Communication and language | Carcroft School

Touch counting.

23rd March 2026Elizabeth Frost

Today, Crew Frost continued their Easter-themed learning—with a mathematical twist! This week, we have been focusing on number recognition and touch counting as part of our early maths development.

The children were encouraged to count out the correct number of rabbits for each hutch. This supported their understanding of matching quantity to number, which is a key aspect of the EYFS Maths area of learning.

During the activity, the children worked both collaboratively and independently, developing their confidence as well as their communication and language skills. We also saw lots of perseverance and problem-solving as they checked and corrected their counting.

Using their “pinchy fingers” to pick up the rabbits helped to strengthen their fine motor skills, supporting Physical Development—an important foundation for later writing.

Furthermore, as the children develop positive attitudes towards maths through play this makes us so proud as a Crew. Well done, Crew Frost—we are so proud of the fantastic learning we are seeing and can’t wait to watch your confidence in maths continue to grow!

Flat Stanley

22nd March 2026Sarah Mcglone

Crew McGlone have been enjoying the story ‘Flat Stanley’ in their writing lessons. We have enjoyed getting to know the story, whilst working on our oracy skills. We took key events from the story and created verbal sentences to describe what was happening in each image. We thought about our sentence, before then ‘nesting’ our idea. We then shared this with our talk partner before Miss McGlone chose children to share their sentences to the rest of the crew.

We’re on the move.

13th February 2026Elizabeth Frost

Caution construction zone ahead!

13th February 2026Elizabeth Frost

Crew Frost have had a wonderful week exploring all areas of our provision! It has been lovely to see the children so engaged and independent in their play.

This week, many of the children have been particularly interested in developing their small world play, creating different homes and habitats for our animals. Through this, they have been using their imaginations brilliantly and building detailed role-play stories together. This strongly supports their Communication and Language development, as they listened to one another’s ideas, shared their own thoughts, and worked collaboratively to extend their play.

We have also seen fantastic examples of Personal, Social and Emotional Development, with children taking turns, negotiating roles, and working as a team to achieve a shared goal. It has been wonderful to watch their confidence grow as they solved problems together.

In addition, the children really impressed us with their critical thinking and perseverance while experimenting with balancing and manipulating different materials. This hands-on exploration links to both Physical Development(developing control and coordination) and Mathematics, as they explored concepts such as balance, size, and stability through trial and error.

These experiences reflect the EYFS Development Matters guidance by providing meaningful, play-based opportunities for children to think creatively, communicate effectively, and develop resilience.

Read Write Inc Practice Sheets

29th January 2026Elizabeth Frost

This week, the children have began using Read Write Inc. practice sheets. These help them to develop their letter formation skills and create clear, recognizable letters. This will be an ongoing activity throughout their school year.

The children practice saying the picture of the sound, the letter sound , then they practice using the picture cards. They then say the phrase as they write, and finally say the sound again while forming the letter. This supports their phonics and early writing development.

We look forward to sending these sheets home as part of home learning and seeing the amazing work that Crew Frost continue to produce.

Final product practice.

29th January 2026Elizabeth Frost

During our We Are On The Move expedition, the children took part in adult-led demonstrations to explore how to create different types of transport, including bikes, planes and boats. This activity supported the children in developing their creative skills and preparing for their final pieces, which will contribute towards a collaborative flap book.

The children demonstrated strong fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination as they carefully used tools and materials to construct their designs. They confidently used shapes and lines to represent their ideas, showing growing independence and perseverance.

Through this activity, the children developed key skills within the EYFS framework, including Communication and language, Physical Development and Expressive Arts and Design. They engaged in meaningful discussion about their creations, shared ideas with their peers and made thoughtful choices when selecting materials.

We are extremely proud of the children’s courage, creativity and resiliences throughout this learning experiences. Well done Crew Frost we look forward to see the results from the final product.

Fine motor building.

15th January 2026Elizabeth Frost

Fine motor skills are very important for your child’s early development. To support the children in this area Crew Frost were offered a wide range of opportunities during their choosing time.

During this session, the children were given the challenge of following pre-made cutting lines. This activity encourages children to think critically and problem-solve as they work their way through the change in directions, how to hold the paper, and cut using one hand while stabilising the other.

This activity also improves hand-eye coordination, introduces new vocabulary, strengthens fine hand muscles, and supports the foundations for early writing by encouraging left-to-right movement. The opportunies are endless with this activity! Super work Crew Frost!

Name Recognition!

15th January 2026Elizabeth Frost

In Crew Frost we like to be prepared! For the summer term, we are aiming for the children to able to recognise their own name and even write some letters for their own name!

To support this, during their choosing time the children are offered opportunities to spot their name, work on their pencil grip, pronounce the first sound in their name, and begin letter formation for their name. They were so excited to see their very own name cards this week, and we can’t wait to do more fun name-recognition games with them. We can wait to see this fine motor skill develop. Well done Crew Frost – you are working very hard!