We have been learning to use positional language as well as giving directional commands using an app on the iPads. Next week the focus will be extending our vocabulary related to wild animals, describing patterns in nature and length, reading the story: Spots or Stripes? by Vasanti Unka. Phonics focus will be: oa and igh. This is a wonderful book to stimulate children’s language. First, there are many questions and discussions to be had about the illustrations which will encourage children to use language for speculation – for example, ‘Why is the man in the bowler hat queuing for the bus looking at his watch?’

This is also a book that is worth sharing several times. As children become more familiar with the text, they are then likely to start noticing the detail in the illustrations, including a cameo appearance of a lady who looks uncannily like the queen. Purple: playing ‘animal twister’– like the traditional twister game but replacing the colours with animals. Yellow Challenge: looking at a scene from our story Spots or Stripes and writing our noun phrases “stripey tiger”, “spotty leopard”, etc.Children will enjoy the silliness of this book and the familiar font and layout will naturally draw some children to it – it looks very much like a Lauren Child ‘Charlie and Lola’ picture book. count the animals that feature in the story and see if this tallies with the number of animals on the roller coaster Green: creating our own playdough animals using other materials such as string and googley eyes to finish them. In addition, the text provides plenty of opportunity to encourage children to hear rhythm and rhyme, but also alliteration. It is also worth dwelling on words that may be unfamiliar to some children such as ‘swerve’ and ‘vehicle’, with the aim of helping children understand their meanings. Over the course of this monthly series on sharing books with children, Penny Tassoni will look at a range of fiction and non-fiction titles, from rhyming books for babies to picture books that adults and children can explore together.

iPads and tablet devices are increasingly used at home for learning and entertainment purposes. It can be problematic if children browse different applications or the internet by themselves. An important e– safetyfeature on iPads that is easy to use is called ‘Guided Access’. This function limits users to only using one specific app and prevents them from switching to another program or returning to the Home screen. Please see the instructions below of how to enable Guided Access on iOS.Elephants on buses? Monkeys in shopping trolleys? Hippos in hot air balloons? A whale … on a bike?’ A close look at the illustrations will provide plenty of opportunities for talk about the feelings and intentions of others. You could, for example, encourage children to look at the facial expressions of the creatures who are watching the centipede on roller-skates. Are the bees laughing at the centipede? And what is the other centipede feeling? This is a book that you should read by yourself first so that you can really emphasise the wonderful rhyming text when you come to share it with children. It is also worth taking your time as you read it aloud, as some of the sentences contain descriptive words that will be unfamiliar to some children. By slowing down, children will be able to process the meaning of words such as ‘capsize’ and ‘trotters’, as well as enjoying the rhymes. Two-year-olds may enjoy seeing some of the animals portrayed in this book, but the language level is better suited to slightly older children. Three-year-olds will enjoy the story, while four- and five-year-olds will love the rhyming text and quirky humour.

Join in the crazy chaotic fun (and chortle loudly) as an array of animals ride all sorts of unsuitable vehicles in this energetic picture book count all animals in the book, as in addition to the main animals some of the illustrations have some animal onlookers such as birds, pigeons and seagulls.Wednesday 28th February- DON’T FORGET TO WEAR A BRIGHT T-SHIRT! As part of the University and County wide commitment to equality, the school, together with Eddington and the University, is ending LGBT+ month by making a human rainbow. On Wednesday 28th February, we ask that you send your child to school dressed in a coloured T-shirt or outfit. In the afternoon of that day, all 300 children and our team will form a human rainbow at the entrance to our school. There will be a high level photograph taken. So, having brought these kinds of questions to the forefront of children’s minds I would then start to talk about the rules we have at the setting. Are there ‘Can’t and don’t’ rules that are made to keep each other safe? Are there rules that are made to show consideration for others? I think it’s important that children think about the rules that are in place, and consider the reasons why they are there. This way we can teach children about self, and mutual respect and about how behaviour is managed and moderated within groups – all important aspects of British Values (PSED) Children may be interested in writing letters to some of the animals – tips to the pig on the skateboard, a word of warning to the monkeys in the shopping trolley, or suggestions for the tiger or seal on how to behave. As many children from the age of four years love rules, this could also be an opportunity for them to write some of their own on how to behave when we are with others. Children will love the ridiculous nature of this book with its array of animals riding all sorts of unsuitable vehicles. There are monkeys in a shopping trolley, a tiger scaring passengers on a train and even a pig on a skateboard until, finally, they find a form of transport that can accommodate all of them. Children may be interested in looking at different forms of transport in the local area. You may like to talk about what transport children have experienced, such as an aeroplane, bus or train.