to see you all at some point – albeit safely and I am thinking of the best ways in which we can make this happen.
It certainly feels like summer has arrived and I hope you have all had the opportunity to enjoy some summer sunshine over half term. I think a lasting memory for me is going to be listening to the birds singing, something which I am sad to say I didn’t always notice before the lockdown as I was usually rushing around here and there and simply didn’t pay attention to the lovely sounds of nature. Going forward, one of the things I will take from this lockdown is how important it is be a good listener and to pay attention to the world around me instead of simply rushing about and missing the important things!
I’d like to take the opportunity to thank you again for your patience and understanding. It really is proving to be quite a confusing time but hopefully the sunshine has brought the prospect of more positive times ahead as we cautiously ease our way out of lockdown. What a strange year 2020 is proving to be but one which will no doubt go down in history and for once we will all be saying ‘we were there and part of it!’.
So we are back with our weekly newsletter with some ideas and suggestions around things you can do at home to support and compliment the learning we would have been doing in school. I continue to emphasize that these are suggestions to support you and we do not want you to feel pressured to complete every suggestion. Thank you to the families who have contacted us, we have enjoyed seeing what you have been doing. If you’d like to share some more pictures or if you would just like to say hello you can e-mail us at rainbow@malorees-inf.brent.sch.uk |
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We would love to see what you have been doing or if you would just like to say hello you can e-mail us at |
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So let’s start with at the beginning…………. Daily Exercise So, what song shall we share together this week? There are so many to choose from. While I was tempted to share the songs which would be appearing in our show alongside our finale song I’m yet ready to give up on the prospect of our Rainbow Show taking place so I’m going to keep the mystery for a little while longer an instead share a couple of songs which always make it onto my playlist because they simply make me smile when I hear them… Here’s the link to the first rather fitting song… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PE1lzqJCeJ0 And the second which is guaranteed to have me reaching for the volume button and turning it up and is a song I just love. It’s a must for any car journey when I can turn it up really loud and no-one will hear although I have been known to give passengers a fright when I forget to turn the volume back down again……… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3t9SfrfDZM I’m hoping the arrival of the sunshine will give lots of scope for things to do outside. And remember you don’t need anything special to just have fun. On these warmer days water is fun in so many ways and making mud is a firm favorite………. I hope you’ll be able to enjoy some time in the park and if not a local walk just listening to the lovely sounds of nature going on all around. Maybe, see if you can collect some things on your walk that you can use to make collages and pictures when you get home. And if you are lucky enough to find some stones or pebbles you could paint them as a memento of lockdown 2020. We, would at this point, have been spending lots of time outdoors so don’t forget about simple things like sharing a story together on a rug outside. Stories can often take on a more magical feel when they’re told outdoors and maybe the children could make up their own stories about any exploring that they do. |
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Letter Formation/Writing Well done to everyone who has been practicing their writing. Thank you if you’ve sent us a picture – we have enjoyed seeing you trying hard to hold your pencils correctly and write your names. Sending notes and letters to family you may not have seen for a while is guaranteed to bring a smile to everyone’s face particularly if you are able to post it and you then get a reply!! Here’s the link to Peggy Leggo Program ….. . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6b6GJcY5U4 Before half term we looked at ‘Tall Man’, ‘Sideways’ and ‘Small Man’ all of which form lines and you had the chance to practice them. This week we’re going to look at the last of the patterns using lines. It’s called ‘Jack and Jill’ and is a zigzag line with Jack and Jill going up and down the hill. Remember to practice doing the movement really big with your hand and arm before you have a go on paper. |
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Phonics In the last letter we shared some links to support the children’s phonic development. You can find these again below………….. Practise Set 1 Speed Sounds daily 9.30 am (BST) Click here to watch the daily phonic clip Complete the Speed Sounds Practice Sheet for the sound learnt in the daily lesson Set 1 sheets. Click the link for access to Set 1 Reading and Phonics Support Materials Here are some new ideas for exploring listening and hearing sounds at home. This week we are thinking about Alliteration...
