Little Hedgehogs Class Page

 A huge thank you for all your donations to Faversham Foodbank. 

 26th September 22

 Last week:  we have been thinking about the Queen, we made marmalade sandwiches and shared the story of the ‘Queens Hat’. We looked at lots of pictures about her life and made a class collage. On Wednesday we had an exciting time as Mr & Mrs Digby-Baker came to visit us with their piglets Pinky and Perky, it was very exciting as they were so soft to stroke. 

This week: On Monday Poppy Travers is coming in from the Children’s Centre to deliver a workshop all about Oral Hygiene, with this in mind, a gentle reminder that we only drink water in Pre-School, we are more than happy for the children to have something flavoured in their lunch box, but not to drink squash throughout the day. 

Date for your Diary

Friday 30th September – at 9.15 to 10am

Family Harvest Prime Rhyme Time

All welcome for a story, singing and dancing.

Please bring an item for the foodbank.

Book:  Crocodiles Don't Brush Their Teeth.                                                                                                                         

Write Dance and Disco Dough: 'Crocodile Rock'

Rhymes: 'Tooth Brushing Song'

Ways to support your child's learning at home.

1) Learn the rhyme of the week,

2) share a story every night. 

3) Why not make a crown and talk about the new King,

4) Use newspapers to make a collage of different pictures of the Queen

19th September 22

Last week: We shared  the story of 'Giraffes Cannot Dance', we focused on well-being  and involvement as we settle continued to feel settled in our new environment. We started to created 'Coping Wheels' which we will continue to do so over the coming weeks developing  our resilience strategies. We made delicious 'Cheese straws' to remind us of the Giraffes long neck. 

 This week: We are thinking about the sad passing of the Queen, we will be making marmalade sandwiches and crowns. 

Book:  The Queens Hat.                                                                                                                         

Write Dance and Disco Dough: 'Don't Stop Me Now.'

Rhymes: There Changing Guards at Buckingham Palace.'

Ways to support your child's learning at home.

1) Learn the rhyme of the week -  good rhymers make great readers.

2) Share a story every night.

3) Look at pictures of the Queens, think about all of the different hats she wore, throughout her reign. 

12th September 22

Last week: we met lots of new friends and focused on having fun in between Sunshine and Showers. We shared the story of when Elmer met a new friend and how everyone can be a bit strange when you first meet them. 

 This week: We are having fun at Pre-School sharing the story of 'Giraffes Cannot Dance'.  We will be focusing on well-being  and involvement as we settle and creating coping wheels to develop resilience strategies.

Book:  Giraffes Cannot Dance                                                                                                                          

Write Dance and Disco Dough: Jungle Boogie

Rhymes: Prime Rhyme Time and Elephants have Wrinkles. 

Ways to support your child's learning at home.

1) Learn the rhyme of the week -  good rhymers make great readers.

2) Share a story every night.

3) Visit a virtual zoo on line to see some Giraffes. 

4) Play Thumbs Up Thumbs Thumbs Down each tea time as a  family discussing your child's day  for example:

Thumbs up this Pizza is delicious. Thumbs down I don't like olives. 

Thumbs up my  favourite animal is a dog because they are friendly,  thumbs down my least favourite is a chicken because I don't like feathers. This simple activity will develop your child's voice and and vocabulary.

1st September 22

Welcome Home Little Hedgehogs we are delighted to reconnect with old friends and meet new families. We cannot wait to get to know you all, we are going to have lots fun and many exciting  adventures together. 

Firstly we must start by saying a big thank you for all of the amazing cards and gifts we received, as a team we were totally overwhelmed by your generosity  and kind words. We are super proud of all of  our leavers starting school you are going to fly, please send us a picture of your first day. 

A gentle reminder please:

1) Wear shoes that can be done up easily and that you can run and dance in.  

2) Label everything and bring in some wellington boots.

3) Inform us of any medical changes / dietary  requirements / allergies your child may have.  

4) Key People: we have had a few changes Ms McMahon will be taking on all of Mrs Ashmore's Key Children Miss Burgess, Miss Molly and Mrs Scott will be continuing with their children. 

5) Mrs Gower the SENCO will be coming in doing her usual start of the year observations to ensure that every child within Pre-School has their needs met and that they make progress from their individual starting points. If you have any concerns or questions please come and talk to Mrs Ashmore. 

 We are pleased to welcome Miss Molly to Pre-School and  delighted that Mrs Scott has taken on the role as deputy she is extremely experienced we will be working together closely to support the children. 

Last week: we were having fun on holiday.

This week: We are having fun at Pre-School.  We will be sharing the story of Elmer, designing our own elephants and discussing our favourite colours.  We will be focusing on well-being - involvement as we settle and create coping wheels developing resilience strategies.. 

Book:  Elmer                                                                                                                              

Write Dance and Disco Dough: Nelly the Elephant, Getting To Know You - From My Fair Lady.                                  Rhymes: Elmers Counting song. 

Ways to support your child's learning at home.

1) Learn the rhyme of the week -  good rhymers make great readers.

2) Share a story every night.

3) Play Thumbs Up Thumbs Thumbs Down each tea time as a  family discussing your child's day  for example:

Thumbs up this Pizza is delicious. Thumbs down I don't like olives. 

Thumbs up my  favourite animal is a dog because they are friendly,  thumbs down my least favourite is a chicken because I don't like feathers. This simple activity will develop your child's voice and and vocabulary.

4) Go on a favourite colour walk. 

Monday 11 July  22

Last week: We shared the story of 'What the ladybird Heard' linked to this we made delicious ladybird biscuits and fantastic ladybirds for the windows. A big thank you to our new friend Miss Tinsey who came in to help us make them.  

This week: we are preparing for transition thinking about most of us moving up to our new schools we will be sharing the story of 'Harry and His Dinosaurs Start School'. We will be joining the main school for fun raising day and going on a Summer time walk. 

Don't forget to sign up to the 'Wet and Wild Party' on Friday.

Please remember to put sun screen on your Little Hedgehog in the morning and we will re-apply at lunch time. 

Write Dance & Disco Dough:  Walk Like A Dinosaur

Word of the week: Dinosaur  

Cooking:  Dinosaur Egg Biscuits 

Mathematics:Dinosaur Dominoes  

Monday 4 July  22

Last week: We enjoyed our best sports  day ever, we remembered the repeated refrain 'Slow and Steady' wins the race and it was wonderful to see so many of our lovely families along to support us. The children did really well and the parent and child 'Spill the Tea' race was fantastic.  A huge thank you to Mr Capelin, Evan's Granddad who came to visit us with Tim and Tom his tortoises on Thursday it was great to see them again, we hope you will come back next year. The fruit smoothies were delicious a real tasty and healthy treat. 

This week: we are preparing for transition thinking about most of us moving up to Ladybirds Class we are sharing the story of what the Ladybird Heard. We are also caring for our caterpillars and getting very exciting about them turning into butterflies.  On Tuesday we will be enjoying a visit from 'Creepy Claws' how exciting. 

Please remember to put sun screen on your Little Hedgehog in the morning and we will re-apply at lunch time. 

Write Dance & Disco Dough:  I Heard it Through the Grapevine

Word of the week: Listening 

Cooking:  Ladybird Biscuits

Mathematics:Ladybird Counting Games 

Monday 27 June  22

Last week: Inspired by the many beautiful butterflies we have seen visiting the garden we shared the story of 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar', and thought life cycles and caring for caterpillars. We made yummy onion soup which was surprisingly tasty although it looked like and had the consistency of purple wall paper paste, thankfully it didn't taste like it. 

This week:  We  are practicing for Sports Day, ready for Friday's big event so please continue to wear shorts and plimsolls. We are sharing the story of the Tortoise and the Hare and on Thursday Mr Capelin, Evan's Granddad is coming to visit us with Tim and Tom his tortoises.   

Please remember to put sun screen on your Little Hedgehog in the morning and we will re-apply at lunch time. 

Write Dance & Disco Dough: Running Running.

Word of the week: Sport 

Cooking:  Healthy Fruit Smoothies .

Mathematics: Thinking about ordinal numbers first, second and third. 

Monday 20 June  22

Last week: inspired by Marnie's visit to the Theatre we learnt the rhyme and shared the story of the Smartest Giant in Town. We made yummy giant bread rolls and spent a long time searching for the giants treasure that Jack stole in the sand. We did lots of thinking deciding what we would could name our cow if we had one and if it was better to be smart or a kind giant.  We decided it was better to be kind. 

