What it’s all about
As every nursery teacher knows, parts of the timetable can get pushed into the background when you are busy mopping up tears or practising for endless performances. But I decided that if phonics could be linked to my activities and topics, why couldn’t it be cross-curricular, too? Welcome to Easter phonics, writes Michelle Dredger.
It was the start of the day and 30 eager three-year-olds were waiting for their name to be called in the register. But this was the Easter alliteration register.
“Good morning, Bbbbunny Beau, Chchchchocolate Charlie.”
Out in the playground, the children went on an Easter hunt with a difference - searching for rhyming objects. Children ran over, happily shouting: “I’ve found Funny Bunny and Meg Egg!”
They decorated alien eggs to roll and gave them alliterative alien names such as Li Lo and Fa Fum. They had fun predicting which egg was going to roll the furthest.
Our Easter stories were filled with sound effects: “baaaaa” went the sheep, “cluck” went the chicks and “rustle” went the foil around the chocolate. Songs we performed, such as Chick Chick Chicken and Hot Cross Buns, were accompanied by drums and tambourines.
I also had a springtime blending box. When children were waiting to be released at the end of the day, I peeked inside it and said: “Oooh, I have a sh-ee-p. What do I have, Samira?” If Samira guessed correctly, I revealed a toy sheep or a laminated picture of a sheep, congratulated her and sent her to get her things. The children loved this and treated it like a game.
What else?
Play Jolly Phonics Pairs with your class, a game of matching words and pictures from D U. bit.lyJollyPhonics.