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Reading I’m still thinking about the crayons who saved the rainbow and I’m looking forward to when I can share it with you. I wonder what happened to the crayons after they had saved the rainbow, I’m thinking what happened next…..? See if you can choose just one crayon and make up a little story about what happened to it after it had saved the rainbow………..You could also choose the rainbow if you wanted to. Who knows the rainbow may have got up to some amazing adventures once it was saved. Don’t forget ‘The Animal Boogie’, we’d really like you to learn this one if you can https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25_u1GzruQM&list=PL0maGUp7cdUkPJgFg9PL0CAqzSDsWo2UR
Below are the links we have previously shared to a range of online stories Listen to storytime with Nick every Monday, Wednesday and Friday Storytime with Nick Share picture books at the Book Trust
We’d also like to draw your attention to a lovely playlist from Barefoot Books
But remember it’s good to re-read old favourites too. Online books have their place but they won’t replace the magic of a real book... |
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Numbers and Shapes How did you get on with your numbers? It’s good to revisit the numbers out of sequence to make sure we really know which one is which and where they go on a number line. As we begin to ease out of lockdown you could play a game of shopping in preparation for when things do start to return to normal and you can take your little helpers to the supermarket again. Find some bags – any will do and ask your grownups to out a number in the bag. Mix the bags up, then choose one, see what the number and put the right number of objects in the bag. The objects can be anything you have to hand, cars, blocks, books, pencils etc. You can use any numbers but start with 1-10. If you find that a little tricky, then start with the numbers 1-6 and if you find it easy you could try the numbers 1-15 or 1-20. Watch out for the bags though if you get up to 20 – they may be a little heavy. Well done to everyone who has been doing their shape challenge. I am amazed with the number of shapes you have managed to find!! This week have a think about the shapes we have already found… square, rectangle, circle, triangle – can you make a picture just using some or all of those shapes? I wonder what your pictures will be? |
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Family Activities We hope you are all having lots of fun together as a family. I hope you enjoyed your duvet den. Now that it’s getting warmer why don’t you see if you can continue your den building outdoors and build a sun shelter. See what you can find to build it with. Go for a walk and collect things on the way. When you get home can you make them into an outdoor picture. Post a picture to a family member or friend you haven’t seen for a while… Another thing I’ve learnt to appreciate more in these technical times. How lovely it is to have a card or picture arrive through the post just saying someone is thinking of you. It somehow reminds we may have had to pause for a while but things carry on……… Before half term we told you about the community photography project ‘Hold Still’ that has been launched by The National Portrait Gallery and The Duchess of Cambridge to document these extraordinary times. Last week we asked you to take some pictures of ‘Helpers and Heroes’. This week can you take some pictures of ‘Acts of Kindness’. It’s so important to be kind and there was never a truer phrase than ‘In a World where you can be anything……be Kind!’ I’m sure there will have been lots of acts of kindness going on throughout this lockdown but what meant the most to your family. It can be as simple as a smile……… Remember, you can save the pictures until we return to school or e-mail them to us at rainbow@malorees=inf.brent.sch.uk And of course Don’t forget your Rainbows!! I think we are very lucky that our class is called Rainbow and I have loved seeing all the rainbows as the first thing I think of when I see a rainbow is all of you. |
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Parents While we still muddle along wondering what the easing of lockdown is going to look like and how it will work in practice and reality I think it’s important to just reiterate how important it is to look after yourselves. Everyone will have had memorable moments during lockdown, some will have been good, some more challenging. I hope you have all managed to navigate this strange path safely and that your wider families remain safe and well too. It does make me smile when I wonder what the ‘toilet paper panic buying’ was all about or whether we’ll ever be able to buy flour again. But equally I’m aware that for many our families are not nearby and somehow connecting via technology (for me anyway) just isn’t the same as actually talking to someone face to face and hopefully we’ve all learnt that some days just have to be good enough and that’s ok and on others it really is ok to not be ok!!. Let’s hope that it won’t be long until we see a return to some normality as strange as that will seem. When the time comes I will be waiting for you all at the gate, I’m sure we’re all going to have lots of stories to share... Till then we do enjoy hearing your news so please do get in touch via our e-mail address rainbow@malorees-inf.sch.uk if you would like to. I’m ending our newsletter (possibly to be renamed the ramblings of a nursery teacher in lockdown…) by sending you all my very best wishes. I’m really hoping we will see you all soon, until then, Take Care… Linda, Ann, Ana and Alice
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