Activities during closure
Hello parents, carers and families of our Acorn Nursery children.
We are very sad that our fun times together have had to come to an end for some time.
Each week we will be adding some links to songs, rhymes and suggesting some fun activities which you may like to have a go at whilst you are keeping yourself and others safe at home.
Best wishes
Mrs Brown, Mrs Kitching, Mrs Caradice and Mrs Norton.
Week 9
Hello everyone, are you ready for another week? We have lots of great activities planned for you to have a go at.
Did you try Mrs Kitchings outdoor art idea? Why not have a go at using some of the twigs, leaves and petals you used for that for a picture of a girl or a boy? You could make them into a pirate or a princess or even a mermaid. Have a look at the idea below to help you. Go out on a lovely walk in your local area and collect twigs, petals, leaves etc (or you could use your garden) and then sit down and get sticking!
Have fun and enjoy it!
Have you been practising recognising your name or even letters in your name? Are all your teachers going to be super impressed with what you can do when you get back to school? I bet we are!
Here is an idea to keep practising. Get two chairs from your house and stick masking tape or sellotape from one chair to the other. Write down the letters of your name onto seperate pieces of paper and place them on the floor in the wrong order. Try and stick them in the correct order onto the masking tape between the two chairs. You could even try numbers 1 to 10 and put them in the correct order. Do whatever you feel comfortable with :)
Shape hunt
If you have some lollypop sticks or some card or paper at home you can try to make some shape hunt 'spyglasses'. Cut the material you are using into different shapes starting with circle, square, rectangle and triangle.
Then you can either stay at home and find the different shapes around your home and match them using your spyglasses OR you could take them on a walk with you and you could find lots of different shapes such as sign posts, paving slabs, postboxes and loads more. Take some photos of you doing it, we'd love to see what you've been up to.
Week 8
Hello everyone!
We hope you all had a good bank holiday and were able to enjoy some of the lovely weather.
Are you remembering to look at the speed sound pictures? A new picture has been added this week.
If you've not already, have a look now.
Have you had a go at playing any of the Fred Frog games yet? I've added another game called 'Fred's Fridge' so have a look for that one, it's one we've played before in nursery, so have a go with your family.
Let's have some fun looking for circles.
Can you tell a grown up what you know about circles?
Can you see any around you?
Look at the photos I took of objects around my house, can you spot the circles?
Send a hug in the post to someone special.
It's very hard at the moment because we have to stay at home and not go visiting our friends and families. They will be missing you very, very much and I know you will be missing them too. Here's something you can do to make them smile until you can have a big hug together when it is safe.
Use a large piece of paper, maybe use the back of a piece of wallpaper or stick some paper together.
Ask someone to draw around your head and arms. Draw on your face and decorate your arms. When your hug is finished, fold it up, put it in an envelope and send it. You will make someone very, very happy.
Go for a walk, make it a counting walk!
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10...
When you are next out walking, look around you and have a go finding things to count.
Stop at different places on your walk and find something to count.
How many red cars are on the street?
How many white doors can you see?
How many gates can you see?
How many stones are on the path?
How many trees are there?
Have you heard people talking about VE Day?
VE Day - or 'Victory in Europe Day' - Is when the fighting of World War Two came to an end.
Tuesday 8 May, 1945, was an emotional day that millions of people had been waiting for.
Many people were extremely happy that the fighting had stopped and there were big celebrations and street parties.
Before lockdown, people might have been planning street parties and there would have been celebrations in parks and in towns.
We cannot do this now but we could maybe do something at home instead. Perhaps have a picnic in your front garden, or on your doorstep, and decorate your home in the national colours of red, white and blue. You could even see if you can wear red, white and blue coloured clothes on Friday.
Here are some ideas of what you could do to join in with the celebrations this Friday on 8th May.
Make some buns to have at your picnic, make some of your own bunting to hang in your front window or make a flag.
Week 7 Activities
Hello everyone, how are you doing? I hope you are all doing okay and enjoying having time at home. Who has learnt the days of the week song off by heart? It is very catchy isn't it?! Here are some activities for you to enjoy at home this week.
Letter of the day
Can you ask your adult to write lots of different letters (preferably the alphabet) onto pieces of paper and place them into a cup or basket you have lying around at home. You could use magnetic letters if you've got these.
Each morning Monday to Friday get your child to pick a new letter out of the bag/bowl etc. Can they practise writing this letter down using a pencil and paper? You could write it for them first then get them to copy the letter underneath. You could even do a series of dots for the children to trace over as a starting point.
Then...have some fun!
Can you ask your child to run around the house and find different things that they could make a giant letter out of. For example they could make a H out of shoes or a T out of sticks from the garden.
Here is an example of a little boy making a D out of his train track!
Each day you wake up and get a new letter from the bag you can do something different with it! Always practise writing it first if your child is willing too. Don't force it. But then you could make the letter out of playdoh, hope on one leg if you've got the letter H, jump up and down if you've got a J etc.
You could also put flour into a tray and get your child to trace that letter with their finger or use jelly or bake cookies using into that letter shape. Use what you have around your house and remember...have fun!
Car number ramp
If you have some spare cardboard lying around make a number car ramp for all your cars. Open the cardboard box out and write down any numbers that your children are trying to learn in a grid at the base of the box. Then stick a ramp to the end of the box and rest it on a sofa or end of a table. Make sure the car can go down the ramp and land on a number. You could write the number on a piece of paper and use a smaller piece of cardboard for the ramp.
Allow your child to find the car and practise rolling it down the ramp. Ask your child a few questions about the game. What do you think is going to happen to the car? Where will the car stop? What is the car going to land on?
