Aspen Class

What are we thinking about? What could I talk to my child about?

Plants and flowers – What flowers do we see during spring? What is your favourite spring flower? How can we look after plants? (Water, sun).

New life – What animals are born in spring? Where could we go to see them?

Easter – What do you like about Easter? How could we celebrate?

Growing up and changes in me – How do you know that you are growing up? (bigger, taller, faster, stronger etc).

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carlisle – focuses on change and growth.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=75NQK-Sm1YY

Chicken Licken (traditional tale retold by various authors). Focuses on KUW and patience.

Jasper’s Beanstalk by Nick Butterworth - focuses on how to care for plants and growth.
We’re Going on an Egg Hunt by Laura Hughes – focuses on repetition and number.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLc6IFrYCgw (with story props and Makaton signing).

Visit Tapestry to hear Miss Evans read the story of Chicken Licken and Jasper’s Beanstalk.
Our spring nursery rhymes.

• The Grand Old Duke of York (sing the melodic shape – sing a high note for ‘when they were up, they were up’, and a low note for ‘when they were down, they were down’).
• I’m a Little Teapot.
• Sleeping Bunnies – (bunnies don’t just hop, they - dance, stretch, stomp, twirl, wiggle, tiptoe etc. What other actions can you think of?).
• Curly Caterpillar (focuses on alliteration).

Curly Caterpillar Crawls up the Curtains.
Crawls, Crawls, Crawls up the Curtains.
Visit Tapestry to hear/see some of the Aspen team singing/acting out our rhymes. Enjoy!

Other ideas for home learning:

Grow a sunflower together – 1 packet of sunflower seeds (if planting straight into the ground, protect from slugs by cutting the top off a plastic bottle and placing over your seedlings). Or grow in a pot using multipurpose compost and placing in a sunny position (cover with a plastic bag and remove once the seed begins to grow). Watch it grow!

Plant some daffodil bulbs – speak to your children about how plants grow from seeds or bulbs.

Make a very hungry caterpillar – colourful pipe cleaners, googly eyes and PVA glue – be careful, don’t let your caterpillar near the fridge! www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dwFus3Rvus
Go on a spring walk in your local community – what do you notice? What plants/flowers do you see? What colour are the leaves on the trees? What’s the weather like? What bugs/insects can you find? Take some pictures and upload to Tapestry!

Try all the fruits from the story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar – which do you like? Which don’t you like? What other healthy snacks can you think of trying?

Decorate an Easter bonnet.

Tom O’Shanter Farm (Boundary Road, Bidston Hill, Wirral, CH43 7PD) – Free entry!

Other stories to explore together:

• Each Peach Pear Plum by Allen Ahlberg.
• The Rhyming Rabbit by Julia Donaldson and Lydia Monks.
• Rosie’s Walk by Pat Hutchins.
• Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert.

Why not visit your local library and see what other books you can find about spring!

There are also some great children’s books to be found in your local charity shops! Or try a book swap with other parents.

Don’t forget, your child will be having a fortnightly visit to our school library where they can pick a book to enjoy with you at home.

Maths at Home

• When shopping for fruit and vegetables, can you ask your child to get you 1 broccoli, 2 onions, 3 carrots etc.
• Do you notice all the things in your home shaped like a square or rectangle?
• Can you find 4 things that are square?
• Practice drawing your closed shapes: circle and square.

Miss Evans reads the story of The Gingerbread Man.

www.tapestryjournal.com/s/nursery-school-ganneys-meadow/observation/53832

Here is a link to Mr Tumble reading the Gingerbread Man

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEf6MtglpXk

You could sing along to our focus nursery rhymes for this half term.

Mrs Orr sings our core nursery rhymes:

• Three Blind Mice.

www.tapestryjournal.com/s/nursery-school-ganneys-meadow/observation/53848

• Jack and Jill.

www.tapestryjournal.com/s/nursery-school-ganneys-meadow/observation/53847

• Three Little Men in a Flying Saucer.

www.tapestryjournal.com/s/nursery-school-ganneys-meadow/observation/53849

I wonder how we could explore the story of The Gingerbread Man at home

Some other traditional stories that you and your children could enjoy together at bedtime are:

• Three Billy Goats Gruff (mathematical language and repetition)
• Goldilocks and the Three Bears (mathematical language and PSED)
• The Little Red Hen (good for encouraging the children to help tidy up)
• Chicken Licken (rhyming)
• The Ugly Duckling (PSED)

Any books that you wish to read with your children are a great way to promote their communication and language. You do not have to read the book word for word; look at the pictures with your child and ask them to talk to you about what they can see and what might be happening. Ask them to name objects on the page and identify how the characters might be feeling based on their facial features.

Aspen children will start visiting our small library on a fortnightly basis in their keyworker groups and will be encouraged to choose a book to take home that they might enjoy with their adults. We would encourage you to spend just 10 minutes with your child enjoying this read together.