This week: inspired by the many beautiful butterflies we have seen visiting the garden we will be sharing the story of 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar', we will be thinking a about life cycles and caring for caterpillars. We plan to make some yummy onion soup with onions from our vegetable garden. We will be getting crafty and at the same time be learning about symmetrical patterns.  We will also be practicing for Sports Day, so please wear shorts and plimsolls for the next two weeks. Thank you.  

Please remember to put sun screen on your Little Hedgehog in the morning and we will re-apply at lunch time. 

Write Dance & Disco Dough: Love is like a Butterfly.

Word of the week: Symmetry

Cooking:  Onion Soup- with onions dug up from  our vegetable garden.

Mathematics: Sizing soft Hungry caterpillars.

Monday 13 June  22

Last week: we are shared one of Llywelyn's favourite stories Jack and the Bean stalk, we planted beans and did beautiful collages of green leaves. The biscuits were really tasty and it was very difficult not to have a cheeky lick as we made them.

This week: following on from  Marnie's visit to the theatre to see the Smartest Giant in Town we are sharing the story and doing lots of important rhyming activities linked to the story. 

Please remember to put sun screen on your Little Hedgehog in the morning and we will re-apply at lunch time. 

Write Dance & Disco Dough: I am Giant.

Word of the week: Smart

Cooking:  Baking Giants Bread 

Mathematics: Counting Coins.

Monday 6 June  22

Welcome back Little Hedgehogs did you have a nice break? and did any of you see the planes fly over Buckingham Palace and the Queen waving? wow it was amazing. 

The week before last: we had a fantastic time with HSBC bank visiting us to teach us all about how to look after our money and the right royal knees up tea party in the garden we were quite exhausted and ready for the half term break. 

This week: following on from our HSBC visit which introduced us to money now we are sharing one of Llywelyn's favourite stories Jack and the Bean stalk, we will be planting beans and learning all about how to look after them. 

Please remember to put sun screen on your Little Hedgehog in the morning and we will re-apply at lunch time. 

Write Dance & Disco Dough: The House that Jack Built.

Word of the week: Growing 

Cooking:  Iced Bean Biscuits

Mathematics: Sizing Bean stalks.

Monday 22 May 22

Last week: we carried on our investigations into all things royal as we enjoyed History day, made crowns and learnt  all about the Queens reign. We also joined the main school for Modern foreign language day,  Danylo's Mummy from the Ukraine came in and taught us all how to sing Baby Shark and a few basic phrases so we can communicate more fully with our newest little Hedgehog so we hope that he feels very welcome and at home.  

This week: we are celebrating the Queens Jubliee, we will waving flags, sharing stories, dressing up and having a right royal knees up.

Please remember to put sun screen on your Little Hedgehog in the morning and we will re-apply at lunch time. 

Stories: The Queens Knickers 

Write Dance & Disco Dough: Rule Britannia 

Word of the week: Jubliee 

Cooking:  Coronation Quorn

Mathematics: Sizing Knickers.

Monday 16 May 22

Last week: We continued  our investigations into all things royal sharing the stories of Cinderella and Rapunzel. We were thrilled that Indigo's Daddy  Mr MacDonald came in to talk to us about his job as an international hair stylist on Friday. We learnt a lot about 2D shapes as we made our lettuce sandwiches but we were not so keen in eating them. 

This week: We will be carrying on our investigations into all things royal as we enjoy History day we will be learning  all about the Queens reign, and thinking about 1977 when it was the silver Jubliee. We are also joining the main school for Modern foreign language day, we have chosen to study the Ukraine,  Danylo's Mummy is coming in to teach us a few words so we can make  our newest Little Hedgehog feel very welcome and at home.   

Please remember to put sun screen on your Little Hedgehog in the morning and we will re-apply at lunch time. Someone reported a sighting to me over the weekend so please have a look out for an unwelcome visitors. If you need any tips on how to get rid of them come and see me. 

Stories: Gruffalo

Write Dance & Disco Dough: History by 1D

Word of the week: Ukraine 

Cooking:  Gruffalo Crumble 

Mathematics: Gruffalo Spin.

Craft: Hearts for the UKraine, pictures of the Queen. 

Literacy: SATPINM. Rhyming Hat, silly soup. 

Rhyme of the Week:  Royal selection box 

Ways to support your child's learning at home: Share a story every night. encourage your child in learning the rhyme of the week. Make a crown. 

Monday 9 May 22

Last week: we celebrated Eid with Jacob, Sofia and  Mr & Mrs Noor. They came in and told us all about this important Muslim festival, thank you we really learnt a lot and appreciated your time. 

This week: We will be carrying on our investigations into all things royal including Princesses, sharing stories about Cinderella and Rapunzel. We are thrilled that Indigo's Daddy  Mr MacDonald will be coming in to talk to us about his job as a hair stylist  on Friday.   

 Please remember to put sun screen on your Little Hedgehog in the morning and we will re-apply at lunch time. 

Stories: Cinderella and Rapunzel    

Write Dance & Disco Dough: New Shoes  

Word of the week: lettuce

Cooking:   Lettuce Sandwiches 

Mathematics: Look at different sized shoes.

Craft: Paper Plate Pumpkins : Thinking about what you would wish for if you had a Fairy God Mother. 

Literacy: SATPINM. Rhyming Hat, silly soup. 

Rhyme of the Week:  Royal selection box 

Ways to support your child's learning at home: Share a story every night. encourage your child in learning the rhyme of the week. Make a Spring mobile and sent us a picture. 

Tuesday 3rd May 22

Last week: we shared the story of the 'Queens Hat' and had great fun trying on lots of different hats comparing the different styles and sizes as we learnt the song 'Where did you get that hat?' We made delicious Huffkins the traditional Kentish roll filled with Cherry jam. On Friday some of us got to go on a field trip to Church Plantation, it was nice to see the wheat and rape fields and spot different features from the map we were using to follow the route. 

This week: we are celebrating Eid with Jacob and Sofia and we are excited that their Mummy Mrs Noor is coming in to talk to us about the festivals special meanings and traditions. We will also be carrying on our investigations into all things royal including Princesses, with that in mind we are sharing a story about Grace and Dolly-Roses favourite long haired princess Rapunzel. 

Please remember to put sun screen on your Little Hedgehog in the morning and we will re-apply at lunch time. 

Stories: Rapunzel    

Write Dance & Disco Dough: Long Haired Lover from Liverpool. 

Word of the week: Eid

Cooking:   Eid sweets 

Craft: Mobiles 

Mathematics: Looking at shapes crescents and stars. 

Literacy: SATPINM. Rhyming Hat, silly soup. 

Rhyme of the Week:  Royal selection box 

Ways to support your child's learning at home: Share a story every night. encourage your child in learning the rhyme of the week. Make a Spring mobile and sent us a picture. 

Monday 25 April  22

Last week: we celebrated the Queens Birthday and enjoying learning the words to the classic story - song of Puff the Magic Dragon. 

This week: we will be learning all about St George, making flags and thinking about  how to care for a Dragon, what we could feed and call it. On Friday we are joining in with the whole schools Geography day and we will be going on a field trip around the school site.  

Please remember to put sun screen on your Little Hedgehog in the morning and we will re-apply at lunch time. 

Stories: The Queens Hat     

Write Dance & Disco Dough: .This Girl is on Fire - for Anastasia  

Word of the week: Huffkin 

Cooking:  Kentish Huffkin Rolls with Cherry Jam 

Craft: Dragons and Flags 

Mathematics: Comparing different sized hats. 

Literacy: SATPINM. Rhyming Hat, silly soup. 

Rhyme of the Week: Where did you get that Hat?  

Ways to support your child's learning at home: Share a story every night. encourage your child in learning the rhyme of the week. Make a hat at home and send us a picture. 

Tuesday 19 April  22

Welcome back everyone,  we hope you all had an amazing Spring break and that you are feeling refreshed and ready for a fantastic fizzy term five celebrating everything royal, Kings, Queens, Knights, Dragons and Princesses. 

This week: we are celebrating the Queens Birthday and enjoying the classic story of Puff the Magic Dragon, we will be learning all about how to care for a  Dragon and thinking about what we could feed and call it if we had one. 

Please remember to put sun screen on your Little Hedgehog in the morning and we will re-apply at lunch time. 

Stories: Puff the Magic Dragon.    

Write Dance & Disco Dough: Puff the Magic Dragon. 

Word of the week: Dragons. 

Cooking:  Dragon Egg Biscuits

Craft: Decorating paper eggs capturing child's voice about Spring holiday experiences.   

Mathematics: Counting 1-20 as appropriate. 

Literacy: SATPINM. Rhyming Hat, silly soup. 

Rhyme of the Week: Puff the magic dragon. 

