The boys have played with their Toy Story creations for a week straight, so it was no surprise when they asked for them to be included in their sink play.

Resources

  • Shaving foam
  • Bath letters
  • Bath crayons
  • Toy Story book
  • Toy Story characters

Method

I wrote, “Can you spell our names?” on the sink and Finn (or Buzz!) launched straight in spelling ‘Woody’.

As Finn’s only three, I wasn’t bothered about spelling accuracy. This was about having fun whilst using his phonics sounds, so he spelt the words however he thought.

Ioan came in towards the ends and offered some suggestions.

Finn asked, “What do you think of my words Ioan?”

Afterwards, Ioan looked in the book to check the spelling of the names. He was happy to find he was right about ‘Woody’.

DfES Early Learning Goals (2017)

Communication and language

ELG 01 – Listening and attention:

Children listen attentively in a range of situations. They listen to stories, accurately anticipating key events and respond to what they hear with relevant comments, questions or actions. They give their attention to what others say and respond appropriately, while engaged in another activity.

ELG 02 – Understanding:

Children follow instructions involving several ideas or actions. They answer ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions about their experiences and in response to stories or events.

ELG 03 – Speaking:

Children express themselves effectively, showing awareness of listeners’ needs. They use past, present and future forms accurately when talking about events that have happened or are to happen in the future. They develop their own narratives and explanations by connecting ideas or events.

Literacy

ELG 09 – Reading:

Children read and understand simple sentences. They use phonic knowledge to decode regular words and read them aloud accurately. They also read some common irregular words. They demonstrate understanding when talking with others about what they have read.

ELG 10 – Writing:

Children use their phonic knowledge to write words in ways which match their spoken sounds. They also write some irregular common words. They write simple sentences which can be read by themselves and others. Some words are spelt correctly and others are phonetically plausible.