Welcome to the Toucans Class!
Staff
Teacher: Fran Marshall
TAs: Charlotte Taylor, Joanne Brice, Joanne Ryan and Nicola Meyers
Mid Day Leader: Sam Grundy
Newsletter
Food Glorious Food
It may have only been a short half term but it has been a very busy one here in the Toucans!
We started off the half term with a lovely surprise… the Moomalade playground has now reopened! We now have access to another lovely spacious outdoor space with grassy banks, trees and lots of room to explore during our playtimes.
In our weekly ‘I Wonder’ sessions we have been using colour to explore the Hindu festival of Holi. We have been exploring red, blue, yellow and green through paints, water, food colouring and different tools. Towards the end of the term we have been busy preparing for Easter by exploring eggs, the cross symbol as well as different young animals through different materials and puppets. We used our creative sessions to make different Easter craft as a symbol of new life and new beginnings. In our Understanding the World sessions we have been exploring different plants and flowers. We used soil and seeds with different scoops and spades to plant in our own planters. We hope our cress and herbs grow as we have been remembering to water them daily with help from our teachers.
We loved our topic story ‘Handa’s surprise’ which told a story of a young girl who collected a basket of fruit to take to her friend. As she walked to her friend different wild animals took the fruit from the basket…thankfully just before Handa arrived at her friend’s house a cheeky goat knocked a tree of tangerines filling her basket! It turns out they were her favourite fruit! We just loved exploring Handa’s fruit basket. Most of us liked the melon the best. In the last session before the Easter break we cut open each of the fruits to examine the skin and flesh…some of us got brave enough to have a little taste!
In our Food Discovery sessions we have been further developing our chopping and peeling skills by exploring different fruits and vegetables. Over the course of the term we have been able to peel and chop a wide range of hard and soft fruits and vegetables. One of our most memorable sessions was when we used knife to chop bananas and strawberries into slices. We couldn’t help but have a taste!
This half term we have been so fortunate to have lots of fun themed days to enhance our learning. During world book day we went to Neverland for the day with our very own Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Croc, Tinkerbell and our own band of lost boys! We spent the day creating fairy dust and fairy images and listening to the tale of Peter Pan and Neverland. On red nose day we came to school in our red clothes and our funny hairstyles. We had a day filled with red themed activities from adding red noses to our class photos, experiencing red lights and materials in the studio to exploring red sand and water with red tools. Towards the end of the half term during our languages day we boarded a flight and landed in the beautiful country of India. We explored Indian foods from different rice and breads to aromatic spices and teas. We also used different colourful paints in water sprays to have our own colour run while listening to Indian music.
From us all in the Toucans nest we hope you have an ‘eggs-citing’ Easter break full of egg hunts, sunnier days and chocolate fun.
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
The following activities are suggested as appropriate homework activities which you can enjoy with your child and reinforce the learning we are focussing on this half term –
- Read a story book with your child, if possible, focus on stories that centre on community whether it is transport, parks, shopping centres, your child’s favourite place to go. We are looking at the ‘Smartest Giant in Town’ in class this is something you could also share at home. In our ‘I Wonder’ sessions we are looking at the creation story so you could share books centring on the sun and moon, land and sea, different animals or different people.
- Look at photos of friends and family. Do they recognise familiar people? Can they recognise themselves? Look at photographs, images or use a mirror. Do they respond to their own name? Create a scrap book with your child with their favourite photos. Take photos of your child while they are out and about and make a memory book of your outings.
- If possible, take you child out into the community – go on the bus, tram or in the car…what can they see? Do they recognise familiar places? Visit friends and family or go to the local park, shop or supermarket.
- As the evenings become lighter and days are becoming longer encourage your child to access their play outside…add to your garden you created…has anything grown? Take photographs and look at them together.
- Encourage your child to help prepare meals. Can they help to wash up? Can they help to cut, chop and stir? Can they help to use different kitchen appliances from handheld mixer and whisk to a blender? If possible, build on their mixing skills…whisk cream, bake a cake or make custard.
- Play with you child – encourage interaction by using their favourite toys/games/TV shows. Can they accept you into their play? Can they take turns?
- Encourage your child to dress and undress themselves. Can they choose their own clothing? Can they choose appropriate clothes for the warmer weather? Shorts and t-shirt? Hat and sunglasses? Can they help to put on their sun cream?
- Using play, meal and snack times build on their communication skills. Can they make a choice between toys, foods and drinks?
- Encourage your child to brush their teeth. Can the put the toothpaste on their brush? Can they put the brush into their mouth?
- Encourage your child to wash and then dry their hands.
- Encourage your child to help to wipe down/clean surfaces in the home
- Encourage your child to help to tidy away. Do they know where things are kept?
- Practise the key Signalong signs
If you and your child are learning from Home, please access any of the activities suggested here or on the Medium Term plan, but activity suggestions will be sent each week to help you via Seesaw.