Ways to support your child's learning at home: Share a story every night. Support your child in learning the rhyme of the week. 

Monday 28 March 22

Last week: we made some wonderful Mother's day cards and pretty face flowers which we put in the pre-School windows for you to admire and to know how much you are loved and appreciated.  We made the most of the fantastic weather and enjoyed a lovely Spring time walk around the school. 

This week: we are thinking about how some Christians celebrate Easter, we will be making some tasty treats,  going on an egg hunt and having lots of fun. 

Please remember to put sun screen on your Little Hedgehog in the morning and we will re-apply at lunch time. 

Stories: The First Easter Egg Hunt .   

Write Dance & Disco Dough: Lord of the Dance - Musical version 

Word of the week: Easter 

Cooking: Chocolate Nests . 

Craft: Decorating paper and real eggs.  

Mathematics: Ordering Peter Rabbits carrots by size. 

Literacy: SATPINM. Rhyming Hat. 

Rhyme of the Week: Spring Time Selection Box. 

Ways to support your child's learning at home: Share a story every night. Make your own chocolate nests. Have a go at some observational drawings of daffodils. 

Monday 21 March 22

Last week: was 'Performing Art's Week', the theme was 'The Beatles' and we all enjoyed making 'yellow submarine' models and learning the words to the song. On Monday we were beyond thrilled meeting, stroking and  to feeding Logan's Grandparents Mr & Mrs Digby-Baker  baby sock lambs. On Tuesday we saw 'Sheldwich Has Got Talent' show in the main hall. On Wednesday we enjoyed a Drumming workshop.  On Thursday we watched a fantastic  a performance and learnt a dance routine delivered  by Kings School.  On Friday we performed 'Yellow Submarine' to the whole school and watched the other classes sing Beatle songs. For 'Comic Relief' we will be iced red biscuits, wore  red and played 'Pie Face' an amazing time was had by all. 

This week: we are celebrating our outstanding Mummies. 

Stories: My Mum is fantastic.   

Write Dance & Disco Dough: 'Mama '- Spice Girls  

Word of the week: Spring 

Cooking: Scones. 

Craft: Cards and Flowers 

Mathematics: Counting flowers

Literacy: SATPINM. 'Silly Soup' M.  

Rhyme of the Week: Special Mum Song 

Ways to support your child's learning at home: Share a story every night go on a Spring walk.

Monday 14 March 22

Last week: We learnt all about the story of the Gingerbread man, we danced to 'Don't Stop me Now' and made some yummy gingerbread men.

This week: is 'Performing Art's Week', the theme is 'The Beatles' we are all going to try and learn the words to 'Yellow Submarine' and make models. We are very excited as we are having a visit from Logan's Grandparents Mr & Mrs Digby-Baker they are bringing in their baby sock lambs. On Thursday we are watching a performance by Kings School. For 'Comic Relief' we will be icing red biscuits, wearing red, telling jokes and splatting each other with custard pies. 

Good News: Dolly-Rose had her happy Birthday.

Stories: 'Little Red Riding Hood, Under the Sea & Little Lamb  

Write Dance & Disco Dough: 'Yellow Submarine '  

Word of the week: The Beatles

Cooking: Iced yellow and red biscuits. 

Craft: Hands, Hearts, Yellow submarines.

Mathematics: Counting sheep. 

Literacy: SATPINM. 'Silly Soup' B.  

Rhyme of the Week: Yellow Submarine

Ways to support your child's learning at home: Have a kitchen disco listening, singing and dancing to a range of classic Beatle songs.

Monday 7 March 

r Wolfs Pancakes' and discussed 'stereotyping'  and if the other characters in the story were right or wrong not to help Mr Wolf. We made some amazing pancakes and thought about what we would take in our suitcases if we were one of the 3 Little Pigs setting off out into the world.

This week: Inspired by this story we are learning all about the Gingerbread man.

Good News: Anastasia has been off poorly but she has been very busy bird watching and crafting she made a fantastic garage, thanks for sharing.

Story: 'The Gingerbread Man'  

Write Dance & Disco Dough: 'Don't Stop Me Now'  

Word of the week: Ginger

Cooking: Gingerbread men. . 

Craft: Colouring Gingerbread men pictures.

Mathematics: Counting Gingerbread men. 

Literacy: SATPINM. 'Rhyming Hat' game.  

Rhyme of the Week: Gingerbread man

Ways to support your child's learning at home: Have a go at sharing the story of the Gingerbread  person at  home and making a 'Gingerbread family' of your own.

Monday 28 February 22

Last week: We shared the story of 'The 3 Little Pigs', painted pig heads and made delicious veggie and meat sausage rolls. We have also all been working very hard learning the 3 Little Pig Rap.

This week: We are learning all about Christian traditions around Shrove Tuesday.

Good News: Rose and Elsie had their Happy Birthdays, Eylot ran a mini marathon and Logan brought in an enormous goose egg to show his friends.

Story: 'Mr Wolfs Pancakes  '  

Write Dance & Disco Dough: 'Big Bad Wolf '- Duck Soup   

Word of the week: Shrove

Cooking: Making pancake batter. 

Craft: Collage Pig houses.

Mathematics: Comparing different sized Pigs . 

Literacy: SATPINM, making  puppets to retell the story in our own words. 

Rhyme of the Week. Three Little Pig Rap & This Little Piggy Went to Market.  Pancake songs.

Ways to support your child's learning at home: Have a go at making and tossing pancakes, don't forget to send us you pictures.

Monday 21 February 22

Welcome back to old and new friends, we hope you all have a great break and that you are looking forward to an exciting half term.  

Last week: was Arts week and we looked  at pictures from different Artists in the 'It's Up To Us' book which is a Children's Terra Carta for Nature, People and the Planet. We will thought about our Mental Health and shared some of the amazing images from Charlie Mackesy book 'The Boy, the Mole the Fox and the Horse'.  Digi Duck taught us how to keep ourselves safe on the internet. 

This week: 

Story: 'The Three Little Pigs '  

Write Dance & Disco Dough: 'Big Bad Wolf '.  

Word of the week: Brave

Cooking: Veggie and Meat sausage rolls. 

Craft: Collage Pig Faces 

Mathematics: Comparing different sized Pigs . 

Literacy: SATPINM, making  puppets to retell the story in our own words.'. 

Rhyme of the Week. Three Little Pig Rap & This Little Piggy Went to Market.  

Monday 7 February 22  

Last week: Inspired by Freddie's family and Llywelyn's visit to London's China Town we learnt  all about  different traditions surrounding  Chinese New Year.  We shared the classic story of 'The Magic Paintbrush' and talked about that we would paint if we were lucky enough to have one. We decorated lucky red envelopes and made beautiful lanterns. To help us remember it was the year of the 'Tiger' we did crazy dancing to 'Tiger Feet',

'Roar' and Eye of the Tiger'.  We cried as we peeled the onions for the noodle soup but it was really quite delicious to taste.  We had a wonderful visit from PC Ian who taught us all about how to 'Stay Safe' thank you. 
This week: is 'Arts week' we will be looking at pictures from different artisits in the 'It's Up To Us' book which is a Children's Terra Carta for Nature, People and the Planet. We will thinking about our Mental Health and sharing some of the images from Charlie Mackesy book 'The Boy, the Mole the Fox and the Horse' and learning how to keep ourselves safe on the internet. 

Story: 'The Magic Paint Brush'  

Write Dance & Disco Dough: 'Tight Rope' from the Greatest Showman and 'Happy'.  

Word of the week: Terra Carta 

Cooking: Cinnamon Spirals 

Craft: Painting 'sun-shines' inspired the the Artist Leah Marie Dorian.

Mathematics: Comparing different sized Tigers. 

Literacy: SATPIN, sharing 'It's Up to Us'. 

Rhyme of the Week. Winter Selection Box & 'If You are Happy and You Know it'. 

 Ways to support your child's learning at home: Share a story every night, why not look at a Chinese restaurant menu and think about what you might like to eat.

Monday 31 January 22  

Last week: We learnt all about how to treat people with kindness, inspired by the true story Anne Frank of who was treated differently because of her religion.
This week: Inspired by Freddie's family we are learning all about Chinese New Year of the Tiger. We will be sharing the classic story of 'The Magic Paintbrush' and thinking about that we would paint if we were lucky enough to have one.

Story: 'The Magic Paint Brush'  

Write Dance & Disco Dough: Roar by Katy Perry and Tiger Feet by Mud.   

Word of the week: China

Cooking: Chinese Noodle Soup   

Craft: Lanterns.

