Hello to Mull Students and Parents!

Summer Week 12 Commencing 13.07.20

 

Hello,

I hope that you are all doing well with your routines.I hope that you are still taking ideas from the website if you wish  and making them work for you and your families as you continue to be the best people to decide the best activities for your child.

I still can't stress enough that you as parents should not feel pressured to be providing the exact experience that your child is able to access in our school as these continue to be unprecedented times for all of us and will be affecting your child tremendously so we should be making the experience as calm and enjoyable as possible.

 

The summery weather is making an appearance again! I have  added a number of resources in the section below about Summer for you to focus on this week.There is the dressing Seren for the seasons to complete - you can focus on Summer with this activity and also look at what clothes you typically wear in Summer. You could get your paddling pools and ice creams out and enjoy the sunny weather safely while learning about putting sun tan lotion on and staying in the shade. There is also an ice cream colouring sheet to complete you could use the colour symbols supplied at the beginning of lockdown to find the right colour pen, paint or crayon to colour in the ice cream correctly. 

 

You can get in touch with me via the St Andrew's email address if you have any specific questions or worries and I'm happy to answer them. Also if you want any extra symbols or work sheets printing off please get in touch.

 

Please have as much fun and enjoy spending time with each other while staying safe.

 

Stay Safe, Happy and Healthy - Nikki Forsyth (Class Teacher.)

Over the next few weeks we will concentrate on the Seren's Seasons story. It can be found on Twinkl or in the Resources section below. This is a really lovely story with plenty of opportunities to explore the 4 Seasons in a sensory way. With the weather due to be getting better it will be nice for you to enjoy the sensory activities especially the water play and ice lollies!

In the Resources section below please find a Seren's Seasons Sensory Suggestions sheet with ideas to help you retell this story. I have added a leaf cut out sheet and a Flowers cut out sheet that you may wish to use.

Enjoy this story over the coming weeks as you learn about what we might wear and experience in all the 4 Seasons.

Please continue to wash hands often. Even though at home you don't need to as much it would be a good idea to get your children into the habit of washing their hands often as when in school this will be required. Twinkl has a number of resources - posters - sequencing activities etc. but the best way for Mull students to learn is to learn by doing and hopefully embed the routine with them. You could even sing a favourite song to make sure they are washing for long enough to wash germs away. Even if they are not accessing school part time now, as the lock down eases they may be accessing more places and they will be returning to School at some point and hand washing will be a large part of their routines to keep them and all others safe. The best thing you can do at home is get them used to a good hand washing regime that becomes second nature to them so they are prepared for being asked to wash their hands more often than they were before.

Time in Lock Down Together

 

 It might be an idea to record in some way the experiences you are all sharing. We are in a position where we are living through a monumental part of our World's history and it is a good idea to record our experiences in some way. You can find some Time capsule activity sheets in the resources section if you'd like to look at and complete them - we are hoping to do a whole school Time capsule but you might like to do your own at home too. You could make a lovely piece of art as a family (look at the ideas below) You could make a scrap book with interesting things stuck in from your experiences - maybe a bit of grass from your garden, a piece of VE day bunting, a candle from a birthday cake or a wrapper from a favourite food treat. You could continue to record with photos and videos and enjoy looking at them together. I have been writing a daily log of what my family has been up to but  taking a picture every day is a really good way of keeping an ongoing record. We'd love it if you shared more photos of what you're all getting up to with us if you'd like to.