When your child has rolled the car down the ramp, ask them what number they think their car has landed on. If they are unsure, say wow you've landed on a 6 and ask them to repeat it. Keep playing for as long as your child is interested. You could even get them to practise writing the numbers but only if they are interested!
Have fun!!
Week 6 activities
As we start another new week, sing along to the days of the week song that we sing together at nursery every day.
There are lots of different songs to help you learn the names of the days of the week.
Can you say how many days there are in a week?
Can you name the days of the week?
Do you know what day it is today?
If it is Monday today what day will it be tomorrow? What day comes next?
Try and answer these questions every day for a week.
Make a box model of you! Can you make it so that it is as tall as you?
Hello!
Did you have a go? You’ll have needed lots of help from your family. My model kept falling over, so I tried to prop it up with a brush, a garden rake and then I found some canes that helped to stand it up.
Well done for having a go, I’m sure your model is great.
Here are some photos taken as I went along and me with my finished model.
Look, it is as tall as me!
Outdoors art
Have a go at finding natural materials to create a picture or pattern. If you have a garden, you might be able to find what you need there.
If not, you could maybe collect some bits such as twigs, stones, leaves etc. When you go out for your daily exercise. Have fun exploring and experimenting until you make something you like.
Make a rainbow.
Do you remember watching green coloured water soak up into kitchen roll when we made fresh green grass for the Billy Goats to eat, or exploring the walking water activity we set up at the science fair?
Well this is a fun activity you can have a go at home and all you will need are some coloured felt tip pens, some kitchen roll, scissors and water!
Watch the you tube video and Emma will show you how to make these lovely rainbows.
Week 5 activities
This week we should have been returning to nursery after the Easter break but unfortunately it's not safe yet to all be together again. We hope you all had a fun Easter time, enjoying the sunshine and time with your family.
Here are some more activities you can try out with your parents or carers.
Obstacle course
Be creative and build yourself an obstacle course either inside your house or outside in your garden.
Think about what you could use, ask your mum, dad, big brother or sister etc to help you.
Here are some ideas, but you can hopefully think of some of your own too!
- Throw rolled up socks into an empty bin.
- Crawl under a table or chair.
- Hop around a washing basket.
- Jump in and out of a hoola hoop, 5 times.
- Run from one spot to another while balancing something on your head.
Make your name.
Collect bottle tops, write the letters of your child's name on each one then help your child to sort the letters, putting them in order to make their name. Help them by writing their name on a piece of paper. If needed, point at the first letter, help your child to find it, then ask what letter comes next?
Continue with the rest of the letters in their name. Praise all efforts even if you have needed to do this for them.
Return to this activity every day, so that they get more and more familiar with the letters in their name and the order they go in.
(When writing letters on the bottle tops, use lower case letters: a, b, c, d, e, f etc. except for the first letter which should be upper case: A,B, C, D etc.)
Story time
We hope you are all finding time to enjoy a story. If you would like to listen to a favourite story but don't have the book at home, ask your parents or carers to google to see if they can find the story on YouTube that you can listen to.
I'm sharing the link of a favourite of mine, I'm sure you'll enjoy it too.
It is read by the ladies that do Makaton signing so you could maybe learn some new signs too.
Do you know what this story is called?
When you have listened to 'The very hungry caterpillar' story a few times, have a go at retelling the story to someone in your house.
Can you remember how many of each fruit the caterpillar ate on each day?
On Monday he ate...
On Tuesday he ate...
On Wednesday he ate...
On Thursday he ate...
On Friday he ate...
Here are some pictures to help you, count the fruit.
Have a go at making your own caterpillar.
Use whatever you have at home, bottle tops come in useful for this too so get saving them.
Weeks 3 and 4 - Easter Holidays
Easter Weekend Fun
Hello everyone, hope you are all staying safe and having fun with your family. Previously in nursery we have played the tweezer game - feed the carrots to the rabbit so we thought you might like a go at this on a larger scale.
Make your own Easter bunny out of cardboard and have a go at aiming and throwing a carrot.
Carrot throw game
Have a go at making an Easter Bonnet.
Be creative, what can you find around your house and garden that would make a fabulous Easter/spring themed hat?
I'm going to have a go too, here are some photos to give you some inspiration.
I'll add a photo of mine when it's done.
It's done!
Happy Easter to all our nursery children and their families from all the nursery staff.
Have a go at potato printing.
Ask a grown up to cut a pattern into half a potato and use it to print with. Or simply print with half a potato and add a pattern when it’s dry.
Ask an adult to help you make these Easter egg nests.
You will need just 5 ingredients -
Watch the video clip, Martin will show you how to make them.
225g/8oz chocolate, broken into pieces
2 tbsp golden syrup
50g/2oz butte
75g/3oz cornflakes or rice crispies
36 mini chocolate eggs
Patterns - Can you make a repeating pattern?
You could use Duplo/Lego bricks to make a repeating pattern such as
blue, yellow, blue, yellow, blue etc.
Which other patterns can you make?
Sing along to the ‘Spring Chicken’ song on youTube.
Make an Easter tree
Gather some twigs and put them in a jug or vase.
Draw egg shapes on cardboard and cut them out then decorate.
Hang the decorated eggs on to the twigs to make your own Easter tree.
For those of you that are doing well learning the makaton signs for the farm animals, here’s something else. I know you all love the song ‘Shotgun’ so sing along and see if you can join in with some of these signs.
Makaton CarPark Karaoke - SHOTGUN - Singing Hands
If you are getting a little fed up of singing (or hearing) 'happy birthday to you', here's a little song you can teach your children.
Sing it to the tune of 'Row, row, row your boat'
Week 1 some suggestions to keep the children busy whilst at home.