Mathematics: Using ordinal numbers to look at where the different animals came in the race.

Literacy: SATPIN, sharing stories comprehension. 

Rhyme of the Week. Winter Selection Box & Chinese New Years Dragon Song.

 Ways to support your child's learning at home: Share a story every night, why not look at a Chinese restaurant menu and think about what you might like to eat.

Monday 24 January 22  

Last week: We thought about the different seasons and Winter, we shared the story of 'Betty and the Yeti' and made delicious Rock cakes and wonderful wintery collage pictures.
This week: We are thinking about how to treat people with kindness, inspired by the true story Anne Frank of who was treated differently because of her religion.

Story: My Pet Star   

Write Dance & Disco Dough: Harry Styles: Treat People with Kindness.  

Word of the week: Fairness / Kindness  

Cooking: Bread  

Craft: Colouring / stars.

Mathematics: Looking at 2D shapes.

Literacy: SATPIN, sharing stories comprehension. 

Rhyme of the Week. Winter Selection Box

 Ways to support your child's learning at home: Share a story every night, look up a web cam on penguins, keep a 'family diary' for a week.

Monday 17 January 22  

Last week: Inspired by Evie meeting the Penguins at Wingham, we researched all about them, we shared stories, made wonderful collage pictures which you may of seen on the windows. 
This week: We are sticking with the frosty theme and friendship we will be going on a Winter walk, sharing 'Betty and the Yeti' and dancing to one of  Busters favourite songs.

Story: Penguin - Betty and the Yeti - That's Not My Pola Bear.  

Write Dance & Disco Dough: Black Betty. 

Word of the week: Rock, Boulder, Pebble, stone.

Cooking: Rock Cakes

Craft: Winter collage picture.

Mathematics: Counting ice cubes.

Literacy: SATPIN & Fine motor control colouring a frozen picture. 

Rhyme of the Week. Winter Selection Box

 Ways to support your child's learning at home: Share a story every night, go on a Winter walk, get some ice cubes out of the freezer and do an investigation with them.

Monday 10 January 22  

Last week:  we were thrilled to welcomed some new friends to Little Hedgehogs we hope that you will be very happy here. We were delighted that you all made it on to the 'nice' list and it was really exciting to hear all about your Christmas presents. We learnt all about Snowmen and Winter as we danced to 'Walking in the Air. We made some wonderful crowns as we found out all about the Christian festival of Epiphany.  

This week: inspired by Evie's trip to Wingham to meet the Penguins at the weekend we are learning all about penguins. We will be sharing stories and learning a few interesting facts about them and making collage penguins.
Story: Penguin - That's Not My Penguin

Write Dance & Disco Dough: Friends Theme Tune

Word of the week: Antarctic

Cooking: Love heart friendship biscuits.

Craft: Textured penguins.

Mathematics: Counting penguins.

Literacy: SATPIN & Fine motor control writing  thank you cards. 

Rhyme of the Week. Winter Selection Box

 Ways to support your child's learning at home: Share a story every night, look up a web cam on penguins, if you can visit Wingham like Evie and see some for yourself. Go through your old Christmas cards and see how many have pictures of penguins on them.

Tuesday 4th January 22

Happy New Year Little Hedgehogs  we hope that you  had a wonderful Christmas and that the new year will be as amazing as youare. 

This week: we have lots of adventures planned for you all and we are very excited to be welcoming  some new friends to Little Hedgehogs.

We will be busy discussing what Father Christmas brought us.  Learning  about the Christian festival of Epiphany and all about Winter.  A big thank you for all of the lovely cards and presents you gave us, you are very kind and we as a team are grateful. 

Story: The Snowman.

Write Dance & Disco Dough: Snowman 'Walking in the Air'

Word of the week: Grateful.

Cooking: Iced snow people. 

Craft: Snow people. 

Mathematics: Shape snow person. 

Literacy: SATPIN & Fine motor control writing  thank you cards. 

Rhyme of the Week. Winter Selection Box

 Ways to support your child's learning at home: Share a story every night, make a Winter collage picture from old Christmas cards. 

Monday 12th December 21

Last week it was beginning to look a look like Christmas at Pre-School.  We  wrote and posted letters to Father Christmas in the village. We made yummy mince pies Willow said "I don't like the ones I have at home but I like these"high praise indeed. We went and watched Dragonflies Class Christmas play which was amazing. We did Disco Dough and Write Dance with ribbons and foam to the Carpenters singing 'Stop Wait a Minute Mr Postman'. We had a fantastic Friday with a special visit from the School Council who made a castle for us out or recycled materials and  afternoon we had our special 'Jingle and a Mingle in the garden with lots of singing and a special visit from Father Christmas.

This week: we are carrying on with the festive fun we will be having 'party snack' each day on the long table,  enjoying a special Christmas dinner and having lots of dancing, games and seasonal crafting activities throughout the week  with our friends.  A big thank you to all of the parents and Grandparents who came to the fete and the childrens sing-a-long we really appreciate all of your support. 

Write Dance & Disco Dough - Step into Christmas 

Word of the week: Kindness. 

Cooking: Icing Gingerbread people.

Craft: Christmas Puddings

Mathematics: Christmas Shape Spotting. 

Literacy: SATPIN & Fine motor control writing Christmas cards to our friends. 

Rhyme of the Week. Christmas Selection Box 

Ways to support your child's learning at home: Have a go at making a gingerbread house, share a story  each night,  asking a range of open and closed questions: What colour is her dress?, What made the character laugh? What time of year do you think this story was set in?  Go for a family walk to the woods find a stick and make your own stick person. 

A big thank you to Martha for sending us a picture of her beautiful Christmas tree it looks stunning. 

We would love to invite you all to a

Christmas

‘Jingle and a Mingle’

in the garden, so wrap up warmly

on

 Friday 10^th December at  1.45 pm.

we will be singing songs, sharing a story and having a

special visit from Father Christmas.

All are welcome but you will need to stay with your child, we will be looking after the children who are in Pre-School that afternoon and Father Christmas will pop in and visit them before he flies off to the North Pole.

However, if you would like to join the other families for the fun,

you are welcome to do so.

Hope you can make it.

Mrs Ashmore and the Team.

Monday 6th December 21

Last week we engaged in a wide range of STEM activities’. We were delighted to welcome Mrs Hayhoe and Ethan back to Pre-School with their Chameleons Cami and Lorenzo, it was fascinating to learn so much about them and to see how much they have grown. We shared the story of Michael Recycle and made clothes and hats out of wall paper. We looked at changing states as we made jelly and did Write Dance and Disco Dough to Karma Chameleon.

This week: It is beginning to look a look like Christmas at Pre-School we are writing and posting letters to Father Christmas in the village, we will be making yummy mince pies and really getting into the spirit of everything. 

Write Dance & Disco Dough - Stop Wait a Minute Mr Postman

Word of the week: Christmas 

Cooking: Mince Pies

Craft: Crackers. 

Mathematics: Christmas Shape Spotting. 

Literacy: SATPIN & Fine motor control writing letters to Father Christmas.  from our name. 

Rhyme of the Week. Christmas Selection Box 

Ways to support your child's learning at home: Have a go at making mince pies, share a story  each night,  asking a range of open and closed questions: What colour is her dress?, What made the character laugh? What time of year do you think this story was set in?  Go for a family walk to see the Christmas lights. 

Please ping us a picture of your Christmas tree when it is up, so we can all admire it!

Tuesday 30th November 21 

Last week:  Inspired by Harrison's wellington books and following on from our walk to the woods on Remembrance day we learnt all about the Gruffalo and linked in with Road Safety learning all about how to stay safe: STOP, LOOK and LISTEN, we each got a reflector to wear on our coats so we cab be easily seen. The walk to the woods was very exciting although the Gruffalo was much smaller than we had imagined Daisy laughed and said 'He's a fluffy'. The crumble was yummy and we all enjoyed dancing to Ant and Dec.  

This week: Is  STEM week, we are having Mrs Hayhoe back with her Chameleons, to talk about colour, we will be learning all about light, recycling and changes in materials. 

Write Dance & Disco Dough - Karma Chameleon

Word of the week: Recycling 

Cooking: Jelly

Craft: Recycled junk modelling. 

Mathematics: Shapes in the environment. 

Literacy: SATPIN & Fine motor control writing letters from our name. 

Rhyme of the Week. 

Ways to support your child's learning at home: Have a go at making jelly, share a story  each night,  asking a range of open and closed questions: What colour is his hat?, Why is the character sad? What do you think will happen next? Go for a family walk to spot Christmas trees. 

Please pin us a picture of your tree when it is up, so we can all admire it!

