Sparklesocks: The Class Fairy that developed our Literacy skills.

Message Centre:  To encourage the children to write more independently during play, our fairy brought us a 'Message Centre". This is a pin board in our classroom that children are set simple sentence writing tasks by our fairy each week. I have attached a picture of it below. I make sure that it is something that all children will be able to answer regardless of their life/background outside of school. For example, a sentence to tell the fairy what their favourite food is. I tend to avoid news themed writing as this can create discomfort for some children. When all 20 children have answered Sparklesocks writing challenge, they get to hunt around the classroom for the hidden key to open up and unlock her box of treats. This is normally new pens, pencils, playdough or fancy writing paper. On occasion it can be an object or activity for them to complete related to our topic such as a vegetable planting kit or magical beanstalks. The children get really excited to write and make sure they are presenting it as neat as possible. They encourage each other to add on their message as quick as they can so that they can begin the hunt for the magic key. It is a lovely idea to develop children's independent writing during play. We use ORT books for reading so children are able to make links to the Magic key from the stories too. 'I Spy' Box:  In addition to our Message Centre, our class Fairy brought us a Curiosity 'I Spy box'.  This has supported the children to develop their own Listening and Talking skills. Children race to explore the box when it is refreshed on a Wednesday. Some children like to simply look at the box to see what they can spot, others like to write about what they can see or use it as inspiration for story writing. Some children work with a friend to play a game of 'I Spy' which supports their phonics knowledge. I have used a clear storage box to create the box and I fill it with a mixture of things from around the classroom/school that they will find exciting. I have attached a picture of what it looks like below. Themed days:  Our magical Fairy also plans and sets up our classroom for themed learning days linked to our IDL topic. The children love to see what she has in store from them. This year we have had 'Fairy and Friends days', Polar explorer days, Astronaut Training days, Frog themed afternoons and a Farmers day. The day is filled with hands on active and play based provocations to engage the children. Writing Stimulus:  All year the children have been exposed to examples of letters and cards through her work. This has developed into the children leading their own learning by writing stories about Sparklesocks, creating their own letters or writing cards. Some children have even started leaving her little notes hidden around the room for her to find and read. A couple of children have created their own picture books all about Sparklesocks and shared them through our class library.