Hello again boys and girls in Junior Infants. I hope you had a lovely Easter break with your families. The weather was wonderful for having fun outdoors. I hope you all got lots of fresh air by playing out in your gardens or by getting out and about for some exercise on your scooters or bikes!

Usually, when we go back to school after the Easter holidays I love to hear all the stories children tell me about the nice things they have done during the break. However, this has been a very unusual Easter break and unfortunately I won’t get to hear these stories. So what I would like you to do for me this week is to draw some pictures of what you got up to over the last two weeks.

Don’t forget ‘thinking time’ is very important to help you to remember, to figure out things and to decide what you will draw. There’s no need to rush your thinking. You have lots of time! Enjoy your thinking time! Here are some ideas to get you thinking:

• Did you eat anything nice?
• What games did you play?
• What did you do to get some exercise?
• Did you watch anything you really enjoyed on television?
• Did you build or make anything in your house or garden?
• How did you communicate with your family or friends who don’t live with you?
• Perhaps you did something else?

Hopefully sometime soon I’ll get to see the pictures you’ve drawn and decorated. I know Ashley will also be looking forward to seeing them too. She misses you all too!

If you’re looking for some extra ideas, you should have a look at the suggestions our other teachers researched for you all. I have enjoyed looking through them myself and have noted a few that Junior Infants would especially enjoy.

• Ms. Dunne has lots of brilliant ideas here to help you make your fingers stronger. These will help you to keep improving your colouring and writing.
• Ms. Fitzpatrick has a lovely art task here about drawing a vase of spring flowers. It made me think of all the bulbs we planted in December and never got to see bloom. I would love to see your colourful flower drawings.
• Ms. O’Leary has wonderful links to the National Geographic Kids website. You will love this website! She found some pictures of very cute animal friends for you to have a look at here.
• Ms. Hanlon and Ms. Condron have a fantastic story called ‘The Lazy Bear’ that I think you’ll enjoy.
• Ms. Hanlon thought you’d all have fun trying these animal movements. https://pathways.org/help-your-childs-gross-motor-skills-with-these-animal-walks/
• Ms. Fahey has great ideas here for when you’re playing. She lists some tips to help you stretch your imaginations during your play time. She also has some amazing yoga moves for you to try. They will really help you to stretch out your bodies. She gives directions for movements and poses called the Mountain, the Down Dog, the Triangle and the Cat.
• If you want to practise your drawing skills Ms. Fahey has a link to a video showing how to draw a bunny.
• Ms. Whyte has given us a relaxing activity here called Butterfly Breaths. You’ll find it nice and calming. Have a look at the conversation suggestions that Ms. Whyte mentions. These will really get you thinking. You might also learn some new things about the people in your family too!

If you have a look at RTE Home School Hub today on Monday 20^th, Múinteoir Ray plans to teach about éadaí (clothes). It might help you remember some of what we have learned about éadaí in school so far.

Enjoy trying lots of these suggestions out during the week. Hopefully I will get to chat to some of you on the phone again also.

Keep washing your hands and stay safe,

Ms. Leonard.

Dear Parents / Guardians,

I hope you and your families are all keeping well in these strange times. The following are activities that your child may have-a-go at if it suits you and your circumstances. Any work suggested is practice and revision of skills and knowledge already introduced and covered in school. At this moment, I will not be posting new work. Please do not feel obliged to complete this work. These activities will simply provide opportunities for your child to develop their skills and to become more proficient and confident in doing them. Your child will not miss out on new areas of work or be behind his/her classmates if they do not take part in these activities. I’m very confident that your child has been practicing and developing a great variety of useful skills through everyday activities since we have been off school. Please do not put yourselves under unnecessary pressure. These are exceptional times we are experiencing.  I have included a few links to some websites that may be useful to support their learning. Please note: As always, for internet based activities please ensure your children are supervised while accessing the internet.

Best wishes to you all,

Sinéad Leonard.