Learning through play.

Young children learn through first hand experiences and plentiful opportunities to explore, repeat, review and refine their ideas.  With this approach in mind the following information is intended to support families in continuing to support their child's learning journey at home, particularly if they are unable to attend nursery.

Please see the weekly home learning resources in each dated folder below and the general summary of ideas for creative play, making meaningful marks and sharing stories below the folders on this page.  The online journal Tapestry is also used to provide home learning resources.  This can also be a method of communication between families and nursery.  The video function in Tapestry enables short videos to be shared, commented upon and video replies to be sent.

Please contact Mrs Alderson at nurseryinfo@primrosehill.owlcotesmat.org if you have any questions.

Spring Term 2 Home Learning:

Spring Term 1 Home Learning:

Create and Play

Encourage your child to be creative using construction materials such as building blocks, junk boxes, toy people, animals, tea party toys...  You could link the play to a story your child knows well, or even a song, or familiar place your child has visited such as the park.   This could help your child to further develop story ideas.  If it is possible for another member of the family to play with your child, modelling speaking in full sentences and providing new vocabulary through conversation during play will support good learning and development in several areas of the early years curriculum. (Communication and language development, Literacy, Maths, Understanding the World, Creative Development)

Making meaningful marks.

Supporting children's knowledge and awareness of marks in the environment, for example words and numbers in books, on packaging and on the television, numbers and letters on registration plates, lamp posts etc help children to develop their early understanding of pictures, print, reading and writing.

Encourage mark making linked to something you experience together.  For example after going out for a walk, make a picture to help your child to remember what they saw.  The marks your child makes may simply be a representation of something, for example a line to represent a bird, or your child may be able to draw a shape, or shapes which look something similar to a bird.

Model writing your child's name on their drawing, or even encourage your child to write their name if they are showing an interest in this higher level challenge.

Sharing stories.

Developing an interest in stories can help children to develop their communication, language and thinking skills, as well as their knowledge and understanding of the world. Sharing a story with someone else also supports the development of effective learning characteristics.

In nursery we read books throughout the day in our reading corner and as part of our focused lesson where we 'drop everything and read.'  Why not identify a time during the day to share books.  You could take it in turns to choose the book.  Familiar stories where you encourage your child to recall the repeated phrases in a story, or where you encourage the making up of new sentences to add more to a story, will all support good learning.  Could you use some of your child's toys to create characters linked to a story?  Why not have a toy story time and encourage your child to 'read' or re-tell a familiar story to their toys.