As we consider our second line of inquiry, the value of letters, we wanted to start by helping the children to begin to understand what we mean by the term 'value'. With this in mind, each child was invited to bring something from home that they consider special or important. Each child was given the opportunity during group time to show their special object to the class, and to talk about it a little. As we expected, many children brought particularly beloved toys, but there were also one or two other items. When all the children had taken a turn, I showed them something that I explained is valuable or important to me; a book. I talked about how much I love to read, and made clear again the connection between (alphabet) letters and the words that make up stories in books. I summarized by explaining that I think that letters are therefore very important, because they help to create the books we love to read. I made sure to select a current favourite of the children to show; The Book With No Pictures, by B.J. Novak. (Incidentally, I highly recommend this book as one to have at home!) After sharing with the group, the children were asked to take a photograph of their own special object. We then printed out each photograph and while the children spoke, I wrote down what they had to say about their valuable item. The children's comments can be seen underneath the photographs in the slideshow below. You can support this work at home, by talking about items or objects which are of value (not monetary value) to you, and to explain why they are important. MathematicsThis week in mathematics, we played bingo games, where the children were asked to connect written numerals (0-5, or 1-10, or 1-20) to the quantities they represent, matching for example the written number 5 with a picture of a ladybird with 5 spots. At home you could try playing games such as matching pairs (memory card games) or bingo to support this understanding. We Can Do Difficult ThingsToday we read Whistle for Willie, by Ezra Jack Keats, a classic children's story about a little boy who wants to learn to whistle, but finds it very challenging. In the end, he succeeds and is very proud of himself. We talked about the fact that sometimes when we are learning to do something, it can be difficult at first. We wanted to challenge the children to try to do something difficult, and gave them the option of trying to put on jackets or shoes unaided, or to have a (guided) attempt at tying shoelaces. Most children wanted to attempt to do more than one, if not all the options! Without exception, every child was very proud of trying to do these things independently. At school we show the children how to put the hood of their jacket on first, and then find the arms one by one. It seems to work fairly well. Almost every child was able to put their jacket on unaided, and one or two can manage zippers on their own. Those who opted to do so had great fun learning to tie laces. I really do encourage you to encourage your child to put his or her coat on, and to put shoes on and take them off unaided. They each proved they can do it today!
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