Mini Rangers sound of the week 'h' 26th January 2015

Snowy Etherow saw 31 Mini Rangers arrive for fun in the snow with the sound 'r'.  Here you can see Oliver with his Robot that he cleverly added stick legs too, he is showing real creativity in seeing what he has been given and adding to it.  

We lit the fire without Ranger Steve last week so I think that shows that we are learning about outdoor living,  It was a plus as well because there were children that really enjoyed the cosy feel of the fire and needed a bit of a warm up!  Thanks to Helen for bringing me Rhyming Rabbit by Julia Donaldson it was a great book I have been enjoying it at home, although I think it was a bit cold to sit still for too long!  Hopefully we can make it a bit warmer this week!  Suggestions for keeping warm welcome!

Next week we are bringing some warm blackcurrent juice as we did feel that perhaps the children could have done with a warm drink as well.  We will also be bringing extra coffee as that is much needed when taking part in outdoor play!

This coming week our letter is

 

just in case my lovely graphic isn't clear it is 'h' !  I am hoping this week we don't have any hail! If we do I guess it will fit in with the sounds, hey when the weather gives you a gift don't knock it!!!  Seriously though, h is a great letter for Etherow, Heron's and Hedghogs live there so we could talk about their habitats and how humans interact with them and how we can preserve their homes by not disturbing wood piles in the winter. 

I am sure we could dig a few holes with our kitchen spoons if the ground isn't too hard!  

For our activity this week Etherow Visitors centre are supplying us with all the ingredients to make hats!  So if you can find any feathers or leaves that you would like to stick on to your hat please bring them along.

At story time I think it is time to introduce Dr Seuss with 'Horton hears a who'.  The one draw back about introducing phonics to small children is that we are introducing them to sounds so h as in horton is the same as h as in who.  I don't want you to be concerned about this and some parents worry when their child starts writing and this mistake is a common 'spelling' mistake. It will rectify itself and when you are reading stories like 'Horton hears a who' it gives a platform to enable us to point out the different beginnings of each word.  Who is a tricky word and usually if there is a h sound the word begins with h so when it does happen it is sometimes good to find a book that illustrates this.

By now everyone is feeling hungry so we will bring some ham sandwiches made with dairy free bread and dairy free ham.

I hope that sounds good and look forward to seeing you there!  Just a tip if your child does feel the cold it might be worth bringing a hot water bottle or warming pouches as these can just add a bit more comfort, the fire will be lit though and the shelter will be up so hopefully we can make a cosy place for everyone to get a bit warmer in.

The Gruffalo - 24 November 2014

We are moving on this week with a brand new sound it is g as in 'g'argle, 'g'rumpy and 'g'arden....

So in our lovely Etherow Park garden area there is one book that has always been my favourite and that is the ......

Gruffalo

First we are going to get the children to make their very own Gruffalo grasshead.  Then the Gruffalos and their makers are going to go on a walking story of the Gruffalo.

The essence of a walking story is all about spotting the various characters in the bushes and trees and then listening to the next part of the story for guidance as to where the next character is hiding?

Learning in the Early years is about being able to take control, thrills and a very sensory dependent way of learning.  It is about learning how to filter out the many environmental sounds to the one voice that is telling the story, it is about finding it interesting enough to move ones body in ways that provide challenge and discovery.  The senses provide the children with a continued understanding of what surrounds them and how to make sense of it.  As parents our guidance through these social interactions are essential, it is our excitement,our joy, our engagement that children take on when experiencing these interactions. 

So we are on the sound g for our snack what better snack than grapes!  Obviously the usual Coffee and Biscuits will be available as well and if anyone wants to bring another g snack that would be great.  Remember Gas in garlic not as in ginger, but when we get to that sound it's going to be a great snack time!!!!

ref: https://www.facebook.com/alistair.bryceclegg for more information on thrills in early years learning.

Monday 20 March 2014

Hi again,

It is Sunday evening and I am putting together my plan for tomorrow, which is to all intents and purposes our End of Term Halloween party.  We have finished the first segment of phonic sounds 'satpin' and therefore I will be handing out certificates to celebrate our first part of the phonics journey.  There is a chance it will be a wet one, but as always mini-rangers dress for the weather we don't stay in!!!

So let us look back over our glorious half term of mini rangers, it has been fantastic.  At our high point we had 70 bodies in our little area and have regularly been seeing eager mini rangers no matter the weather.  We have had the most amazing September/October weather wise as you will see from these fantastic pictures to remind us of our first half term:

snake in the box, can you see that lovely dry ground!!!
Following this we had apples, ants and Alice!!!
 A teddy bears picnic with twigs, tennis on the lawn, toast that was really home made bread and butter and a tidy area... that led to the puppy pic nic, some putting a snack of pears and pineapples.  We've had insects and ink made of mud. Then finally we have had our week of 'n' remember our nests, I think some people have still to collect theirs.

So we have covered the sounds of 'satpin' and this week we will be presenting you with a certificate to commemorate your time with us and to remind you all that we have used lots of physical ideas to convey our sound and we have read books to repeat that sound.   

Anne Meade, in her work One Hundred Billion Neurons: How do they become organised? (2001) considered the connection between play and brain development Her study found that play gives children vital opportunities to lay down implicit memories of skills, dispositions and schemas. Our efforts to teach phonic sounds through active physical play takes into consideration children's need to repeat and to actively experience sounds, smells, and touch to make the vital connections with the phonic sounds that we want them to remember.

I have spent Saturday morning at a Creative Minds conference and in this we discussed the importance of children's schemas on their approach to learning and retaining different information.  I am always interested in how your children are approaching the learning and would like to ask you to answer the following questions:

Have you noticed your child repeating any of the sounds we have talked about?

If yes in what situation?

Have you been reminded to mention the sounds when you see them out and about?

Do you have a street sign that you and your child have looked at a little more closely?

Have you repeated any of the activities at home to remind your child of the sounds that they have heard?

I really appreciate your input and hope that we can continue  even as the weather gets colder and a bit damper.

Thank you again for your continued support

Melanie Commins,  EYTS