 

Hi Mull students,

I am missing you all lots. I have been doing lots of fun things to stay busy and active. I have been playing and learning with my family. I have celebrated lots of birthdays and special days while at home staying safe. I have been clapping for our heroes every Thursday. Stay happy and safe all of you - Love Nikki x

Hi everyone,

missing you all. Especially our messy play and sensory art sessions! I've had to get my hands dirty by cooking lots and spending all my time in my garden! I've been walking Marley lots and she says hi. Hope you're all OK and will see you all soon - Love Emma x

Hi Mull,

Hope everyone is OK. I've been at home with my son. We've been baking, home schooling and playing in the garden. I hope you have all been enjoying the sunshine and being good for your families. I miss you all and can't wait to be back at school with all the Mull gang again soon. Take Care. Stay safe and be happy - Love Sarah x

Hello Team Mull,

I'm missing seeing you all and sharing all the fun we have. I hope you're all safe, well and happy. Looking forward to seeing you all when school starts back - Love from Jane xx

Hi Mull,

I've been trying to keep myself busy by helping out at school, home schooling, gardening and helping to make and deliver pizzas. I miss you all (yes even the messy play) and can't wait until we can all safely return. Keep busy, stay safe and see you all soon - Katie x

People have now stopped clapping on Thursdays outside of their homes but it is still worth remembering how grateful we are for how hard they are still working.

Rainbows have become the symbol of solidarity in these difficult times so please take a look at the rainbow activity ideas to try in the resources section below.

Learning Opportunities in Your Home

 

There are loads of practical Maths and English activities to  be completing at home throughout the day-

 

sorting by -

- colour

-shape

-type of item

 

When exercising, cooking, playing hide and seek, looking at books - doing everything basically !!! please look to be using key vocabulary for your child- numbers, colours, shapes, positional language - in, out, on, under, days of the week, times of the day (morning/night) weather, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

Cooking as a teaching tool

 

In school we try to teach functional cooking skills alongside practical Maths, Science, communication and English as much as we are able to. We are in a unique position at the moment where your child has the opportunity to learn and embed some extremely useful skills that should help to increase their independence now and for their futures. Cooking with you every day could help in a number of ways -

 

• Independence
• Use of Equipment
• Time to try new things
• Having fun and enjoying food - sensory elements, food art, preparing, enjoying and sharing special food together for  special occasions
• Learning how to be healthy
• Maths and Science concepts explored and embedded
• Communication - Learning and embedding key vocabulary
• Learning how to be safe and hygienic
• Tidying skills and routines learnt

 

Please find a Cooking Skills document in the resources section below which highlights ways that you can use cooking to learn with your child at home.

While off from school and their normal group activities it's a good idea to try and maintain group collaboration for your child. At some point we will be meeting again to work, play and learn together and your child will be part of a class group again. It's a good idea to try and maintain some of the following -

 

• Turn taking
• Group working
• Different activities - (although routine is important we still need to present different activities)
• Other people's interests and choices to be considered and your child joining in at a comfortable level for them
• Have fun all of you together - this is learning!!!!

Get creative with what you have available. Working together to plan activities is part of the learning and fun. Our Saint George the Knight had an Iron man mask and a lightsaber sword. You can ask your child to find items for you which engages and enables them to use their skills we're working on functionally - for example can you get a green tshirt to wear ? Can you pretend to hit the dragon 5 times etc etc. These activities enable learning  for all involved. Involving other siblings' learning hopefully helps everyone out when juggling your households. Plus they are lots of fun for everyone including us adults !!!

• Fresh air and exercise really will make you feel happier
• While the weather is great try to do as much as you can outside - remembering to use sun tan lotion and shade to stay safe in the sun
• You could make a nature themed collage with what you find in the garden - see resources section about junk modelling and collage art
• Some indoor and outdoor exercise suggestions can be found in the resources section
• As stated before try and use your Key Vocabulary throughout activities so learning takes place throughout
• Have Fun !!!!!!!

Staying in touch with loved ones safely will keep us all happy. As the Lock down continues to ease  there are more opportunities to spend time with people following all the government guidelines. It might be an idea to make invites, cook some favourite treats and spend quality time with loved ones - my children 'hug' their grandparents by hugging themselves while looking at them while they do the same.

There is lots of technology we can still all be using so we can keep in touch even if we can't physically be together. 

Even if your child isn't able to speak to loved ones they can see and hear them with the aid of some of the fantastic technology helping all of us at this time in our lives. It's beneficial to still aim to do activities to bring family and friends together however that may be to keep all of us as happy and healthy as possible.