Monday 22nd November 21 

Last week:  What an amazing time we had, we we learnt all about the festival of Diwali, we shared the story with Mrs Scott, we did some careful counting with scented tea lights before we  made shiny Diva lamps. We learnt some fantastic new songs and  made some yummy coconut ice.  A huge thank you Amaya's Mummy for coming in to teach us a traditional Sikh dance, we loved your beautiful music and stunning dress, we hope you will come back next year. 

On Friday we thought all about Pudsey Bear and Children in Need, we dressed up  and had a busy time as we: iced spotty biscuits, made friendship bracelets and coloured pictures. 

This week: Inspired by Harrison's wellington books and following on from our walk to the woods for Remembrance day where Willow told us all about meeting 'Big Foot' and spotting the Gruffalo we are going to be learning all about the Gruffalo and linking in with Road Safety week thinking about how we can all stay safe on dark evenings.  We are planning to go on a walk to the  woods to see if we can spot the Gruffalo and  we are making yummy crumble and dancing to PJ and Duncan's 'Lets Get Ready to Rumble (crumble)'. 

Write Dance & Disco Dough - Lets Get Ready to Crumble.

Word of the week: Nocturnal 

Cooking: Gruffalo Crumble 

Craft: Gruffalo Collages 

Mathematics: Gruffalo Counting Spin. 

Literacy: SATPIN & Fine motor control writing letters from our name. 

Rhyme of the Week. Gruffalo Rhyme 

Ways to support your child's learning at home: Have a go at making your own Gruffalo Crumble, share a story  each night,  asking a range of open and closed questions: What are they wearing on their heads?, How is the character feeling? What do you think will happen next? Go for a family walk , collect leaves and make a lovely collage. 

Monday 15th November 21 

Last week:  The word of the week was 'Hero', we shared a story about Remembrance Day and thought about all of the Heroes in the world. As part of our investigations we walked through the woods to the church yard to  see  the WW1 and WW2 War Memorial and joined the whole school for 2 minutes silence as a mark of respect and a way of saying thank you for the lives we live today. We made colourful poppies that you might of seen on the Pre-School windows and iced yummy poppy biscuits. 

This week: We are learning all about Diwali, we are very excited that Amaya's Mummy Dr Uppal is coming in to teach us some traditional dancing and talk to us about her families traditions.  On Friday it it Children in Need we are dressing up in spots as usual, please dress up if you fancy it any day you are in. 

Write Dance & Disco Dough - to Kiss Kiss by Holly Valance  

Word of the week: Diwali 

Cooking: Coconut Ice 

Craft: Diva Lamps

Mathematics: Counting Tea Lights. 

Literacy: SATPIN & Fine motor control writing letters from our name. 

Rhyme of the Week. Diwali Selection Box  

Monday 8th November 21 

Last week:  we had an amazing  visit from Bishop Rose, she danced with us as we sang 'Ring O Ring O Roses', we met Bishop Roses' and taught us a new song. We celebrated  Bonfire Night by  dancing like Fireworks to Katy Perry, 'Firework song'. We made some stunning rocket models with a little help from Mrs Scott and Miss Hills and made some yummy edible sparklers. On Friday we enjoyed a walk in the Sunshine to the village bonfire  Freddy was really impressed describing it as a 'mountain.'

This week: We are learning all about Poppy Day and sharing the classic story of 'Owl Babies'.

Word of the week: Hero 

Cooking: Poppy Biscuits

Craft: Poppies

Mathematics: Comparing the sizes of Owls in the story. 

Literacy: SATPIN & Alliteration within the story. 

Rhyme of the Week: Soldier Soldier Wont you marry me. 

Monday 1 November 21

Welcome Back after the half term break.

Last week: we celebrated Black History and culture, we  learnt all about the Black inventor Garrett Morgan who invented traffic lights, Marcus Rashford: who helped  poor families and Louis Armstrong- who sang Hello Dolly.  Once again a big thank you to Theo's Daddy and Edward's and Reuben's Grandma for providing us at Little Hedgehogs with ideas for the display in the main school hall. 

  This week:  we are celebrating Bonfire Night and Fireworks, we have lots of exciting- interesting activities and adventures planned we will be dancing like Fireworks to Katy Perry, making edible sparklers and having lots of fun learning the new Firework rhymes. 

Book of the week: Red Rockets 

Word of the week: Fireworks

Fine motor skills: Colouring / cutting out Rocket Fireworks.

Craft: Making jumk modelling fireworks.

Mathematics: Learning Zoom, Zoom Zoom counting song. 

Rhyme: Bonfire Night selection box. 

Write Dance / Disco Dough: Katy Perry Fire Work 

Cooking: Sparkler Bread Sticks.

Ways to support your child's learning at home: 

Using toilet roll tubes make a rocket mobile. 

Learn the rhymes of the week.

Share a story every night. 

Go to the Sheldwich village Bonfire night display.

Monday 18 October 21

Last week: we are explored everything to do with Autumn, we went on an Autumn walk and discovered that leaves come in all different shapes, sizes and colours. We made some wonderful collage pictures with them and developed our cutting skills as we cut around lovely leaf shapes. We made some 'interesting' seasonal soup and shared the story of Squirrels Autumn search carefully colouring in a picture linked to the story.

  This week:  we are celebrating Black History and culture, we will be learning about the Black inventor Garrett Morgan who invented traffic lights, Marcus Rashford: who helped the poor families and Louis Armstrong- who sang Hello Dolly.  A big thank you to Theo's Daddy and Edwards Grandma for providing us at Little Hedgehogs with ideas for the hall display in the main school. 

Book of the week: Written by Edwards relative: Emanuel Goes To Market 

Word of the week: Kindness 

Fine motor skills: Colouring / cutting out traffic light circles.

Craft: Making  Making traffic lights. 

Mathematics: Sharing the story of Handa's Surprise - counting out the fruit. 

Rhyme: Autumn selection box. 

Write Dance / Disco Dough: Hello Dolly-Louis Armstrong 

Cooking: Traffic Light Jam Tarts. . 

Ways to support your child's learning at home: 

Listen to some Music written / sung by Black Musicians. 

Learn the rhyme of the week.

Share a story every night. 

Monday 11 October 21

Last week: was BOOK WEEK, following the theme of  'Journeys into the past' we shared three Meg and Mog books where she had adventures Dinosaurs, travelled to Ancient Egypt where Mog got wrapped up like a Mummy and  her meeting the Romans on Deal beach. Once again we are in awe of all of our parents ingenuity and creativity, we say this every time but you truly pulled it out of the bag. Please feel free to take a closer look at all of the costumes on the slide show, above. We had an amazing time with visits from Mr Cork, the year 6 class and Mrs Dixon to share stories with us. We wrapped up teddies and dolls to look like 'Mummies' and practiced our careful cutting as we created Mog pictures. We visited the library and we went to the hall for a 'Sticky Kids' physical development activity workshop. A long standing friend of Little Hedgehogs dropped off a huge box which we had great fun with, thank you. 

  This week: we are exploring Autumn, and plan to go on an adventure to collect conkers and leaves, we will be cooking  pumpkin soup and making beautiful collages. 

Book of the week: Squirrels Autumn Search. 

Word of the week: Autumn

Fine motor skills: Colouring / cutting out squirrel pictures. 

Craft: Making  Leaf collages. 

Mathematics: Counting conkers. 

Rhyme: Autumn selection box. 

Write Dance / Disco Dough: Autumn Days

Cooking: Pumpkin soup. 

Ways to support your child's learning at home: 

Go on a family Autumn walk. 

Learn the rhyme of the week.

Share a story every night. 

Monday 4 October 21

Last week: Logan's Mummy Mrs Molloy  and his farm Grandma Mrs Digby-Baker came to visit us with their chickens, Mr Cocky Cockerel and Mrs Lady Jane Grey.  They were really well behaved and we got to stroke and feed them. Throughout the week we learnt all about Harvest, and made some delicious  bread. As some of us are still settling into life at Pre-School and the routine we didn't  go  down to the church but thank you for your donations to the 'Food Bank' and we hope you enjoyed our version of Dingle Dangle Scarecrow. Thanks to everyone sent  in their family heritage information, the map of the  world on the Pre-School wall is looking amazing and we will link in our planning to develop understanding.

  This week: is BOOK WEEK, the theme is a 'Journeys into the past' I have purchased two Meg and Mog books where she has adventures in Ancient Egypt with her cat and meets the Romans on Deal beach. Once again feel free to dress up or not dress up any day that you are in. We are also making Christmas cards so that we can get the order back by Christmas. 

