What a lovely week we have had in Shell Class! We have been learning all about our emotions and understanding that emotions are the feelings we have inside us. We have been talking about how we can recognise different emotions and noticing how our faces, bodies and behaviour can change depending on how we are feeling.

At home, you can help your child by putting a name to their emotions. For example, you might say, “I can see that you are feeling angry. How can I help you?” This helps children to develop the language they need to communicate their feelings rather than becoming overwhelmed by them. It is also really important that adults remain calm when children are dysregulated. Our calm voices, facial expressions and body language can help children to feel safe and begin to regulate their own emotions.

At school, we use the Zones of Regulation to help us talk about how we are feeling. The different coloured zones help children to recognise and communicate their emotions and understand that all feelings are okay. We have been practising identifying which zone we might be in and thinking about what we can do to help ourselves when we have big feelings.

We have enjoyed reading a range of books about emotions, including Tough Guys Have Feelings Too. These stories have given us lots of opportunities to talk about different feelings, why characters might feel a certain way and what might help them.

In maths, we have been counting forwards to 10 and continuing to practise our subitising skills. We have been focusing particularly on the number 2 and looking for groups of two in our environment. We have also been developing our sorting skills by sorting objects according to their colour.

In phonics, we have been playing a fun game called Feed the Monster! We have been practising listening carefully to the sounds in words and breaking words down into their individual sounds. For example, we might say d-o-g and ask the children to listen carefully and work out which object the monster would like to eat. This is helping us to develop our listening and sound discrimination skills.

We have also been working hard on our independence. The children have been practising important everyday skills such as putting on their own coats and peeling their own fruit. Please encourage your child to have a go at these skills at home too, even if it takes a little longer. Giving children time to try things for themselves is a really important part of becoming confident and independent.

We continue to remind the children about having kind hands at school. Please reinforce this message at home too by talking about using gentle hands when playing and interacting with others.

Well done, Shell Class, for another fantastic week of learning! We are so proud of how much you are growing in confidence, independence and understanding each day. 🐚

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