I’m sure all parents are now familiar with the term ‘Monster Phonics’ and maybe even know some of the Monster’s names!. As part of our School Progress Plan for 2022 – 2023 one of our priorities is to embed the new phonics scheme throughout the school, not just with the children but also with parents. Here’s our journey so far with Monster Phonics.
The Monster Phonics scheme was officially launched at Forest on 22nd September 2022. Every child and teacher came into school dressed as their favourite Monster. The school was full of monsters - ‘Miss On No,’ ‘U-Hoo,’ ‘Cool Blue’ to name a few. The day started with a whole school assembly so all children (and teachers) could show off their fabulous monster outfits, then each class enjoyed a jam-packed morning full of a variety of different cross-curricular activities.
Chef Simon baked monster’s biscuits with Year 3; Reception teamed up with their Year 6 Buddies to create some amazing 3D clay models of the monsters; Kindergarten showed off their creative skills painting monsters; Year 5 designed some graffiti art; Year 6 designed and made some flashcards using the Chromebooks!
Throughout the morning, each class participated in a phonics word hunt around the grounds, the wind was certainly not in their favour, but it added to the excitement and challenge of the task!
To support the children in their learning, we recognise that parents need to understand the phonics scheme - so we held ‘How We Teach…Phonics’ evening sessions. Parents were able to look at the materials used and were invited to participate in different activities in order to gain a greater understanding of how we teach our younger Foresters. Mums and Dads gained top marks and even a few house points were awarded.
Following on from our How We Teach Phonics Evenings, Mrs Mulholland delivered a series of individual Phonics workshops with parents. These were small and intimate sessions and helped to embed the way we teach. For more informtion on how we teach phonics in school, please click here
This half-term it is clear to see that the children have really taken Monster Phonics on board.They love the scheme, love the monsters and are really engaged with it. When our Reception children were asked why they love the scheme here's what they said: ‘we learn a new sound everyday’; ‘the tricky witches try to trick us’; ‘Mrs Oh-No helps me with sounds’; ‘It helps me with my writing, I think of the monsters and it helps me to spell out the sounds’; and ‘I like reading the monster phonics sounds’. When the children were asked which monster was their favourite, between the class, every monster, was listed, so it’s clear to see each and every monster is loved.
Happy readers #TheForestWay