Book of the week: Meg and Mog

Word of the week: History  

Fine motor skills: Colouring / cutting out cat pictures. 

Craft: Making  Christmas cards. . 

Mathematics: Playing Mathematical turn taking games. 

Rhyme: 

Write Dance / Disco Dough: Walk Like an Egyptian / We have a whole lot of History 1D. 

Cooking: Cat cookies 

Ways to support your child's learning at home: 

Discuss your favourite story when you were little.

Visit / join the local library. 

Learn the rhyme of the week.

Share a story every night. 

Monday 27 September 21

Last week: we shared  ‘Smile Crocodile Smile' and  learnt all about how to keep our teeth clean and are bodies healthy as we took  part in  'In it for a minute' celebrating  National Fitness day. We  enjoyed dressing up everyday as part of the PTFA Fun Run, it was great fun and we are 'SUPER PROUD' and very thankful to  all of you for raising so much money.    

This week: We are learning all about Harvest, and making bread. As some of the little ones are still settling into the Pre-School routine we will not be going down to the church but we will still be collecting for the 'Food Bank' and aim to record our song for you all to enjoy. 

  A sincere thank you to everyone who has already sent  in their family heritage information, the map of the  world on the Pre-School wall is looking very colourful, if you haven't already done so please send the information in so that we can be and inspired by these ideas to link in our planning and  develop understanding.

Book of the week: The Scarecrow's Wedding and Rosie's Walk 

Word of the week: Harvest 

Fine motor skills: Colouring Scarecrow pictures. 

Craft: Painting chickens. 

Mathematics: We have added a new  brightly coloured ball number line  into  the Rainbow room, this week we will be encouraging the children to use it during child initiated play. 

Rhyme: Dingle Dangle Scarecrow. 

Write Dance / Disco Dough: Crocodile Rock 

Cooking: Baking a Harvest loaf. 

Ways to support your child's learning at home: 

See how many different farm animals you can spot on your way to Pre-School.

Thinking about how Harvest is a time to give thanks, make up a family 'Thank You'  list recording  all of the wonderful  things you have to be grateful for. EG: A full tank of petrol, toilet roll, a loving family, kind friends and  good health.

Learn the rhyme of the week.

Share a story every night. 

20 September 21

Last week: we shared  ‘Giraffe’s Cannot Dance’ where the story's lead character Gerald felt differently to his friends and 'Spot and Stripe' about two friends who wanted to be alike,  the aim behind focusing on these texts was to develop the idea of diversity, that we are all different and unique and  yet share similar feelings as part of the Little Hedgehog Pre-School family.  A big thank you to everyone who has been sending in their family heritage information the map of the  world on the Pre-School wall is looking very colourful and inspired by these ideas we will be able develop understanding.

This week: we are sharing  ‘Smile Crocodile Smile' learning all about how to keep our teeth clean and are bodies healthy as we take part in  'In it for a minute' celebrating  National Fitness day  and enjoy dressing up everyday as part of the PTFA Fun Run. 

Book of the week: Smile Crocodile Smile

Word of the week: Beaming 

Fine motor skills: Cutting out smiles.

Craft: Painting Happy Faces .

Mathematics: putting a set of smiles  in size order.

Rhyme: Teeth cleaning selection box. 

Write Dance / Disco Dough: Crocodile Rock 

Cooking: Mini muffin pizzas

Ways to support your child's learning at home: Go on a family fun run, share a story together, talk about teeth cleaning and keeping healthy. 

Monday 13 September 

Last week: we shared the story of  ‘Elmer’ the multi-coloured patchwork elephant who looked different  from his friends.

This week: we are sharing  ‘Giraffe’s Cannot Dance’ where the story's lead character Gerald is a giraffe who feels differently to his friends and 'Spot and Stripe' two friends who want to be alike.  The aim behind focusing on these texts is to develop the idea of diversity, that we are all different and unique and  yet share similar feelings as part of a united global world and Little Hedgehog family and Sheldwich School community.  We have displayed a huge map of the world on the Pre-School wall, and we would like to add in each child’s family’s heritage.  

My slip would read:

Mrs Ashmore:

Grandparents from Ireland,

born in Bromley, big sister Domenica

is half Italian, husband  from Wolverhampton.

Allied to this we are focusing on supporting children’s  well-being and resilience, by  displaying a newly designed  ‘Coping Wheel’ and ‘Feelings Fan’ on the wall at Pre-School.

As part of the  routine on arrival at Pre-School your child will be invited to point to how they are feeling on the ‘Feelings Fan’ and  move the  ‘Coping Wheel’ if they need to throughout the day.  With the support of their key person each child will be making individual coping wheel  for you to refer to at home, the ‘coping’ strategies include:  exercise/ dancing , having a drink of water, sharing a story or having a lovely hug/cuddle.

The main school is introducing ‘Fantastic Fridays’ which enables the pupils to take part in a range of mindfulness activities,  linking in with the spirit of this initiative we will be having daily  ‘Fantastic Five Minutes ’ where children enjoy simple activities focusing on talking and stimulating feelings of positive well-being.

Please contact me if you would like to discuss any of these ideas further or if you would  be prepared  to come in to Pre-School and talk / show the children pictures about  your  family’s culture, traditions - faith.

Book of the week: Giraffes Cannot Dance / Spot and Stripe. 

Word of the week: Diversity

Fine motor skills: Cutting out worlds,

Craft: Painting apples.

Mathematics: putting a set of jungle animals in size order.

Rhyme: Elephants have wrinkles.

Write Dance / Disco Dough: Dance until you drop.

Cooking: Spotty Rock Cakes 

1st September 21

WELCOME to Little Hedgehogs Pre-School

we are delighted to see so many of our old friends back and welcome lots of new children we just cannot wait to get to know you all and have lots of adventures together. 

Firstly we must start by saying a big thank you for all of the amazing cards and gifts we received, as a team we were totally overwhelmed by your thoughtfulness and kind words.  It was not the end of term we planned however, it was so lovely to catch up with you all in the garden on the final Thursday. We are super proud of all of the Little Hedgehogs starting in Ladybirds Class they look so smart in their new uniforms. We hope you all had a wonderful Summer and feel refreshed and ready for the new Autumn term.

A gentle reminder please:

1) Wear shoes that can be done up easily and that you can run and dance in.  

2) Label everything and bring in some wellington boots.

3) Inform us of any medical changes / dietary  requirements / allergies your child may have.  

4) Key People: Miss Clark will be 'floating' any key children she had will be taken on by Mrs Ashmore. Miss Burgess and Mrs Palmer are back and will be 'Buddy Key -People' this year as they are working on alternate days.

5) Mrs Gower the SENCO will be coming in doing her usual start of the year observations to ensure that every child within Pre-School has their needs met and that they make progress from their individual starting points. If you have any concerns or questions please come and talk to Mrs Ashmore. 

Last week: we were having fun on holiday.

This week: We are having fun at Pre-School.  We will be sharing the story of Elmer, designing our own elephants and discussing our favourite colours.  We will be focusing on well-being - involvement as we settle and create coping wheels developing.resilience strategies. 

Book:  Elmer                                                                                                                              

Write Dance and Disco Dough: Nelly the Elephant.                                                            

 Rhymes: Elmers Counting song. 

Ways to support your child's learning at home.

1) Learn the rhyme of the week -  good rhymers make great readers.

2) Share a story every night.

3) Play Peak and Pit each tea time with every member of your family discussing the best and worst aspect of their day or a subject for example:

The peak of my day was the delicious Pizza I ate. The pit of my day was doing the washing up.

My favourite animal is a dog because they are friendly, My worst animal is a chicken because I don't like feathers. This simple activity will develop your child's voice and and vocabulary.

4) Go on a favourite colour walk. 

 12  July 21

 Last week: We finally released the butterflies into the garden it was amazing to see our beautiful babies fly off.  We  shared the story of the ‘Smartest Giant’ and did lots of rhyming activities linked to the story. It was very exciting to have a visit from Mrs Dixon Ladybird's Class teacher in the garden. On Friday we had an amazing time at the fun-fund raising day a huge thank you to everyone who donated prizes for the raffle and brought in cakes all of your contributions were gratefully appreciated.  THE  Drumming workshops provided by the PTFA,was banging ha ha  Thank you the children loved it.  

This week: We are on the  final countdown to the Summer holiday's.  We will be sharing the story of Harry and the Dinosaurs start school, as each family that is leaving Little Hedgehogs has already been given a copy of the book to share at home. We will be focusing on well-being - involvement and  transition skills ensuring that we are feeling happy, confident and ready for the next stage of our learning journey. We are not going to be having a party but we will enjoy a special  group snack times  towards the end of the week. 

