Hopscotch found out that 29th May 2021 was Elmer day, so we decided to focus our learning during the last week of last half term on our Elmer story book. We thought about how we are all different, but also what is the same.
Our younger children have been learning colour names using an Elmer collage. We explored sensory play by making our own playdough, mixing in different textures then using other ingredients such as oats, washing up liquid, shampoo, and body lotion.
We explored materials with magnets and metal detectors, finding out that different materials were ‘sticky’ to the magnets and some weren’t. In maths we learned that we didn’t always have to count objects if there were just a few. We learned how to subitise objects by seeing the pattern or shape that random objects lay in. The younger children used patterns to spot if the Elmer pictures were the same or different.
During phonics we are becoming really good at hearing initial sounds by guessing the object when we hear its first sound. We are also trying to use ‘robot talk’ to blend and segment words. We are becoming good at recognising our written names and even spotted them on our banana skins at snack time.
Our younger children are continuing to explore mark making using a selection of materials, some in sand, paint and also playdough. The older children are getting very good at holding pencils and attempting to write their own names.
Finally, on Friday we said a sad Goodbye to Toyah. We sang her our favourite song ‘Love Everybody’ and played some party games before giving her some presents to show her how special she is. We will miss her, but know she isn’t very far away.
