Phonics

Below are links to a great resource from the DFE. There are videos explaining how we teach phonics as well as daily phonics lessons for Reception based upon Letters and Sounds.

Below are some parent guides to the different phases in Phonics. In Reception, children start off at Phase 2 and work through Phase 3 before consolidating with Phase 4 before the end of the school year. Phase 1 phonics underpins much of what we do throughout the year and is targeted based upon individual need.

Maths

Have fun with the Numberblocks using the link below. There are lots of games and activities to try on the website. You can also practise your counting and numeral recognition with the Numberblocks Number Fan and Numberline.

 

Every Numberblocks episode is now currently available to watch on iPlayer. Make sure to check some out before they disappear again!

Hungry Little Minds

From the Dfe - guidance for supporting children aged 0-5 at home. Full of links to useful resources, apps and information.

Other Resources:

Please click the dates below for further activities.

 

Music and Singing

i) The Sofa Singers bring together hundreds of people in real time for 45 minutes of simultaneous singing, smiling and sharing songs and stories. This might just restore some sanity for parents after a long day…

ii) The Royal Opera House will be offering a free programme of curated online broadcasts, musical masterclasses and cultural as well as a unique look behind the scenes at one of the world's most famous cultural institutions:

• Peter and the Wolf, The Royal Ballet – 27 March 2020, 7pm GMT
• Acis and Galatea, The Royal Opera – 3 April 2020, 7pm BST
• Così fan tutte, The Royal Opera – 10 April 2020, 7pm BST
• The Metamorphosis, The Royal Ballet – 17 April 2020, 7pm BST

iii) Sound Connections with music education expert, Sue Nicholls, bring some super ideas for making your own recycled percussion instruments that sound wonderful and can even be washed clean!

• Bottle Top Shakers
• Macaroni Tambourine
• Shakers, scrapers, tappers and flappers

 

1.    Art, Design, Materials and Mixed Media

i) Think with Things Island is a community playing towards a shared goal of learning, designing and sharing practice in play based learning and working with found objects.

ii) Curious Arts Activities by Dr Louisa Penfold - scholar, artist and play-in-museums expert - who shares her delightful imagination with the world in a series of awesome arts activities over the next few weeks.

iii) Fun Palaces connection revolutions ideas include practical suggestions to help local communities connect a little more or simply pass time creatively in self-isolation.

iv) Out-of-the-ordinary, home-made creative ideas for kids (and adults!), cheap and easy to make with most household materials.

v) From the wonderfully adventurous 64 Million Artists comes a series of creative challenges for creative minds! A million and one ideas.

 

1.    Dance and Movement

i) Anyone who was inspired by Itay Yatuv’s infamous movement video with his daughter, Sophie (and thought, ‘Yikes! I could never do that!’) will be delighted to find he is offering free training for teachers and parents with their little ones through his facebook videos so that YES, you CAN do that!

ii) Northern Ballet’s Early Years project introduces young children to dance through music, storytelling and multisensory play, with three different resource packs to help you explore the concepts of colour, Going on a Bear Hunt and Where The Wild Things Are.

 

1.    Museums

i) Join in with the Google Cultural Institute to explore artists from around the world or take a walk around Machu Picchu as if you were right there, with Google Arts & Culture.

ii) Sit back and enjoy twelve famous museums that offer virtual tours you can take on your couch.

iii) Dip in to the Museum of London’s Early Years Toolkit to explore a universe of subjects from how to create learning spaces to messy play to how creativity supports early brain and body development.

 

1.    Story

i) Discover Audible with thousands of books for you and your little ones to cuddle up and to listen to when nothing else will do (now free).

ii) Get lost in the British Library’s beautiful maps, illustrated manuscripts, sounds, histories, herstories, artists interviews, photographs and hundreds of online collections across all historical subject areas.

iii) Cultural ideas from the RSA that might just change the world.

 

Don’t forget you can download a free pack on Den making from Earlyarts’ Nurturing Young Children’s Learning series by signing up to the quarterly Earlyarts Ebulletin, along with our pack on Ten Techniques for Creative Teaching (also great for families!). This way you’ll get notified of each new list of creative ideas.

Apps for 2 to 5 Year Olds