Reminder:  Shoes,  shorts and sun cream.                                                                                                                               Write Dance and Disco Dough: The Final Count Down.                                                            

 Rhymes: Football  Chants

5 July 

Last week: We continued with decathlon sports activities working towards an impressive Brownlee Brother medal which we will be bringing home this week along with reports and other amazing pieces of creative art works. Inspired by Llywelyn showing us his beanstalk we shared the story of ‘Jack and the Bean Stalk’, baked bread, counted coins and did lots of craft activities.  We were we were completely thrilled when late on Friday afternoon one of our butterflies made an appearance.

This week: We will witness the completion  of the life cycle of a caterpillar when we release our butterflies. We will be sharing the story of the ‘Smartest Giant’. Some of us will be taking part in Drumming workshops provided by the PTFA, Thank you.  Mrs Dixon from Ladybirds Class will be holding a ‘COVID safe’ visit in our living Classroom. On Friday we will be visiting the fund raising stalls set out on the field, if your child is in that day please bring in a donation.

Reminder:  Shoes,  shorts and sun cream.  Donation if you are in on Friday morning.                                                      Write Dance and Disco Dough: I am Giant / Its Coming Home                                                            

 Rhymes: Football  Chants

28 June 

Last week: we learnt all about the life cycle of a caterpillar and celebrated the life of Eric Carle the author of the classic book ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar. We have been fascinated watching our caterpillars turning in cocoons in the next stage of their journey. We were all really crafty making butterfly mobiles and potato print caterpillars which you can see displayed on Pre-Schools windows and amazing key group ‘Hungry Caterpillar’ biscuits. To our delight Mrs Hayhoe came in on Thursday and introduced us to her chameleons, they were tiny and absolutely gorgeous. We were also thrilled to share his book on the Chameleons and dance to… you have guessed it Kama Chameleon by Culture Club for Disco Dough and Write Dance.

This week: We are continuing with our decathlon sports activities  working towards our Brownlee Brother medal and inspired by Llywelyn showing us his beanstalk we will be sharing the sharing the story of 'Jack and the Bean Stalk', doing lots of craft activities inspired by the story.  

Reminder:  Shoes,  shorts and sun cream.                                                                                                                   Cooking: Bread                                                                                                                                                                     Write Dance and Disco Dough: The House that Jack Built.                                                                                      

Rhyme: Noisy Neighbour.

Sports Week 2021

During Sports Week at Little Hedgehogs we:

1) Shared the story of the tortoise and the hare.

2)Evan's Grandpee Mr Capelin came in with his tortoises Tiny Tim and Tom. 

3) At the end of the story the tortoise wins a cup so we discussed Trophies and medals and then made our own medals.

4) At this point we discovered Alexa and Flora's Daddy, Mr Woods, was part of the 2012 Olympic GB team, the girls brought in his medals to show us.

5) We went out on the track to practice our running.

6) We discussed how we could keep our bodies healthy and made delicious smoothies in the blender.

7) We did 'Write Dance' to develop our gross motor skills and 'Disco Dough' to develop fine motor control to 'Physical'  song.

8) We will be carrying on with sporting activities in a Pre-School decathlon for the next four weeks working towards a Brownlee Brothers Medal.

21 June 

Last week: We all enjoyed a super sports week. A big thank you must go to Evans Grandpee Mr Capelin for introducing us to Tiny Tim and Tom his tortoises. It was amazing to learn so many facts about them and it was lovely as we all got the chance to hold, feed and polish them with special vegetable oil. They were surprisingly speedy and kept us on our toes throughout the morning. We went  out on the track running races imagining we were the tortoise and the hare.  We learnt  about keeping healthy as we made delicious fruit smoothies. We were crafty as we made wonderful gold medals out of clay. We were very excited to discover that Alexa and Flora's Daddy Mr Woods was part of the 2012 Olympic GB team, it was great see his medals.

This week: We have living caterpillars at Pre-School and we are learning all about life cycles and sharing the story of the Very Hungry Caterpillar. On Thursday Mrs Hayhoe is coming in to show us her chameleon. We are thrilled to be carrying on with sporting activities for the next four weeks working towards a Brownlee Brother Medal, with this in mind please could the children come in shorts / joggers and shoes they can run in so that they can keep active.

Reminder:  Shoes,  shorts and sun cream.                                                                                                                                  Cooking: Caterpillar Face Biscuits                                                                                                                                                Write Dance and Disco Dough: Kama Chameleon by Boy George                                                                               Rhymes: Caterpillar Selection Box

Ways to support your child's learning at home:

Learn about the life cycle of a frog / chicken.

Learn the rhyme of the week.

If your child is starting school in September start working towards the: Are You Ready List?

Are You  Ready?  

Top Tips for Starting School

A few families have been asking us what can they do at home to support their child’s transition to school so as an Early Years team we developed a list of activities to be working towards to enable your child to be more independent when they arrive in the reception class in September 21

Top Tips to Support your child’s transition into their reception class.

1. Use the  toilet.
2. Put their coat on, do zip / buttons.
3. Put wellington boots on.
4. Change for PE : put their clothes on, take their clothes off.
5. Sit and listen to a story for 10 minutes each night.
6. Recognise name.
7. Write name:  capital first letter then lower case.
8. Count to 10 out of order.
9. Write numbers 1-5.
10. Use scissors.
11. Thread beads / pasta onto a pipe cleaner.
12. Know some traditional tale stories: EG: 3 Little Pigs, Goldilocks, Jack and the Bean Stalk.
13. Able to play a simple turn taking game. snap, pairs, snakes and ladders.
14. Throw / catch / kick a ball.
15. Pedal bike /trike.
16. Good rhymers make great readers try so try  learn  8 rhymes between now and September. 

Humpty Dumpty,

Incey Wincey,

Baa Baa Black Sheep,

Twinkle Twinkle,

1,2,3,4,5 Once I caught a fish alive.

Hickory Dickory Dock

Jack and Jill

Hey Diddle Diddle.

    17.  Wash and dry hands properly.

   18. Open packets/ lids off yogurt if they a packed lunch.

   19. Hold knife, fork and spoon for school dinner.

   20.Use a jug to pour out a drink for themselves.

Remember you are your child’s first and most important teacher and every child develops at their own rate please don’t worry if your  child cannot do everything on this list.  It is not that your child cannot do it, its just they cannot do it yet.                                                                   

Good luck and  have fun these are the wonder years

14 June

Last week: We discovered that Miss Hill had the longest hair in Pre-School. The hedgehog bread was yummy and it was especially great to see Buster  enjoying it for his packed lunch the next day. The listening walk was a  success and we were thrilled to hear a helicopter flying. 

This week: Following the theme of Sports week we will be sharing the story of 'The Tortoise and the Hare' and we are excited about a Evan's Granddad coming to  visit us and show us his tortoise, and tell us all how to care for it. We will be busy out on the track running and engaging in a  a series of  Olympic sporing events.

Book of the week: Tortoise and the Hare. 

Rhyme:  My Dog went Up in a Rocket. 

Craft: CD Tortoise, Clay Medals, Rocket Fathers Day Cards, England Flags

Disco Dough / Write Dance: Physical By Olivia Newton John

Ways to support your child's learning at home:

Share a story together each night.

Learn the rhyme of the week, good luck its a long one. 

Watch a sporting event together, football.  

7 June

We hope you all had an amazing half term and that you feel refreshed and excited about all of the adventures we have planned for the next 6 weeks. We are on the final countdown preparing for the next stage of our learning journey. 

Last week:  We learnt all about ladybirds as we went on a slightly damp but enjoyable Summer walk.  We made delicious ladybird biscuits and pictures which look  really bright and colourful on the Pre-School  windows.  

This week: Following Graces surprise Rapunzel fancy dress we will be sharing the story of this brave Princess, discovering who has the longest hair in Pre-School and making some yummy hedgehog bread. 

Book of the week: Rapunzel and Jim Needs a Trim. 

Rhyme:  Rapunzel Rhyme 

Craft: Paper Plate Hedgehogs. 

Disco Dough / Write Dance: I am your long haired lover from Liverpool: Jimmy Osmond

Ways to support your child's learning at home:

Share a story together each night.

Learn the rhymes of the week, good luck its a long one. 

Go for a walk into town see if you can spot any hairdressers / barbers. 

Look at some old photographs of you with a different hair cut / style and share these with your child.  

