Lego Discover – Session 1 ‘Let’s Discover’

This week the children had their first Lego Discover session. This programme is a playful way to introduce STEM skills – Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics – to young children. The children were very excited. Each year Lego Discover has a theme and this year it is called ‘Cargo Connect’.

In the first session we introduced the theme of transportation and tried to answer the following questions.

What is transportation? What is destination? How are people and things transported?

We talked about all the different modes of transportation, and they generated their own ideas and designs. Then using some of the functional elements they learnt last week, they created their own transportation models. The children impressed us with their creativity and knowledge. At the end of the session, they had the opportunity to talk about their models and share their ideas with everyone. The children used the key vocabulary (transportation and destination) to tell us who or what is being transported and the destination.

Lego Discover is carefully planned and sequenced so that each week children will build on the knowledge and skills needed to be successful. We will assign a Lego Discover presentation on Seesaw for you to find out more about the programme and why it is so important to our curriculum. Every Lego Discover session starts with a ‘Six Brick’ activity warm up. We will share more about ‘Six Bricks’ next week as we have a free Lego gift to send home with every child after you have watched the presentation.

Recommended Reads

These are the books your friends would like to recommend this week. We hope you enjoy them.

‘The Gruffalo’ by Julia Donaldson

recommended by Kia

This is my favourite book because of all the animals. I love the Gruffalo because he says, “you’ll taste good on a slice of bread”. My favourite part is when it says, ‘All was quiet in the deep dark wood, the mouse found a nut and the nut was good’.

‘100 Dogs – by Michael Whalte’

recommended by Ollie

I love this book because it’s about dogs and it is so funny. It’s got so many dogs, 100 dogs!

‘Dragon Danger’ by Oxford Reading Tree

recommended by Lillian

I recommend Dragon Danger because it has Floppy, and he pulls the baby dragon out of the way and there is a maze at the end of the book. I want all my friends to read it because it is very exciting.

Torquay Library

As part of our curriculum, we strive to give children opportunities to be immersed in a love of reading. This half term we will give every child in Foundation the opportunity to visit Torquay Library. We will take small groups of children on the school minibus for a short visit during school hours. This will also link closely to our current learning experience ‘When I Grow Up’ as we will be talking about the role of a Librarian.

Yesterday we had our first trip, and it was very exciting. The children enjoyed travelling on the minibus, and they were inspired by the range of books available at the library. They enjoyed sharing the books with each other, there was lots of wonderful vocabulary being used. It was great to give them time dedicated to the love of reading.

Design Make Evaluate

Across the school we have introduced a Design, Make, Evaluate model (see image below) and the children in Foundation will be using this model throughout the Lego Discover programme and in other areas of their learning. The children are already using these skills during Choosing Learning time. They have designed tree houses with swimming pools and space rockets. They have impressed us with their designs, and they used teamwork to build and make. We have talked about how many jobs use this model particularly engineers. The children continually evaluate through their talk. They modify and amend ideas.

PE

In PE this week the children enjoyed an obstacle course. They used teamwork and determination. Well done Puffins and Penguins.

Messages

• Thank you to those parents who shared their work experiences and careers with their children. We really appreciate you taking the time to do this and to share it with us. We will be using these over the next few weeks. If you have not done this yet, the information is below…

PARENT HOME LEARNING!

It would be lovely if you could share your own career experiences with the children. If anyone would like to create a one page A4 profile about their job or a job they have done in the past, we would love to share these with all the children and possibly create a folder to put on our book shelf. You could include a photo and detail your job and the role you have. Your favourite part of the job, any special equipment you use, if you wear a uniform and any training you had. If you can link your job to our school values, that would be wonderful. This is of course optional, but it would be very special for the children. You could send in a paper copy or submit an electronic version via e-mail (foundation@preston.torbay.sch.uk or Seesaw. Thank you for your support.

 

• Please remember that you can also view this newsletter on the school website where you can see any photographs that we include.

 

• If you have any messages regarding appointments for your child, please e-mail or call the school office admin@preston.torbay.sch.uk Please avoid visiting the school office.

 

• Monday 24^th January from 3pm -Second hand uniform sale on the school drive.

 

• Please ensure your child has their book bag and water bottle in school every day.

Home Learning

• Check your book bag or Seesaw for this week’s RWI activity.
• Enjoy listening to the story on Seesaw, Mr Magnolia read by from Mrs Wenman.
• Watch the Numberblocks episode ‘Whole of me’. Link below

-  www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b08dr1l3/numberblocks-series-1-the-whole-of-me

• Use Ten Town to practice numbers 1-7.

Adults

Watch the Lego Discover information video on Seesaw. Please then press the add response button to let us know you have viewed the presentation. We will then be able to send home a free ‘Six Brick’ activity box for you to use at home with your child.

From Mrs Bastin, Mrs Clague and the Foundation Stage Team