Welcome to the Skylarks Class! 



Staff

Teacher: Charlotte Harlow

TAs: Nicola Hicklin, Claire Agnew and Ellie Cozens

Mid Day Leader: TBC


Newsletter

Hairy, Scary Beast

Hi everyone,

This half term has flown by since Christmas – the Skylarks continue to progress really well. We are, as always, really proud of them all.

This half term we have been exploring the story ‘The Gruffalo’ – a class favourite for sure – the children have started to join in retelling the story thanks to its repetitive nature. Every week we have listened to the story and explored the characters and setting from the book. We have matched characters to symbols and photos, matched letters to spell key words from the story and drawn out own Gruffalo pictures.  We have continued our individual English skills work, have completed move and mark and visited the library.

In Maths we have continued to work towards our individual targets. In our groups we are working really hard. We have enjoyed number songs and activities on the iPad, as well as table-top resources. 

In Understanding the World this half term we have explored dinosaurs and the weather! We have made our own dinosaur eggs, printed dinosaur feet, explored them in wet and dry mediums and learned the names of different types. For the weather we have enjoyed the weather song, observing the weather outside and exploring different sensory trays to represent the weather. 

In our Creative Development sessions we have been exploring different scary beasts; monsters, dinosaurs and insects. We have used rollers to create spider webs, made monster footprints with stamps, painted monsters, created dinosaur eggs and printed with their feet. We have practiced pouring in food discovery; making milkshakes, smoothies and our own fruit juices. 

We  have continued to enjoy exploring our shared spaces inc. swimming, shared play, soft play and the library. We have also loved engaging in Rebound Therapy which we started this half term!

Have a lovely half term,

Skylarks class team 


Follow along with this half term’s Signalong video!

Signalong

At Kingfisher we use Signalong as a part of a Total Communication Approach, we are constantly using core vocabulary with the children to support their language development and then through each of our topics we introduce new signs and language, which extends their vocabulary further. We also have two “Signs of the Week” which helps maintain and extend key knowledge and skills of everyday vocabulary.

Each half term we will be creating a short video showcasing and demonstrating signs relavent for the current term so that you can learn the signs and further this learning at home.

Click play to watch this half terms Signalong video!


Lunchtime

If your child has a school dinner, the school menus can be accessed by clicking here. For children who bring a packed lunch, please remember to provide healthy and balanced options. We are a Healthy School and will be focusing on healthy eating and how children can make healthy lifestyle choices.


How You Can Help at Home

  • Our story this half term will be ‘The Lighthouse keeper’s lunch’ – you can watch the story online here: look out for the pesky seagulls!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAAE4mVaelw

  • Ask your child basic questions about the story – where is the man? Where is the lighthouse? Can they point them out in the book or on screen?
  • Everything is an opportunity for communication! Give your child lots of opportunities to make choices and requests at home. Please contact me if you would like any symbols to support this. Exchanging symbols is a great step forward in communicating your wants and needs. Make sure you always model the language for them. 
  • This half term we will be exploring nature; water, trees, leaves, plants, flowers and foods – can you find different leaves in a local park? Can you take photos of flowers you find? Can you see any small creatures? Listen to the song about the farmer planting seeds – what happens?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRhGOdqWIIo

  • We will be enjoying listening about Easter, traditions and spring time! Can you make an Easter bonnet? You could make your own mini Easter egg hunt at home. See if you can find any nearby lambs or chicks to show that Spring is coming! 
  • For Languages Day we will be exploring India/Bangladesh/Pakistan – is this a culture you know lots about? You could try different foods or discuss what it is like in these places.
  • Encourage your child’s self-help skills:

Useful Links


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