24 May 

Last week:  Inspired by 'The True Story of Humpty Dumpty' ' we did lots of interesting explorations  around eggs and falling. We got out hearts racing as we danced to 'I'm so Egg-cited' and we made graceful flowing movements to Harry Styles 'Falling' as we did 'Write Dance' and Disco Dough. We used some really bight primary colours as we did egg head repeating pattern potato printing. We counted eggs in our different sized egg boxes to see how many cracked ones we had and we made delicate egg cress heads.

This week: Following Evie's and Freddy's interests into mini beasts we are learning all about insects  and we will be going on a Summer time Mini beast bug hunt. We will be practicing our fine motor skills cutting skills cutting round circle ladybird shapes and dancing to 'Flash Light'. 

Book of the week: 'What the Ladybird Heard'. 

Rhyme: Two Little Ladybirds sitting on a spoon one is  called Penelope  and one is called June, Fly away Penelope, Fly away June, fly back Penelope, Fly back June. 

Craft: Paper Plate Ladybirds. 

Ways to support your child's learning at home:

Share a story together each night.

Learn the rhyme of the week.

Go out on Wednesday to look at the 'Super moon' 

Do a mini beast hunt in your garden. 

17 May 

Last week:  Inspired by the story 'There is a Dragon on my Doorstep' we did lots of interesting explorations into the world of Spiders. We shared the story, played 'Rhyming Hat' and  looked closely at real spiders in the trike shed. We all worked really hard at developing our cutting skills and we danced to the Tatty Bumpkin Spider song and we created a  wonderful group rainbow spider.   

This week inspired by Charlies brother visiting Prince Charles last week at Buckingham Palace we are exploring the story of Humpty Dumpty as all of the kings horses and all of the kings men could not put Humpty together again. We are planning an egg-citing  week making cress heads. 

Book of the week: The True Story of Humpty Dumpty. . 

Rhyme: Humpty Dumpty 

Craft: Humpty Dumpty Plate heads.   

Ways to support your child's learning at home:

Share a story together each night.

Learn the rhyme of the week.

Go to the fridge and count some eggs. Discuss as a family your favourite way to eat eggs, boiled, fried, poached or scrambled. 

10 May 

Last week:  Inspired by Van Gogh we planted sunflower seeds, shared the story of his life and did some amazing observational paintings of sunflowers, we developed our cutting skills as we made some collage sunflowers which we have proudly stuck on our windows.  Mrs Garrett read us the story of the magic paint brush about a little girl who painted a dragon then we all thought very hard about what we would paint if we had a magic paintbrush. 

This week inspired by Florence's fabulous jumper and the story Mrs Garrett shared with us we are continuing with the dragon and mini beast explorations. 

Book of the week: There is a Dragon on My Door Step. 

Rhyme: Incy Wincy Spider. .

Craft: A spider mobile.  

Ways to support your child's learning at home:

Share a story together each night.

Learn the rhyme of the week.

Go on a spider hunt in the garden. 

4 May 

Last week:  We really enjoyed singing and sharing the story of Puff the Magic Dragon, we made some delicious songs. 

This week is Arts Week so we are really looking forward to experimenting with colours and meeting a few famous artists. 

Book of the week: Sunflowers. 

Rhyme: The Sun has got his hat on.

Craft: Observational drawings and paintings of sunflowers. 

Ways to support your child's learning at home:

Share a story together each night.

Learn the rhyme of the week.

Look at flowers in your garden. 

26 April 

 Last week: Wow! what an amazing first week back.  We said a sad goodbye and good luck  to River, who has gone on to have a new adventure in America we will miss you. We also said hello and welcomed George,  Sophia, Stanley and Amaya we hope you will be very happy with us.  This week we have been busy planting sunflowers, icing St Georges day biscuits and painting dragons.  On Friday we were very lucky as Mr Palmer the Farmer came to visit us with his lovely lambs which was very exciting.   

This week we are carrying on  with our explorations into St Georges day  and British traditions exploring everything to do with kings, queens and castles

Book of the week: Puff the Magic Dragon

Rhyme: Baa Baa Black Sheep. 

Craft: Making flags. 

Ways to support your child's learning at home:

Share a story together each night.

Learn the rhyme of the week.

Look at pictures of the Queen on coins and stamps.   

19 April 

 Welcome back everyone we hope you all had a fantastic Spring break. This week we are celebrating St Georges day and exploring everything to do with kings, queens and castles.

Book of the week: Prince George Goes to School.

Rhyme: Sing a song of Sixpence.  

Craft: Dragon Collages. 

Ways to support your child's learning at home:

Share a story together each night.

Learn the rhyme of the week.

Try making a crown at home.  

HOPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

We are delighted to say that the  Easter Bunny arrived in style to Little Hedghogs this week  (thank you PTFA) the children have had a wonderful time finding real eggs in the garden. They expressed their creativity and developed their fine motor skills as they decorated  them and made pretty  Easter baskets to carry them home in. Please forgive us but the the Easter bonnets were all so amazing that we could not pick an overall winner so each child received a signed copy of  ‘The First Easter Egg Hunt’ by Adam and Charlotte Guillain, it’s a wonderful page turner of a books with lots of rhyming and alliteration, we hope you enjoy sharing it together.  Have a fantastic Easter break, we will be returning  on the 19 April and start the term  by celebrating  St Georges Days. 

Hedgehugs to all  see you soon Mrs Ashmore, Miss Clark, Miss Hills, Mrs Scott and Mrs Palmer and Mrs Kentch

29 March 

 Spring has arrived we have been enjoying the warm weather going on an signs of Spring walk and doing some careful observational painting of daffodils. This week we are very excited as the Easter Bunny is visiting us, we will be going on an 'real' egg hunt and then decorating them.  We plan to get very sticky as we make yummy chocolate nests. We are looking forward to seeing all of the children's Easter hats, please remember that your child can wear them on the day that they are in, so that everyone can enjoy the fun. 

Book of the week: The First Easter Egg Hunt.

Rhyme: Easter Garden Song, Chick Chick Chick Chick Chicken 

Craft: Decorated boiled eggs and Easter Baskets. 

Ways to support your child's learning at home:

Share a story together each night.

Learn the rhyme of the week.

Try some observational painting at home. 

22 March 21

What fun we had last week we all  thought the jokes were hilarious ha ha.  This week we are in full on signs of Spring mode. We will be going on a Spring walks around the school, icing Spring biscuits and doing some observational painting and drawing. 

Book of the week: Spots Egg Hunt. 

Rhyme: Easter Garden Song and Chick Chick Chick Chick Chicken. 

Craft: Easter Cards 

Ways to support your child's learning at home:

Share a story together each night.

Learn the rhyme of the week.

Make an  I Spy Spring Book.  

15 March 21

What a wonderful first week back we have had, it has been great to see everyone returning taller and hairier ha ha ha  and we are delighted to meet a few new friends. We hope that you all enjoyed an amazing Mother's Day with lots of spoiling. This week we are carrying on with our space and science investigations and having a nod to Red Nose Day by playing Pie Face on Friday and learning a few new silly jokes. 

Book of the week: Aliens Love Underpants.

Rhyme: Zoom Zoom Zoom.

Craft: Collage Rockets

Ways to support your child's learning at home:

Share a story together each night.

Learn the rhyme of the week.

Learn a new joke. 

8 March 21

Welcome back Little Hedgehogs this week we have lots of exciting activities planned for our return. We are celebrating Mothers Day making beautiful cards and collages to let out lovely Mummy's know how much we love and appreciate them. As part of British Science week we are joining lots of Children across Kent for a zoom assembly lead by the scientist Dr Jo Fox on Robots, we are creating wavy wax shape pictures and flitter jars as we investigate the properties of light and water. 

Book of the week: The Smeds and the Smoos.

Rhyme: 5 Little People in a Flying Saucer.

Ways to support your child's learning at home:

Share a story together each night.

Learn the rhyme of the week.

Look out of the window and discuss the moon and stars at night. 

Investigate changing states:  by creating a biscuit structure with melted  chocolate, delicious. 

1st March  2021

This week we are learning all about the three little pigs cousin Olivia and her adventure at the circus.

THIS WEEKS ON-LINE HOME LEARNING

Daily Prime Rhyme Time, 3 Little Pig Rap and Olivia Saves the Circus Story.

Magic  Monday

 Learn to juggle

Terrific Tuesday 

Tight rope walking

Wonderful Wednesday

Olivias Forward Sausage 

Thirsty Thursday

Disco Dough: 1 Direction Olivia

Fizzy Friday

Write Dance: 1 Direction Olivia 

Have a look at the gallery to see the amazing work that it being completed at home and wave to your friends. 

Good rhymers make great readers, please try to learn the rhymes of the week.

Three Little Pig Rap .