A special visitor!
We had a zoom call with Abbey House Museum. We learnt lots about what it was like living in the past (Victorian era). The children were fascinated and learnt lots! We learnt about how they went to the toilet, washed their clothes, brushed their teeth and kept warm.
“There were no toilets so they went in a potty” Olivia.
“They scraped soap on a grater” Zachary.
“They brushed their teeth with their fingers” Ella.
“The grown-ups slept downstairs and the children slept upstairs” Seb.
Ask your child what they have learnt about the ‘past’ this week. You could send an email with their quote.
Night monkey, day monkey
This week in literacy we have been reading the book ‘night monkey, day monkey’ by Julia Donaldson. We talked about animals we might see in the day and night. The children learnt the word ‘nocturnal’ and have been confidently using this in their speech when discussing different animals.
“It’s a bat – its nocturnal” Daniel said.
“Day monkey wouldn’t see it (the owl) because it’s nocturnal!” Georgie said.
Top tip for watching YouTube with your child: go to the settings cog (it’s along the play bar) and turn off auto play – this avoids an inappropriate clip coming up automatically, and helps to discourage your child from passively watching clip after clip.
Maths – comparison
This week, we have been comparing groups of objects. We have been using the words ‘more than’, ‘fewer than’ and ‘equal number’ when comparing groups of objects.
This week’s maths challenge was to compare two Numicon pieces using weighing scales and say which number is more, fewer or equal.
We also played the game ‘who has more’. The children had to guess who had more counters in their hand without peeking. They then explained why they thought this.
“Mrs Flynn, you have a bigger hand so you can get more” Mila explained.
“Maddison has a little hand, so she has less” Thomas said.
Try and compare groups of objects when sitting down to eat. For example, you could compare who has more pieces of broccoli on their plate – or even who has eaten more!
Phonics
This week, the children have learnt the phonemes (the sound a letter makes) v,w,x and y. They’ve also been practicing writing the graphemes (the written letters). We have been challenging the children by asking them to spell words using the letters that they know. This week your child has been spelling the words; sock, hug, sad and rock. Can your child tell you what phonemes (the sound a letter makes) they can hear in these words?
This week, your child has learnt the tricky words; and, has and his. A tricky word is a word you cannot sound out – you just have to know it by sight!
Phonics home-link activity
Play tricky word BOO!
What you will need:
- the following tricky words written on individual pieces of paper; and, as, I, is, the, and, has, his.
- the word BOO written on a few pieces of paper
- 1 cup (to put the words in)
How to play:
- Take it in turns to pick a word out of the cup.
- Read the word.
- If you pick BOO you have to put all of your words back!
- The person who has collected the most ‘tricky words’ at the end wins!
Poetry Picnic
Each week, we will be learning a new poem. We will recite this poem each day. By saying the poem out loud we can focus on the sounds and rhythm of each word or line. This week’s poem is ‘a basket of apples’.
We talk about how a poem sometimes has rhyming words and sometimes doesn’t. Can your child tell you the rhyming words in this week’s poem? We also talk about how a poem can have a fast rhythm or a slow rhythm. Can your child tell you if this week’s poem is fast or slow?
Challenges
This week, we’ve introduced your child to challenges. Challenging activities are around the classroom for your child to complete to earn a brick. The aim is to get a tower of bricks taller than five. Challenges include the learning we’re focusing on throughout the week.
Ask your child what challenges they’ve done this week.
At the end of the week, we talked about who had more and who had fewer bricks. If your child’s tower is more than five, your child will come home with a certificate!
Reminder
Next week, Thursday 17th November (9.00-9.30) you are invited to a Marvellous maths stay and learn. This is an opportunity for you to come into school to find out about the Early Years Curriculum and watch your child learning in school.
Please fill in and return your invitation to confirm your attendance. It is important that we know you are attending so that we can ensure your child is in the correct classroom area to greet you.