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Preston
Primary School
Academy

Foundation Stage Weekly Newsletter

Puffins and Penguins Weekly Newsletter, 14th January 2022

Lego Discover         

This term the children will be taking part in an innovative ‘Lego Discover’ program. This program is a playful way to introduce STEM skills – Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics – to young children. The children were very excited.

To introduce the program to them, and to continue work on our learning experience ‘When I grow up…’, we spent time discussing the role of an engineer, and how they design, make, and evaluate their products. We looked at a photograph of the very first aeroplane and discussed whether that first attempt was the best design. We enjoyed sharing the book ‘If I built a car’ by Chris van Dusen, and we discussed the design features of the futuristic car.

This week, we gave the children time to familiarize themselves with the functional elements in the sets. We explored how they moved and learnt their names, including gears with cogs, winches with string and hook, turntable, carts with wheels and hinged bricks.

We cannot wait for next week to begin our first design and building challenge!

Recommended Reads

‘Shark in the park’ by Stephen Cartwright

recommended by Alby

This is my favourite book because it is very funny. The shark is in the pond. I like it so much.

‘Peppa Pig - Pumpkin competition’

recommended by Harper

This book is great for Halloween because it is scary. It has a massive pumpkin in it. Peppa and Suzy Sheep carved their pumpkins.

‘100 cats’ by Michael Whaite

recommended by Primrose

I recommend this book ‘100 cats’ because it has lots of different cats in, and it’s funny. My favourite cat is mucky cat!

Maths

In Maths this week we have been exploring the number 6 in depth. We used tens frames and cherry models (part, part, whole models) to explore the composition of the number, e.g. 5 and 1, 4 and 2, 3 and 3, 6 and 0. We also had fun making cherry models during continuous provision and using them in our play. We watched a Numberblocks episode ‘Counting sheep’ to discuss equal parts, e.g. 6 can be split into 3 groups of 2 or 2 groups of 3. We have put the link to the episode in the ‘Home learning’ section, should you wish to watch it again at home. The children then talked about the patterns they could see and used subitizing to help them. Noticing patterns within a number, using different representations, is important for a child’s mathematical fluency.

Literacy and PE

This week the children have been listening to the storybook ‘Rosie’s walk’ by Pat Hutchins. We talked about the prepositional language, e.g. over, under, past, around, through, etc. Then we went on our own walk around the playground going over, under and through an assortment of obstacles. Luckily, we didn’t have a fox trying to catch us and eat us!

Woodland Camp

Over the next few weeks, we will be introducing the children to using basic carpentry tools. There was great excitement when the children realized they were using ‘real’ tools and not pretend play tools! We will talk about the purpose and use of the tool, risks and safety, before using them. This week we used a hand drill to drill holes into a wooden pallet. The children enjoyed the experience, and all worked sensibly. Well done, children!

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.

Home Learning

  • Check your book bag or Seesaw for this week’s RWI activity.
  • Enjoy listening to the story ‘Rosie’s walk’ on Seesaw.
  • Watch the Numberblocks episode ‘Counting sheep’ -  www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b08q4g7y/numberblocks-series-2-counting-sheep
  • Use Ten Town to practice numbers 1-6.
  • Play a board game that uses a dice, e.g. snakes and ladders, ludo, frustration. Your child should be able to quickly ‘subitise’ each number (say it straight away, rather than counting each individual dot).

From Mrs Bastin, Mrs Clague and the Foundation Stage Team

Address
Preston Primary School Academy
Old Paignton Road
Torquay
Devon
TQ2 6UY

Phone
01803 607075