Author: Mrs Latham

We had an exciting PE lesson this week. The children moved in different ways across the different apparatus.

All the year 1 and 2 classes are working really hard on learning our addition number facts – how to ‘make’ a number.

Knowing these facts instantly is like learning to read fluently. It is essential to help when more challenging maths concepts are taught.

Help at home by asking your child to tell you all the ways to make 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or 10.

7 and 2 make 9

9 is equal to 7 plus 2

Using 9 cubes to make 9 in lots of different shapes also helps us to visualise the number.

We had a fabulous day learning about word classes yesterday and, in particular, adjectives.

We all dressed up as an adjective, learnt a song about adjectives, labelled objects with adjectives and made some interesting expanded noun phrases.

Help at home by talking about your favourite adjectives. Mrs Latham’s is flummoxed, Mrs Brown’s is picky and Miss Young’s is squishy!

Our focus book at the moment is The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig by Eugene Trivizas. 

We are linking it to learning about nouns and adjectives in our writing. We are also using our retrieval and inference skills in reading and thinking about the author’s choice or words and phrases.

We have also compared this story to other versions of the Three Little Pigs too.

We often use the White Rose 1 Minute Maths app in school. It has 1 minute challenges to help children develop their quick recall of maths facts. It’s free to download on tablets or desktop devices.

All Year 1 and 2 classes are focusing on gymnastics in our PE lessons this half term. We have learnt that it is just another way of moving and balancing, which can keep us fit and healthy.

We have worked on low and high movements, balances and jumps so far. We are looking forward to getting the large apparatus out next week!

All the Year 1 and 2 classes welcomed a visitor this week. Carolina, who was born and lived in Poland until she was 19, came to talk to us about living and working in a different country. It was really interesting to see and hear about the differences and similarities between her life in Poland and England. The children were very respectful, asking questions and listening intently.

We use a website called Top Marks in maths. There are lots of fun games that help children use the maths they are learning at school. To help with place value this half term, we have played Place Value Basketball and used Paint the Squares, which is an interactive 100 square to count in different ways.

Help at home by going on Numbots for maths facts or Top Marks for other maths games.

 

We have been learning all about hygiene (keeping clean) in the last few weeks.

All three classes joined a Zoom where we met Dr Boswell today. He is a microbiologist. His job is to look at microbes (also called bugs and germs) and find out about the ones that make us ill and cause infections.

He uses a microscope to look at them because they are too small to see with just your eyes. He told us that 1 germ can become 1000 in 3 hours!

The best way to stop the spread of germs that make us unwell is to wash our hands (and dry them) because they like moist places to live. They have basic needs, just like humans. They need warmth, food, water and oxygen to survive.

Help at home by making sure your child knows how to wash and dry their hands properly to stop the spread of germs.

Adults give out Choice Chips to children who they spot making good choices around school and children who are following our school rules. In 1,2B we also give raffle tickets for individuals in the classroom who are making good choices. We also work towards a class target where we can all contribute to a reward. The last few weeks we have been working towards not interrupting and waiting our turn. We achieved it last week and went on the adventure playground as our reward. It was fun!