What you’ll need

• The print outs of ‘o’ and ‘u’ (or you can draw your own), 
• 12 post it notes or small pieces of paper, 
• a device with a stop clock eg: mobile phone.

Method

Pin up the pictures displaying the umbrella with ‘u’ sounds and the octopus with ‘o’ sounds at your child’s level. Clearly write ‘o’ letters on 6 of the post it notes and ‘u’ letters on the remaining 6. Hide these around the house without your child seeing where you have placed them.

Now invite your child to join in the game. Show them the pictures that you have pinned to the wall, talk about what the pictures are and what sound they begin with. 

Next, explain that the letters are playing hide and seek and they need to find them as quickly as they can! Set the clock and ask your child to hunt for the letters, when they find one ask them to tell you which sound it is and decide which picture it belongs to. They should cover one letter on the picture with the post it note that they have found. Keep going until they have found them all then stop the clock!

Can your child read the numbers on the clock? Let them know how many minutes and seconds they took. If they seem interested, you might want to explain to them that seconds are roughly the amount of time when we count steadily (and demonstrate) eg: 1..2..3 etc and that minutes are as long as counting to 60. Perhaps your child would like to play again or take turns with someone else to see who can get the fastest time?

What did we learn?

Literacy: Reading – Hears and says initial sounds in words, links sounds to letters.

Mathematics: Shape, space and measures – Uses everyday language relating to time.

What you’ll need

Old cardboard boxes, building blocks, duplo/lego or any other construction materials you can find

Whatever materials you would like to use to make your model – be as creative as you like!

Method

St Albans has many famous landmarks but the most well-known may be our Abbey Cathedral. Use the pictures below to talk about the Abbey Cathedral with your child. Many of you will have visited, but you can use these pictures to prompt their memory. How big is it? What shape is it? Does it have windows? How many doors do you need? Use your materials to make your own model of the Abbey and share them with us when you are finished!

If your child would rather, you could paint a picture or recreate the shape of the abbey with stones and rocks from your garden or local area. 

What did we learn?

EXPRESSIVE ART AND DESIGN (EAD)

We are learning to manipulate materials to achieve a planned effect and construct with a purpose in mind, using a variety of resources.

What you’ll need

• Inside my home sheet
• Colouring pencils/pens

Method

We are very lucky to live in such a beautiful city but at the moment we are spending a lot more time inside our homes! Talk to your child about your home. What makes our home special? Why is it important to have a home? What do we need in our home to keep us clean, safe and happy? What are your favourite places or things in your home and why?

Use your ‘In my home’ sheet to visit the different rooms in your house and draw some of the key items or things that you find there.

(Your house may look very different to this traditional line drawing so please feel free to draw your own!)

There is the opportunity to extend this further if you are out on a daily walk. Talk about the houses on your road. How many are there? Are they all the same? What makes them different?

What did we learn?

UNDERSTANDING THE WORLD

We are learning about some of the things that make us unique. 

We are learning to talk about the things we observe in our environment.